In Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel, Leave the World Behind, which was recently adapted into a feature film, two families are stuck in a home in rural Long Island during a sudden and unexplainable time of apocalypse. Amid the chaos caused by large-scale blackouts, technology on the fritz, animals running amok, characters suddenly falling ill, and the possibility of terrorist attacks, the most terrifying thing seems to be the unknowability of what and who might be besieging their lives and the world as they know it. Write an essay about your fears of the unknown. What do you find terrifying and, on the flip side, what provides you a sense of reassurance and comfort? Reflect on the delicate balance of how you navigate the world as you know—and don’t know—it.

In a recent New York Times article, technology reporter Kashmir Hill wrote about spending the month of December on a break from her smartphone by switching to a flip phone. The decision stemmed from the realization of her phone addiction, mindlessly spending hours of screen time on it and checking it over a hundred times a day. With time away from her smartphone, Hill noted improved sleep, better communication with her friends and husband, more books read, more time spent outdoors, less stress, and more enjoyment in the moment. Write a short story in which your characters are affected by their phone usage. How do their habits and addictions reveal truths about their personalities and interactions with other characters? How might you incorporate technology like text messaging, social media, photography, and smartphone apps creatively in your prose or formatting?

Every year, Project Censored, an anti-censorship and media literacy advocacy organization, releases their State of the Free Press yearbook, highlighting the past year’s most significant independent journalism. This year’s book, published in December by Seven Stories Press, emphasizes the dangers of corporate media and the shuttering of community newspapers, which leave many communities without a reliable source of local information. Do some digging online or at a local library for a news story in your city from the past year, perhaps something that didn’t make national news. Write a poem inspired by your experience of zeroing in on the value of something small, ordinary, and regionally specific.

What better way to ring in the new year than to send your writing out for a shot at publication and some cash? Poets, fiction writers, and authors of creative nonfiction all have opportunities to apply to contests with a deadline of January 15. Awards include $5,000 for an essay and publication in Australian Book Review, $5,000 to spend creative time in the desert, and $3,000 and publication for a poetry collection by an author who is age 70 or older. Good luck!

Asheville Poetry Review
William Matthews Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Asheville Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina. David Kirby will judge. Entry fee: $20.

Australian Book Review
Calibre Essay Prize
A prize of $5,000 AUD (approximately $3,262) is given annually for an essay. Two second-place prizes of $2,500 AUD (approximately $1,631) each will also be awarded. The winners will be published in Australian Book Review. Entry fee: $16.

Ellen Meloy Fund
Desert Writers Award
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to enable a creative nonfiction writer “whose work reflects the spirit and passions for the desert embodied in Ellen Meloy’s writing” to spend creative time in a desert environment. Entry fee: $15.

New American Press
New American Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,500, publication by New American Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Nikki Wallschlaeger will judge. Writers of any citizenship working anywhere in the world are eligible, though the work should presume English-language readers. Entry fee: $25.

North Carolina Writers’ Network
Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for an essay “that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians.” The winning essay is also considered for publication in Ecotone. Writers who are legal residents of North Carolina or who are members of the North Carolina Writers’ Network are eligible. Belle Boggs will judge. Entry fee: $12.

Passager Books
Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Passager Books is given biennially for a first book of poems by a writer who is age 70 or older. Entry fee: $25.

Poetry Society of Virginia
North American Poetry Book Award
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the current year. The winner is also invited to read at the organization’s annual Spring Poetry Festival, held at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in May 2024. Self-published books and books that have previously received a post-publication award are ineligible. Lisa Russ Spaar will judge. Entry fee: $36.

Red Hen Press
Cai Emmons Fiction Award
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a short story collection, a novella, a novel, or other book-length work of fiction. Aimee Liu will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Wells College Press
Chapbook Contest
A prize of $1,000, publication by Wells College Press, and 10 author copies will be given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive room and board to give a reading at Wells College. English translations of works, including co-authored manuscripts, originally written in another language with the relevant permission are accepted. Entry fee: $25.

Virginia Commonwealth University
Levis Reading Prize
A prize of $5,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to give a reading at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond is given annually for a first or second book of poetry published during the previous year. Entry fee: None.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Two iconic personifications of the passage of time frequently appear at the start of a year: Baby New Year, a diapered baby wearing a top hat and sash displaying the upcoming year, and Father Time, an elderly bearded man often accompanied by a scythe and an hourglass. As we’re all pressed to return to work with renewed energy and begin the year with replenished resolve, take some time to reflect on the endings that coincide with these beginnings and write a personal essay on the theme of conclusions and closure. What routines or activities do you turn to that help bring you closure?

Last month, a long-lost art amusement park called Luna Luna was resurrected in Los Angeles, with rides and attractions created and designed by contemporary artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Joseph Beuys, Salvador Dalí, Sonia Delaunay, Keith Haring, David Hockney, and Roy Lichtenstein. The interactive artworks were commissioned in the 1980s for an amusement park in Hamburg, Germany but were put away in storage, lost and forgotten for decades. This week write a story in which something that was created for another era suddenly resurfaces and provides whimsical joy to a new audience. How might you mark the passing of time and all that occurred during the years when the item was forgotten and left to languish? Is there a heightened sense of tension and anticipation, and long-awaited appreciation, for the creations?

For the past fifty years, the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in New York City has hosted its annual New Year’s Day Marathon, a day of readings and performances that has grown into a twelve-hour-long event with over a hundred artists and writers given a few minutes on stage. In a Washington Post article about last year’s gathering, poet Jameson Fitzpatrick explained that she was there to “bear witness to poetry’s being alive. Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.” Write a short poem that captures the exuberant potential of verse, one that celebrates its own form and would be exciting to read in front of an audience. Consider how diction, sound, rhythm, and subject matter might collide to create a sensation of language teeming with vitality.

The end of a year is often a time when we take stock of all that’s unfolded in the twelve months that have just passed. Popular top ten lists cover a wide range of experiences—such as the best music albums, books read, meals cooked, restaurant outings, films watched, museum visits, and sporting events—and looking back at photos from the year helps recall favorite moments with friends and loved ones. This week jot down a year-end list, selecting a topic whose items bring you particular joy as you recount what’s made it onto your top five or top ten roundup. Use this list to create a lyric essay loosely chronicling the year through one lens, writing a paragraph for each of your chosen items.

In many places around the world, from Coney Island to New Zealand to South Korea, there are groups of people who convene on the first of January to take a “polar bear” swim, plunging into frigidly icy waters to celebrate a new beginning. Participants will often wear fun accessories, such as wintry caps, warm gloves, and boots, or coordinate silly costumes, and some gatherings are annual fundraisers for charity. Write a short scene that involves a group of people gathering to participate in a New Year’s tradition, one that incorporates both acquaintances and strangers. Who among those present is eagerly looking for a fresh start? How do your characters’ personalities vary based on how they participate in this shared experience?

Last month, the Journal of Great Lakes Research reported findings from a study of goldfish—the common East Asian carp often kept as pets—found in the wild, likely released into local lakes and rivers by their former owners. When removed from constricting fish bowls and flake-based diets, the fish grew to nearly a foot-and-a-half long and were able to reproduce quickly, destroying local marine ecosystems. Write a poem about something in your life that has ballooned out of proportion in an unexpected way. This might be a relationship with someone, an aspect of a job or extracurricular activity, or a household object that has transformed into an increasingly epic collection. Has the growth been slow and gradual or haphazardly speedy? At what point do you think enough is enough?