Poets & Writers Blogs

April Fool’s Day may be just around the corner, but your writing deserves to be taken seriously. Consider submitting your poems, essays, and short stories to these prizes and fellowships, all with April 14 and 15 deadlines (and one with no entry fee). Don’t forget to carefully read the contest guidelines before entering, and good luck!

Desperate Literature
Short Fiction Prize
A prize of €1,500 (approximately $1,628), publication in the Desperate Literature prize anthology, and a weeklong residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation’s castle in the Umbria region of Italy is given annually for a work of short fiction. Winners also receive a consultation with literary agent Charlotte Seymour (Johnson & Alcock Literary Agency), an editorial meeting with the Literary Consultancy, and the opportunity to give readings at Desperate Literature in Madrid and Burley Fisher Books in London. Megan McDowell, Ottessa Moshfegh, Samanta Schweblin, and Alejandro Zambra will judge. Entry fee: €20 (approximately $22).

Florida Review
Editor’s Prizes
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Florida Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $25 (which includes a subscription to Florida Review). 

New Ohio Review
Literary Prizes
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $22 (which includes a subscription to New Ohio Review). 

Poetry Foundation
Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships
Five fellowships of $27,000 each are given annually to U.S. poets between the ages of 21 and 31. Entry fee: None.

University of Arkansas Press
Etel Adnan Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arkansas Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a writer of Arab heritage. Series editors Hayan Charara and Fady Joudah will judge. Entry fee: $25.

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.

Seeking the recognition you deserve—as well as a little extra cash—for an unpublished poem, story, or essay? Hoping to circumvent the tedious process of finding a publisher for a book-length manuscript? Consider submitting to one of the following six contests that offer generous cash prizes on top of publication by a highly reputed journal, press, or competition website, all with a deadline of April 1. Remember to carefully read the guidelines before you enter—and good luck!

Gemini Magazine
Short Story Contest 
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short story. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $8. 

Nimrod International
Journal Nimrod Literary Awards 
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each category receives $1,000 and publication. The winners and runners-up will also participate in a virtual awards ceremony and conference in the fall. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $20 (which includes a subscription to Nimrod International Journal). 

North American Review
Terry Tempest Williams Creative Nonfiction Prize 
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for an essay. Lyric essays, memoir-style essays, and literary journalism are eligible. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $23 (which includes an issue of North American Review). 

Orison Books
Prizes in Poetry and Fiction 
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by Orison Books are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction. Ellen Bass will judge in poetry and Kaveh Akbar will judge in fiction. Entry fee: $25. 

Saturnalia Books
Poetry Prize 
A prize of $1,500, publication by Saturnalia Books, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Carmen Giménez will judge. All entries are also considered for the Alma Book Awards, which offer two prizes of $1,000 each and publication. Entry fee: $30 entry. 

Winning Writers
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest 
A prize of $2,000, a gift certificate for a two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website is given annually for a humorous poem. A second-place prize of $500 is also awarded. Jendi Reiter will judge. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. 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.

What more fitting time than the arrival of spring to imagine growing an audience for your writing? Fortunately there are a number of writing contests with a March 15 deadline to consider. Prizes include $15,000 for a debut novel published during the current year (six finalists receive $1,000 each); $10,000 for a novel-in-progress by a debut author (a first and second runner-up receive $3,000 and $2,000, respectively); and five prizes of $10,000, plus publication by one of five participating trade, university, or small press publishers, for poetry collections by U.S. poets. Nine other awards offer publication and prizes ranging from $500 to $3,000 for work in various genres. Best of luck!

Bellingham Review
Literary Awards 
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellingham Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The 49th Parallel Award for Poetry is given for a poem or group of poems. The Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction is given for a short story or a work of flash fiction. The Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction is given for an essay or a work of flash nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. English translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. Entry fee: $15. 

Broadside Lotus Press
Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award 
A prize of $500 and publication by Broadside Lotus Press is given annually for a poetry collection by an African American poet. Entry fee: None. 

The Center for Fiction
First Novel Prize
A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a debut novel by an American citizen published in the United States during the current year. Six finalists receive $1,000 each. Self-published works, books published exclusively in e-book editions, and novels previously published in other countries are not eligible. Small independent publishers may apply for a fee reduction. Entry fee: $100. 

Fourth Genre
Steinberg Memorial Essay Prize 
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Fourth Genre is given annually for an essay. Sarah Viren will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $20. 

Indiana Review
Poetry and Creative Nonfiction Prizes 
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Indiana Review are given annually for a single poem and an essay. Entry fee: $20 (includes a subscription to Indiana Review).

James Jones Literary Society
First Novel Fellowship 
A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. The first runner-up receives $3,000 and the second runner-up receives $2,000. Entry fee: $33. 

National Poetry Series
Open Competition 
Five prizes of $10,000 each and publication by participating trade, university, or small press publishers are given annually for poetry collections by U.S. poets. Entry fee: $35.

Prairie Schooner
Raz-Shumaker Book Prizes 
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by University of Nebraska Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. Kwame Dawes will judge. Entry fee: $25. 

Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
Poetry Prize 
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Sun Yung Shin will judge. Entry fee: $10. 

Trio House Press
Louise Bogan Award 
A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet living in the United States. Oliver de la Paz will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Trio House Press
Trio Award for First or Second Book 
A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a poet living in the United States. Jessica Q. Stark will judge. Entry fee: $25. 

Verse
Tomaž Šalamun Prize 
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Factory Hollow Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner also receives a monthlong residency in a private apartment at the Tomaž Šalamun Centre for Poetry in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in summer 2025. Prose poetry, hybrid works, and translations of works of poetry by living writers from any language into English (with the relevant permission) are also eligible. Shane McCrae will judge. Entry fee: $17 ($13 for students).

