writing contests

Nine frequent contest judges—who also happen to be some of the most productive writers and editors working today—offer advice and insight about what they look for in entries, how they winnow the piles, and what it takes to win.

A breakdown of the numbers behind our Grants & Awards section, including the total amount of prize money given each year, the cost of entry, and how writing contests have changed over the past ten years.

What first struck John D’Agata as a flaw in Noam Dorr’s essay, “Love Drones,” turns out to be a strength that sets it apart, a big factor in D’Agata’s decision to select the piece as winner of the 2014 Gulf Coast Nonfiction prize.

The current judge for America’s oldest and most prestigious first-book prize for poets discusses his encounter with the poems from Blue Yodel, Ansel Elkins’s 2014 prize-winning collection, which will be published next year by Yale University Press. 

Six winners of recent writing contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction share the ways that winning has changed their lives and work, and how previous losses have paved the way to success.