Two prizes of £10,000 (approximately $12,300) each are given annually for a group of poems and a short story. The winners will be invited to attend an award ceremony in...
read moreWriting Contests, Grants & Awards
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Manchester Metropolitan University
Cash Prize: $12,300
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 9/20/19
Travelers’ Tales
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/21/19
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the biannual anthology The Best Travel Writing and on the Travelers’ Tales website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers...
read moreAmerican Academy in Berlin
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/23/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residential fellowships are given annually to fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers to spend an academic semester in residence at the Hans Arnhold Center at the...
read moreNew York Public Library
Cash Prize: $75,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/27/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to 15 fellowships are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers whose work will benefit directly from access to the research collections at...
read moreNew Guard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 9/27/19
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Guard are given annually for a poem and a short story. Richard Blanco will judge in poetry and Elizabeth Hand will...
read moreSouthwest Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southwest Review is given annually for a poem or group of poems by a writer who has not published a poetry collection. Submit up...
read moreCalifornia State University in Fresno
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Anhinga Press is given annually for a poetry collection. C. G. Hanzlicek will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $25 entry...
read moreLiteral Latté
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Literal Latté is given annually for a personal essay. Submit an essay of up to 10,000 words with a $10 entry fee...
read moreUniversity of Massachusetts Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a first poetry collection, a poetry collection, a short story collection...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story...
read moreUniversity of Iowa Press
Cash Prize:
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
Two awards of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for first collections of short fiction. Writers who have not published a book of fiction are eligible....
read moreNew Criterion
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Criterion Books is given annually for a poetry collection that pays close attention to form. George Green, Roger Kimball, and David Yezzi...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication on the Ghost Story website and in the Ghost Story print anthology, 21st Century Ghost Stories, is given twice yearly...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Dzanc Books will be given occasionally for a novella. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...
read moreMad Creek Books
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Mad Creek Books, the literary trade imprint of Ohio State University Press, is given annually for a poetry collection. Kathy Fagan will...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Cai Emmons will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreCave Canem Foundation
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $12
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize valued at approximately $2,500 is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a Black poet. The winner will receive $500, publication by Jai-Alai Books, and a weeklong...
read moreHidden River Arts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a novella. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 17,500 to 40,000 words...
read moreJohn Pollard Foundation
Cash Prize: $11,400
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €10,000 (approximately $11,400) will be given annually for a debut poetry collection published during the current year. Publishers may submit four copies of a debut...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for an essay by a writer who has not published a full-length book in any genre with a nationally...
read moreUniversity of Arkansas Press
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Arkansas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Billy Collins will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. John Englehardt, Lee Martin, and Elle Nash will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreWinning Writers
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $12
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a poem in any style and a poem that either rhymes or is written in a traditional...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review will be given annually for an essay. The winner and finalists will also be published in the 2020 Lascaux Prize...
read moreHackney Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Submit a manuscript of any length with a $30 entry fee by September 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines...