Writing 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.

Oversound

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Andrew Zawacki will judge. Using only the online submission...

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Ashland Poetry Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Ashland Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Mark Doty will judge. Using only the online submission...

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University of Pittsburgh Press

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Beloit Poetry Journal

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems...

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Winning Writers

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 4/30/23

Two prizes of $3,000 each, two gift certificates for two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually...

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Poetry International

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Poetry International is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of any...

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University of Iowa Press

Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

Publication by University of Iowa Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 150 pages with a $20...

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Tupelo Press

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $3,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 88 pages with a $30...

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Backwaters Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $32
Application Deadline: 5/1/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by University...

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Atlanta Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/1/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Atlanta Review is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length...

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Noemi Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry...

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Georgia Review

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/1/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to give a public reading...

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High Desert Museum

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/23

A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative, with the desert as...

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Wick Poetry Center

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 5/1/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winner is also invited to teach a weeklong writing...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/23

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a living poet to be published in the coming calendar year. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid...

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Regal House Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing will be given annually for a novella. The editors will judge. Submit a novella of 17,000 to 40,000 words with a $25...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 5/15/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $25,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a living poet published in the United States during the previous year. The winner also receives a 10-day...

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Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 5/15/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel set in the American South. The author may live anywhere, but eligible novels must be set primarily in Alabama, Arkansas,...

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Ploughshares

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 5/15/23

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a...

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