Writing 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.

McGill University

Cash Prize: $14,807
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $20,000 Canadian (approximately $14,807) and publication in the Montreal Poetry Prize anthology is given biennially for a poem. A.E. Stallings will judge, and...

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Moon City Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Moon City Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Breakwater Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Breakwater Review...

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Atlanta Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Atlanta Review is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length...

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Backwaters Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $32
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Backwaters Press, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press, is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable...

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Winning Writers

Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 5/1/24

Two prizes of $3,500 each, two gift certificates for two-year memberships to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually...

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Writer’s Digest

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/6/24

A prize of $5,000, an interview in Writer’s Digest, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is given annually for a single poem, a short...

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National Book Foundation

Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $135
Application Deadline: 5/15/24

Four prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature written by U.S. writers and published in the United...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $25,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a living poet published in the United States during the previous year. The winner also...

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Leeway Foundation

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/24

Awards of $15,000 each are given annually to women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who...

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DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/24

A prize of $1,000, publication by New Michigan Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. Ander...

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Ploughshares

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 5/15/24

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a living poet to be published in the next calendar year. The winner also receives an all-...

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Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel set in the American South. The author may live anywhere, but eligible novels must be set primarily in Alabama, Arkansas,...

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Regal House Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novella. The editors will judge. English translations of works originally written in another...

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Trio House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/24

A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies will be given annually for a book of nonfiction by a writer living in the United States. The editors...

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Pittsburg State University

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Pittsburg State University, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Traci Brimhall will judge. Submit a manuscript of 15...

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Lost Horse Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Lost Horse Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Using only the online submission system,...

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American Poetry Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem by a poet under the age of 40. The editors will judge. Submit up to three...

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New Letters

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 5/20/24

Three prizes of $2,500 each and publication in New Letters are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up...

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Gaudy Boy

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 5/20/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Gaudy Boy, an imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, is given annually for a poetry collection by a...

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Great Lakes Colleges Association

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/25/24

Three prizes are given annually for first books by a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The winners each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to several of...

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Livingston Press

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/25/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $500, publication by Livingston Press, and 20 author copies will be given annually for a novel-in-verse. Eleanor Boudreau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 90 to...

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BOA Editions

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a story collection. Peter Conners will judge. Submit a manuscript of 90 to 200 pages with a $30 entry...

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Michigan Quarterly Review

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/31/24

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Michigan Quarterly Review will be given annually for an essay or a work of nonfiction in hybrid form. Elizabeth Goodenough will...

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