A prize of $1,000 is given for an unpublished or published book of fiction or creative nonfiction that focuses on the environment, animal protection, ecology, or wildlife. The...
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.
Ashland Creek Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Before Columbus Foundation
Cash Prize:
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the previous year to recognize “outstanding liter-ary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $49,024
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $65,000 CAD (approximately $49,024) each are given annually for poetry collections published during the previous year by a Canadian poet or translator and by an...
read moreRiver Styx
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 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 moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. The winner and finalists will also be published in the 2020 Lascaux Prize...
read moreLivingston Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Livingston Press, and 100 author copies is given annually for a first collection of short stories by a U.S. citizen. Submit a manuscript of...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Florida Review is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative. Submit a manuscript of...
read moreTwo Sylvias Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Two Sylvias Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a woman over the age of 50. Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
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. Submit a story of...
read moreNeukom Institute for Computational Science
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/19
Genre: Fiction
Two prizes of $5,000 each will be given annually for a debut book of speculative fiction and a book of speculative fiction published during the previous year. Winners must be...
read moreNowhere Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Nowhere Magazine is given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “possesses a powerful sense of place.” Porter...
read moreBayou Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/1/20
Two prizes of $1,000 each and a subscription to Bayou Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...
read moreMississippi Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 1/1/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of Southern...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/2/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and possible publication in the Carolina Quarterly is given annually for a short story or an essay that “conveys the rich and varied existence of...
read moreGemini Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $8
Application Deadline: 1/2/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a single poem. The editors will judge. Submit up to three poems of any length with a $8...
read moreSan José State University
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/2/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include a stipend of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative...
read moreFrost Place
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 1/5/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and a six- to eight-week residency at the Frost Place, Robert Frost’s former home in Franconia, New Hampshire, is given annually to a poet who has published...
read morePoets & Writers, Inc.
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/6/20
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet...
read moreColorado Review
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 1/14/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by the Center for Literary Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. Kiki Petrosino will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100...
read moreWOMR/WFMR Community Radio
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/14/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Marge Piercy will judge. Submit up to five poems totaling no more than seven pages with a $15 entry fee by January 14,...
read moreFrench-American Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/14/20
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for translations from French into English of a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published...
read moreNational Endowment for the Arts
Cash Prize: $12,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/15/20
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of $12,500 and $25,000 each are given annually to translators of poetry and prose from any language into English. Applicants must have published, alone or in...
read moreBreakwater Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 1/15/20
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Breakwater Review is given annually for a story. Submit a story of 1,000 to 5,000 words with a $10 entry fee by January 15, 2020....
read morePublic Poetry
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/20
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication in an anthology, and an invitation to give a reading in Houston is given annually for a single poem on a theme. This year’s theme is “Wicked Wit...
read moreBkMk Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/15/20
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by BkMk Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 110 pages of...
read more