A prize of $1,000, publication by the Word Works, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published at least two full-length books of...
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.
Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/15/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 is given annually to an emerging African American writer for a book of fiction published in the current year. The winner also receives travel and lodging...
read moreDogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/15/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $500, publication by Broadkill River Press, 10 author copies, and two cases of Dogfish Head craft beer are given annually for a poetry collection written by a poet...
read moreGrayson Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/15/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grayson Books is given annually for a poetry collection. Brian Clements will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreRed Wheelbarrow
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 8/15/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Red Wheelbarrow is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 8/17/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Brian Teare will judge. Submit a manuscript of 40 to 120...
read moreKallisto Gaia Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/20/20
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Ocotillo Review are given annually for a poem and a short story. Chip Dameron will judge the Julia Darling Memorial...
read moreTalking Gourds
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 8/30/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives $500 in travel expenses to attend the Talking Gourd Awards in Telluride, Colorado, in October....
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/30/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given twice yearly for a short story by a writer who has not published a novel (writers who have published story...
read moreUniversity of New Orleans Press
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $10,000 and publication by University of New Orleans Press is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Using only the online submission system, submit...
read moreUtica College
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a...
read moreGemini Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $6
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of up to 1,000 words with a $6...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems or short stories. The editors will judge. Using only the online...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a short story collection, a novel, or an essay collection by a queer writer. Using only the online...
read moreGulf Coast
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a work of short prose. Submit a prose poem, a piece of flash fiction, or a micro-essay of up to 500...
read moreGulf Coast
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given in alternating years for a group of poems or a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. The 2020...
read moreEx Ophidia Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Ex Ophidia Press, and 15 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Sharon Cumberland, Gregory C. Richter, and Richard-Gabriel...
read moreGrid Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Marilyn Nelson will judge. Using only the online...
read moreMunster Literature Centre
Cash Prize: $1,090
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,090) and publication by the Munster Literature Center is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive accommodations...
read moreAesthetica
Cash Prize: $1,235
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 8/31/20
Two prizes of £1,000 (approximately $1,235) each and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. The winner in...
read moreRadar Poetry
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Radar Poetry is given annually for a group of poems by a woman. Using only the online submission system, submit three to six poems...
read moreLorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/1/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts is given annually for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally...
read moreAmerican-Scandinavian Foundation
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative...
read moreBlack Warrior Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Paul Tran will judge in poetry, Lucy...
read moreDogwood
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 9/5/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Dogwood are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10...
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