A prize of $1,500 and publication by Boa Editions is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S.-based poet who is a woman of color, “including poets who identify as cis,...
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.
PEN America
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two grants of $5,000 each are given annually for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction works-in-progress “by immigrant and refugee writers, recognizing that the literature of...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Ten grants of $4,000 each are given annually to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that have not previously appeared in...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $7,299
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/19/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $10,000 Canadian (approximately $7,299) is awarded annually for a debut poetry collection by a living citizen or permanent resident of Canada published during the...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $94,891
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/19/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $130,000 Canadian (approximately $94,891) is given annually for a poetry collection written in or translated into English by a living poet or translator from...
read moreArtist Trust
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/22/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of $2,500 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are residents of Washington State. Students enrolled in a degree-granting program...
read moreUniversity of North Texas Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
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 moreWashington Writers’ Publishing House
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,500 each, publication by Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and 25 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection or...
read moreBarrow Street Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Srikanth Reddy will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreAnthology Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,169
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,169) and publication in Anthology Magazine is given annually for a single poem. Rachael Hegarty will judge. Submit a poem of no...
read moreCider Press Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
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. Using only the online...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and online publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published or unpublished stories are eligible....
read moreTRP
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000, publication by TRP: The University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using...
read moreAutumn House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Felicia Zamora...
read moreNuclear Age Peace Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/1/26
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: 7/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the...
read moreThe Story Prize
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 7/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story or novella collection written in English and published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up receive $5,000...
read moreBrooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,750
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,750, publication in Pree and New York Carib News, as well as on the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) website, and an...
read moreFarrar, Straus and Giroux
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/3/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $15,000 is given annually to an emerging poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer from an underrepresented community who has not published and is not...
read moreConduit Books & Ephemera
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/7/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 15 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Bob Hicok will judge. Submit a manuscript...
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