Valentine’s Day is commonly known as a day to express affection for loved ones with greetings and gifts, but its origin remains a bit of a mystery. Some suggest that the holiday dates back to Lupercalia, a Roman festival to ward off evil spirits and infertility that was later banned in the fifth century, while others have said that the true origin of the day is related to a priest named Valentine who was martyred circa 270 CE by emperor Claudius II. According to one legend, the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter. Other accounts tell the story of St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop who secretly married couples to spare husbands from war. What is your personal history with Valentine’s Day? Using these origin stories as inspiration, write an essay that explores your memories of this holiday of love.

Depths of Wikipedia is a popular series of social media accounts dedicated to posting obscure facts published on the free online open-source encyclopedia Wikipedia. Posts include Jimmy the Raven, a raven actor who appeared in hundreds of films including The Wizard of Oz and It’s a Wonderful Life; Mr. Ouch, a hazard symbol developed by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association with children’s safety in mind; and the dinkus, a typographic symbol consisting of a line of asterisks often used as section breaks in a text. This week write a story that incorporates one of these curious Wikipedia facts into your plot.

Give your writing a little love the day after Valentine’s Day, and submit to contests with a February 15 deadline. Prizes include $3,000 for a first or second poetry collection or a work that intersects with poetry, including hybrid text, speculative prose, and translation; $1,500 for a group of poems; and $2,000 for a work of fiction. All awards have a cash prize of $1,000 or more, and four have no entry fee. Good luck, writers!

Academy of American Poets
Ambroggio Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arizona Press is given annually for a poetry collection originally written in Spanish by a living writer and translated into English. Achy Obejas will judge. Entry fee: none. 

Academy of American Poets
Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
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. Anna Deeny Morales will judge. Entry fee: none.

Airlie Press
Airlie Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Airlie Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Arrowsmith Press
Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in English during the previous year by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States. Poets who are living in the United States as green card holders are among those eligible. Poets whose work appears in translation into English are also eligible. Canisia Lubrin will judge. Entry fee: $20.

Center for African American Poetry and Poetics/Autumn House Press
Book Prize
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection or a work that intersects with poetry, including hybrid text, speculative prose, and translation, by a writer of African descent. Nicole Sealey will judge. Entry fee: none.

Furious Flower Poetry Center
Furious Flower Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems. The winner also receives a $500 honorarium to give a reading at James Madison University (either virtually or in person, as public health guidelines allow). Poets who have published no more than one collection of poetry are eligible. Evie Shockley will judge. 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. Jamaica Baldwin will judge. Writers of any citizenship working anywhere in the world are eligible, though the work should presume English-language readers. Entry fee: $25.

Sarabande Books
Morton and McCarthy Prizes
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for collections of poetry and fiction. Entry fee: $29.

Syracuse University Press
Veterans Writing Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Syracuse University Press is given biennially in alternating years for either a debut fiction or a debut nonfiction manuscript written by a U.S. veteran, active-duty personnel in any branch of the U.S. military, or the immediate family member of a veteran or active-duty personnel. The 2023 award will be given in nonfiction. Anuradha Bhagwati will judge. 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.

Every year on February 2, thousands of spectators visit Punxsutawney, a small town in Pennsylvania, to watch whether a groundhog sees his shadow or not. The first Groundhog Day celebration at Gobbler’s Knob was held in 1887 and the tradition predicts how long the winter season will last. Similar superstitious traditions connected with animals include the ancient Greek art of ornithomancy, the practice of reading omens from the actions of birds, and the Woollybear Festival in Ohio, in which fuzzy woolly bear caterpillars predict the winter forecast. Do you participate in any superstitious traditions? Write an essay that reflects on your relationship to any rituals or superstitions you believe in.

“On stage, bodies in motion paired with words deliver both language and emotion. I have that same hope for the novel I’m struggling to write,” writes Kathryn Ma in a recent installment of our Writers Recommend series about the impact watching live theater has on her writing. “Dialogue travels, reaching me in the dark. I’m not taking down notes, but my ear is. If I’m open and lucky, the magic might follow me home.” This week write a story in which your character is moved by watching a live theatrical performance. What is the play about? How does the performance taking place on stage mirror the struggles your character is enduring?

In Rachel Mannheimer’s debut book, Earth Room (Changes Press, 2022), the book-length narrative takes the reader to places such as Los Angeles, Berlin, the Hudson Valley, and Mars. Some of the settings are used in a straightforward and narrative way, but others act as a sort of emotional backdrop against which intimate relationships and observations on sculpture, performance art, and land art can be examined. Inspired by Mannheimer’s original use of place, write a poem titled after a city. Try to challenge yourself by exploring the emotional and psychological undertones you associate with that place.

Do you have a manuscript that needs some cash to reach the finish line? Apply for the de Groot Foundation’s Courage to Write Grants, which offer $7,000 to each of seven emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with works-in-progress and “for whom a monetary boost could help further or complete the project.” Awardees will meet virtually to discuss their projects and share ideas. 

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Using only the online submission system, submit a brief bio of up to 120 words, a completed application form, and five pages of a current, unpublished poetry or prose manuscript with a $22 entry fee by February 12. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Previous winners of the Courage to Write Grants include Zahir Janmohamed for his memoir, The Permitted Hours; Campbell Walmsley for her novel, Burn Rate; and Jefferey Spivey for his story collection, The Birthright of Sons.

In addition to the Courage to Write Grants, the de Groot Foundation will offer the Lando Grants, which award $7,000 to each of three writers exploring immigrant/refugee issues in any genre; applications are also due on February 12. Up to ten Writer of Note Grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to writers selected from the pool of finalists for the Lando and Courage to Write grants. 

Founded in 2010, the de Groot Foundation is a private family foundation that aims “to support high impact, sustainable innovation, education and cultural projects” worldwide. Funding from the organization has helped finance the first women’s hospital in Cambodia; a library in Nianiar, Senegal; and individual artistic projects. The foundation has recently amplified its attention to the literary arts: “Because of our love of literature and the power of story, we’re passionate about focusing the de Groot Foundation’s initiatives on discovering new voices and encouraging emerging writers,” says the foundation’s website.

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2023 is the year of the rabbit, which symbolizes longevity, peace, and prosperity. The zodiac is a repeating cycle of twelve years, and each year is represented by a different animal with symbolic traits. Next year will be the year of the dragon, which represents strength and independence; followed by the year of the snake, which represents curiosity and wisdom. Write an essay that reflects on the animal associated with your birth year and how it relates to your personality. Can you find any similarities? As an added challenge, consider the animals associated with your family members and whether these signs hold true to their qualities.

Noah Baumbach’s film adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise, Sam Esmail’s forthcoming film adaptation of Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind, HBO’s miniseries adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven—novels with apocalyptic themes are appearing on screen more and more. Whether through satire or stark realism, this suspenseful setting allows writers to explore profound themes of survival, friendship, trust, hope, and resiliency. Inspired by apocalypse novels, write a short story that imagines the end of a modern civilization. Will you lean more toward satire, realism, or another form of expression entirely?