A prize of $6,000 and publication by Southern Indiana Review Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Carl Phillips will judge. Submit 40 to 120 pages of poetry (no...
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.
Southern Indiana Review
Cash Prize: $6,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/2/26
Genre: Poetry
Poetry Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/2/26
Genre: Poetry
An award of $10,000 and publication by Graywolf Press will be given triennially for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet who is 40 years old or older. Poets who have published no...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A fellowship of $25,000 is given biennially to support the translation into English of a work of modern Italian poetry. The winning translator will also receive a five-week...
read moreSarabande Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $34
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for a poetry collection, a work of fiction, and an essay collection. For the Kathryn A. Morton...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the United States during the previous year....
read morePlentitudes
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Plentitudes is given annually for a single poem, a short story, an essay, and a work of flash fiction or nonfiction....
read morePoetry Northwest
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Poetry Northwest are given annually for a single poem by an Indigenous poet. The winners also receive an all-expenses-paid...
read moreFinishing Line Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Leah Huete de Maines will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 34 pages, a...
read moreFurious Flower Poetry Center
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems in conversation with the...
read moreGay & Lesbian Review
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Up to three grants of up to $5,000 each and publication in the Gay & Lesbian Review will be given annually for a project “with LGBTQ+ identity,...
read moreWest Chester University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/20/26
Genre: Poetry
Five prizes of $1,000 to $1,500 each are given annually for a single poem “composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme, and received forms” (Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award...
read moreCaine Prize for African Writing
Cash Prize: $13,323
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/27/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of £10,000 (approximately $13,323) is given annually for a previously published short story by a writer of African descent. Shortlisted writers will...
read moreAssociation of Writers & Writing Programs
Cash Prize: $5,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection, a short story collection, and a novel. A prize of $2,500 and...
read morePinch
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Fiction
An award of $2,000, publication in Pinch, and two contributor copies will be given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book self-published by an African American writer during the previous year. The awards honor...
read moreTupelo Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Richie Hoffman will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 36 pages...
read moreAutumn House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a book of fiction. The winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Amber Sparks will...
read moreFish Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,155
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,155) and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner is also invited to...
read moreHayden’s Ferry Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review are given for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. Sarah Ghazal Ali will judge in...
read moreLittle Tokyo Historical Society
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Fiction
Two prizes of $500 each and publication in Rafu Shimpo and on the Discover Nikkei and Little Tokyo Historical Society websites are given annually for short stories...
read moreWesleyan University Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/26
Genre: Poetry
An award of $1,000 and publication by Wesleyan University Press will be given biennially for a poetry collection by a writer 40 years or older. The award will be given for a...
read moreBiographers International Organization
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/1/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a debut biographer. The winner also receives a review of their manuscript proposal by an agent, publicity through...
read moreMississippi Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be...
read morePoets & Writers, Inc.
Cash Prize: $750
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/26
Two prizes of $750 each are given annually to a poet and a fiction writer residing in the United States. Both winners also receive a monthlong residency at Jentel Artist...
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