The Word Works
Washington Prize 
A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Word Works is given annually to a U.S. or Canadian poet for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $25.

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.

Thanks to the extra fraction of a calendar day it takes Earth to orbit the sun each year, you have this leap year’s compensation day to apply to awards with deadlines on February 28 and February 29! Use that temps perdu to submit to contests offering prizes including $22,000 and publication for a nonfiction manuscript-in-progress that “emphasizes innovation in form and content”; $3,000, publication, and 20 author copies for a first or second poetry collection; and two prizes of $2,000 for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book that depict “cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.” Best of luck!

Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Award Series 
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 publication by a participating press is also given annually for an essay collection or a memoir. Deadline: February 28. Entry fee: $30 ($20 for AWP members). 

Austin Community College
Balcones Prizes 
Two prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction published during the previous year. English translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. Deadline: February 28. Entry fee: $25 for poetry and $30 for fiction. 

Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Self-Publishing Literary Awards 
Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book self-published during the previous year by an African American writer. The awards honor books that depict “cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.” Deadline: February 28. Entry fee: None.

Graywolf Press
Nonfiction Prize 
A prize of $22,000 (comprised of a $20,000 advance and a $2,000 research stipend) and publication by Graywolf Press will be given biennially for a nonfiction manuscript-in-progress that “emphasizes innovation in form and content” by a writer who is not yet established in the genre of nonfiction. The editors will judge. Deadline: February 28. Entry fee: None. 

Little Tokyo Historical Society
Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest 
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 that take place in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles and “capture the cultural spirit” of the neighborhood. One prize is given for a story written in English; the other is given for a story written in Japanese. Deadline: February 29. Entry fee: None.

Omnidawn Publishing
First/Second Poetry Book Contest 
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Desirée Alvarez will judge. Deadline: February 29. Entry fee: $35. 

Red Hen Press
Women’s Prose Prize 
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction by a writer who identifies as a woman. Laila Halaby will judge. Deadline: February 28. Entry fee: $25.

Tupelo Press
Snowbound Chapbook Award 
A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: February 28. Entry fee: $25. 

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.

While you’re hibernating through subzero temperatures, why not try your luck with over a dozen contests offering publication, money, travel, and even mentorship? Prizes include $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua for a work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer who displays “daring formal and aesthetic innovations,” fellowships of up to $2,000 to support feminist fiction writers, and $1,500 along with a virtual five-month mentorship program for emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers “from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world.” Stay warm, folks, and send out your work!

Arts + Literature Laboratory
Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award 
A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who previously resided in Wisconsin for at least five years). The winner will also receive a five-day stay at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Gabrielle Bates will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Arts + Literature Laboratory
Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award 
A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a book of fiction published in the previous year by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who previously resided in Wisconsin for at least five years). The winner will also receive a five-day stay at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Alison Stine will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Arts + Literature Laboratory
Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award
A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published in the previous year by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who previously resided in Wisconsin for at least five years). The winner will also receive a five-day stay at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Sonya Huber will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Black Lawrence Press
Big Moose Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novel. The contest is open to traditional novels as well as “novels-in-stories, novels-in-poems, and other hybrid forms that contain within them the spirit of a novel.” The editors will judge. Entry fee: $28.

Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Janus Prize 
A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and aesthetic innovations that upset and reorder readers’ imaginations.” The winner also receives a $2,000 travel and lodging stipend to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in summer 2024. Writers who have not published a book of over 15,000 words in any prose genre are eligible. Submissions may consist of unpublished work or work published no earlier than April 2023. Jimin Han will judge. Entry fee: $20.

Ghost Story
Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition 
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website and in the 21st Century Ghost Stories anthology is given biannually for a work of flash fiction with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Inlandia Institute
Eliud Martínez Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Inlandia Books is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by a writer who identifies as Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or Chicana/o/e/x. Manuscripts must be written primarily in English. Fee waivers are available upon request. Entry fee: $15.

Iowa Review
Iowa Review Awards
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $20.

Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Individual Artist Grants for Women 
Grants of up to $2,000 each are given in alternating years to feminist poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. This year grants will be awarded to fiction writers. English translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. A limited number of fee waivers are available upon request. Entry fee: $25.

New Millennium Writings
New Millennium Writing Awards 
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings in print and online are given biannually for a single poem, a short story, a work of flash fiction, and a work of creative nonfiction. Previously unpublished works or works that have either appeared in a journal with a circulation under 5,000 or have been published only online are eligible. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $20.

PEN America
Emerging Voices Fellowship 
Twelve fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to editors, agents, and publishers; a professional headshot; and a one-year PEN America membership, are given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers “from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world.” Fellows also participate in workshops on editing, marketing, and building a professional platform. Writers who have not yet published a book and who do not hold an advanced degree in creative writing are eligible. Entry fee: $25. 

Poetry Northwest
James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets 
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 trip to read with the judge at Poets House in New York City in the fall. Writers who have published no more than one full-length book and who are community-recognized members of tribal nations within the United States and its territories are eligible. A Native poet of national prominence will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: None.

Regal House Publishing
Terry J. Cox Poetry Award 
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. John Warner Smith will judge. Entry fee: $25. 

Schaffner Press
Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature 
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in some way with the subject of music and its influence.” English translations of works originally written in another language with the author’s permission are accepted. Entry fee: $25.

Stanford Libraries
William Saroyan International Prize for Writing 
Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for books of fiction and nonfiction published in the previous two years. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are “intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation.” Writers who have published up to three books are eligible. Entry fee: $50.

swamp pink
Writing Prizes 
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in swamp pink are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $15.

WOMR/WFMR Community Radio
Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest 
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Marge Piercy will judge. Entry fee: $15.

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.