Fiction and nonfiction writers: consider taking a chance and submitting your story, essay, or prose manuscript to a writing contest. Below is a list of contests with deadlines in the second half of September. Each contest offers a first-place prize of at least $1,000.

Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award [4]: A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $20

Hackney Literary Awards Novel Contest [5]: A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $30

Literal Latté Essay Award [6]: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Literal Latté is given annually for a personal essay. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $10

Manchester Metropolitan University Fiction Prize [7]: A prize of £10,000 is given annually for a short story. The winner will be invited to attend an award ceremony in Manchester, England, in November. Bonnie Greer, Angela Readman, and Nicholas Royle will judge. Deadline: September 29. Entry fee: $23

Travelers’ Tales Solas Awards [8]: A prize of $1,000 and publication in the annual anthology The Best Travel Writing and on the Travelers Tales’ website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers from Arizona and Vermont are eligible for publication, but not the cash prize. Deadline: September 21. Entry Fee: $25

University of Iowa Press Iowa Short Fiction Award [9]: Two awards of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for first collections of short fiction. Writers who have not published a book of fiction are eligible. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: 0

University of Massachusetts Press Juniper Prizes [10]: Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a short story collection and a novel. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $30

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines and submission details. Check out our Grants & Awards database [11] and Submission Calendar [12] for more upcoming contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.