A prize of $3,000 and publication by the Waywiser Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published no more than one previous collection. The winner...
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.
Langum Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of historical fiction published during the previous year. Publishers or authors may submit two copies of a book (or galleys)...
read moreOhio University Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Ohio University Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 60 to 95 pages with a $30 entry fee by December 1....
read moreSlipstream Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Slipstream Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of up to 40 pages...
read moreAfrican Poetry Book Fund
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a poet who was born in Africa, is an African national or...
read moreMeadowlark Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Meadowlark Books, and 50 author copies will be given annually for a poetry book. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...
read moreDecember
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in december is given annually for a single poem. Carl Phillips will judge. Submit up to three poems of any length with a $20 entry...
read moreFive Points
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/1/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Five Points is given annually for a group of poems. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...
read moreBrooklyn Film & Arts Festival
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/10/20
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $500 and publication on the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival website is given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and renders the...
read moreFriends of American Writers
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/10/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of up to $4,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction published during the previous year by a writer who is a resident of the Midwest (or who...
read moreWriter’s Digest
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/14/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and travel and lodging expenses for a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City is given annually for a short short story. A second-place prize...
read moreBauhan Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/15/20
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for an essay collection. Steven Harvey will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50,000 to...
read moreCenter for Book Arts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/15/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $500 and letterpress publication by the Center for Book Arts is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive an additional $500 to give a...
read moreVirginia Commonwealth University
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/30/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of at least $3,000 is given annually for a first novel published during the previous year. The winner and two additional guest panelists (usually the winner’s agent and...
read moreCodhill Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/30/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Codhill Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. James Sherwood will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 70...
read moreLitMag
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. The winner will have their work reviewed by agents from Bankoff Collaborative, the...
read moreMoth
Cash Prize: $7,136
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €6,000 (approximately $7,136) and publication in the Moth is given annually for a single poem. Three runner-up prizes of €1,000 (approximately $1,189) each...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. The editors will...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words...
read moreBefore Columbus Foundation
Cash Prize:
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the previous year to recognize “outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...
read morePress 53
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 50 author copies is given annually for a story collection. Kevin Morgan Watson will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 250...
read morePoetry Society of America
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,500 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website is given annually to a poet over 40 who has published no more than one book. Heid E. Erdrich will...
read moreRiver Styx
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in River Styx is given annually for a short short story. Submit up to three stories of no more than 500 words each with a $15 entry...
read more