A grand prize of $5,000 and six additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published books of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s...
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.
Winning Writers
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $65
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Writer’s Center
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a first novel published in the previous calendar year. Publishers or authors may submit three copies of a novel published in 2019 by...
read moreFeminist Press/TAYO Literary Magazine
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by the Feminist Press is given annually for a debut book of fiction or narrative nonfiction by a woman of color or a nonbinary writer of color...
read moreFinishing Line Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a woman who has not yet published a full-length collection. Leah Maines...
read moreBauhan Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Nils Michals will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80...
read moreConduit Books & Ephemera
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 30 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Bob Hicok will judge. Using only the...
read moreAutumn House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three stories...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $48,750
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of CAD $65,000 (approximately $48,750) each are given annually for poetry collections by a Canadian poet or translator and by an international poet or translator...
read moreBarrow Street Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Dorianne Laux will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25...
read moreHidden River Arts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $17
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Hidden River Review of Arts & Letters is given annually for a short story or a novel excerpt. Using only the online submission...
read moreUniversity of North Texas Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreBellevue Literary Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer for works...
read moreFuturepoem
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 7/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. The editors will...
read moreNuclear Age Peace Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit...
read morePrairie Heritage, Inc.
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction published in the previous year that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-...
read moreClaremont Graduate University
Cash Prize: $100,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/20
Genre: Poetry
The $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award is given annually to honor a book of poetry by a midcareer U.S. poet. The winner spends one week in residence at Claremont Graduate...
read moreLiterary Arts
Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/8/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of $3,500 each are given annually to Oregon writers to initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. One Women...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/14/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay. Francisco Aragón will...
read moreCincinnati Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/15/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in...
read moreNowhere Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/15/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Nowhere Magazine is given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “possesses a powerful sense of place.”...
read moreRattle
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $15,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a single poem. A Reader’s Choice Award of $5,000 is also given to one of ten finalists. Submit up to...
read moreRegal House Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing will be given annually for a novel. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 350 pages with a $25 entry...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/1/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A grant of $10,000 will be given annually for a nonfiction work-in-progress that “uses oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement.” Using only the...
read more