Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Madison Review are given annually for a group of poems and a short story. The editors will judge. Submit three poems...
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.
Madison Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
American-Scandinavian Foundation
Cash Prize: $23,000
Entry Fee: $60
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of up to $23,000 and grants of up to $5,000 are given annually to poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators for study and research in...
read moreBrick Road Poetry Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Brick Road Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Keith Badowski and Ron Self will judge. Using the...
read moreCoal Hill Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Coal Hill Review in print and online is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Heather McNaugher will judge. Submit a manuscript of...
read moreBriar Cliff Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Briar Cliff Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge. Submit three...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, short story collection, novella, or...
read moreAlice James Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Alice James Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet residing in the United States. The winner will also receive a $1,000...
read moreMalahat Review
Cash Prize: $1,600
Entry Fee: $40
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,600) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay....
read moreWashington College
Cash Prize: $45,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/17
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A nine-month fellowship, which includes a stipend of $45,000, at the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland...
read moreWashington Writers Publishing House
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by Washington Writers Publishing House, and 50 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection or...
read moreMeasure Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $3
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry is given annually for a sonnet. Dana Gioia will judge. Submit a sonnet with a $3 entry fee by...
read moreThe Story Prize
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a short story collection written in English and first published in the United States in the previous year. Two runners-up will receive...
read morePerugia Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Perugia Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a woman. Submit a manuscript of 45 to 85 pages with a $27 entry...
read moreNightboat Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Nightboat Books is given annually for a poetry collection. Kazim Ali and Stephen Motika will judge. Using the online submission system,...
read moreWriter's Digest
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000, publication in Writer's Digest, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City is given annually for a short short...
read moreTennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Louisiana Cultural Vistas Magazine is given annually for a group of poems. The winner also receives an all-access pass to the...
read morePEN Center USA
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $40
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation published in the previous year by authors residing west of the...
read moreMid-American Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mid-American Review are given annually for a poem and a short story. Submit up to three poems for the James Wright Poetry...
read moreRuminate
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Ruminate is given annually for a work of creative nonfiction. Using the online submission system, submit an essay or short memoir...
read moreYale University Press
Cash Prize:
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
An award of publication by Yale University Press is given annually for a poetry collection by an early-career poet who has not published a full-length book of poetry. Carl...
read morePushcart Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that...
read morePleiades Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Pleiades Press with distribution by Louisiana State University Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Marcus...
read moreNational Federation of State Poetry Societies
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS), and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript...
read morePleiades Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Pleiades Press with distribution by Louisiana State University Press is given annually for a collection of short stories, flash fiction,...
read morePhiladelphia Stories
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/15/17
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Philadelphia Stories is given annually for a poem. The winner will also be invited to an awards event in Philadelphia. Dilruba...
read more