Planning to submit your work this weekend? The writing contests listed below all share a deadline of December 15, and offer opportunities for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers looking to submit a single work or a full-length book.
Center for Book Arts Letterpress Poetry Chapbook Competition: A prize of $500 and letterpress publication by the Center for Book Arts is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive an additional $500 to give a reading with the contest judge at the Center for Book Arts in New York City in Fall 2019, and a weeklong residency at the Winter Shakers Program at the Millay Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, New York. Edwin Torres will judge. Entry fee: $30.
LitMag’s Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction: A prize of $3,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. A second-place prize of $1,000 will also be given. The winners will have their work reviewed by Sobel Weber Associates literary agency. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $20.
Public Poetry’s Poetry Contest: A prize of $1,000, publication in an e-book anthology, and an invitation to give a reading in Houston, Texas, is given annually for a poem on a theme. This year’s theme is “Enough.” Entry fee: $15; $20 for three poems.
Santa Fe Writers Project James Alan McPherson Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by 2040 Books, an imprint of the Santa Fe Writers Project, is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by a writer of color. Gish Jen will judge. Entry fee: $25.
Willow Books Literature Awards: Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Willow Books are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by writers of color. Entry fee: $25 for poetry; $30 for fiction or nonfiction.
Visit the contest websites for complete submission details, including eligibility guidelines and poem length requirements. For a look at more writing contests with upcoming deadlines, visit our Grants & Awards database and submission calendar.