Genre: Creative Nonfiction

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. For the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages. For the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction, submit a manuscript of 150 to 300 pages. For the James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel, submit a manuscript of 60,000 to 110,000 words. For the Sue William Silverman Prize for Creative Nonfiction, submit a manuscript of 150 to 300 pages. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript with a $30 entry fee ($20 for AWP members) by February 28. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

A prize of $5,000 AUD (approximately $3,236) is given annually for an essay. A second-place prize of $3,000 AUD (approximately $1,942) and a third-place prize of $2,000 AUD (approximately $1,294) are also awarded. The winners are published in Australian Book Review. Using only the online submission system, submit an essay of 2,000 to 5,000 words with an entry fee of $30 AUD (approximately $19), or $20 AUD (approximately $13) for ABR subscribers, by January 28. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Two prizes of $5,000 each are given annually to writers “working on a biographical work about an African American figure (or figures) whose story provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the Black experience.” The winners also receive publicity through the Biographers International Organization (BIO) website and the Biographer’s Craft newsletter, registration to the annual BIO Conference in May, and a one-year BIO membership. Tamara Payne and Eric K. Washington will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 20 pages, a project description, a statement of need, and an author bio by February 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a writer who has not published a biography, a book of historical nonfiction, or other book-length work of narrative nonfiction. The winner also receives a review of their manuscript proposal by an agent, publicity through the Biographers International Organization (BIO) website and the Biographer’s Craft newsletter, registration to the annual BIO Conference in May, and a one-year BIO membership. Writers who have not previously published or who are not under contract to write a book of biography, history, or other work of narrative nonfiction are eligible. Gretchen Gerzina, Nigel Hamilton, and Paula Tarnapol Whitacre will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample, a manuscript proposal, and a résumé in one document totaling no more than 20 pages with a $25 entry fee by March 1. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.