A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book...
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.
University of Pittsburgh Press
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
Genre: Fiction
Winning Writers
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $60
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A grand prize of $3,000 and six additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published books of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, graphic...
read moreCider Press Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $26
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
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. Matty Layne Glasgow...
read moreNew American Press
Cash Prize: $1,200
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,200 and publication by New American Press is given annually for a book of fiction. Judith Claire Mitchell will judge. Using the online submission system, submit a...
read moreParlor Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Parlor Press in the Free Verse Editions series is given annually for a poetry collection. Peter Gizzi will judge. Using the online...
read moreAutumn House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
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 moreConduit Books & Ephemera
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using the online...
read moreClaremont Graduate University
Cash Prize: $100,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/19
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 morePrairie Heritage, Inc.
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/19
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 America’s mid-...
read moreNowhere Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/1/19
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.” Porter...
read moreBlue Mountain Center
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/19
Genre: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 and a monthlong residency at the Blue Mountain Center, an artists colony in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, is given annually to an essayist or journalist whose...
read moreNuclear Age Peace Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/1/19
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 moreBellevue Literary Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/1/19
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 moreStone Canoe
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/8/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $500 each and publication in Stone Canoe are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by writers who are current or past...
read moreLiterary Arts
Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/8/19
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 moreCrab Orchard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/8/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Southern Illinois University Press, and a $1,500 honorarium to give a reading at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is given annually...
read moreNarrative
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/14/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The poetry editors will judge. Using the online submission system,...
read moreRattle
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $10,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a poem. A Reader’s Choice Award of $2,000 is also given to one of ten finalists. Submit up to four...
read moreThe Story Prize
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a short story collection written in English and published in the United States in the previous year. Two runners-up receive $5,000 each...
read moreLiteral Latté
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Literal Latté is given annually for a poem or group of poems. Submit up to ten poems totaling no more than 2,000 words each with a...
read moreCincinnati Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem and a piece of fiction or creative nonfiction. Rebecca Lindenberg will...
read moreComstock Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. David Kirby will judge. Using the online submission system, submit up to five...
read moreThe Word Works
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by the Word Works is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published at least two full-length books of poetry. Nancy White...
read moreSanta Fe Writers Project
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 7/15/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Santa Fe Writers Project is given biennially for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction. Carmen Maria Machado will judge. Submit a...
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