Genre: Poetry

Opportunities abound in the last contests of February. Awards with a deadline of February 28 include a celebration of self-published books by Black authors and a prize honoring a story set in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. Several others award book publication by an independent press. All contests offer a cash prize of at least $500 and two charge no entry fee. Good luck, writers!

Association of Writers & Writing Programs Award Series: Two prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. In addition, two prizes of $2,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a novel and a book of creative nonfiction. Presses participating in the 2022 award series are New Issues Press, Red Hen Press, University of Georgia Press, and University of Pittsburgh Press. Entry fee: $30.

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. Entry fee: $25 for poetry and $30 for fiction. 

Black Caucus of the American Library Association Self-Publishing Literary Awards: Two prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book by an African American writer self-published in the United States during the previous year. The awards honor books that depict “cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.” Entry fee: None.

Fish Publishing Flash Fiction Prize: A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,164) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short short story. The winner is also invited to give a reading at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2022. Tracey Slaughter will judge. Entry fee: €14 (approximately $16) for online entries or €16 (approximately $19) for postal entries. 

Little Tokyo Historical Society Short Story Contest: A prize of $500 and publication in Rafu Shimpo and on the Discover Nikkei website is given annually for a short story that takes place in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. Entry fee: None.

Omnidawn Publishing First/Second Poetry Book Contest: A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Mary Jo Bang will judge. Submit a manuscript of 40 to 120 pages with a $27 entry fee ($30 to receive a book from the Omnidawn catalogue) by February 28.

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. Melanie Conroy-Goldman will judge. Entry fee: $25.

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

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

Submissions are open for this year’s Ballard Spahr Prize for Poetry, a unique prize with no entry fee that champions “outstanding poets from the upper Midwest and brings their work to a national stage.” Administered by Milkweed Editions, the prize offers $10,000 and publication for a collection by a poet currently residing in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of at least 48 pages by February 15. There is no entry fee. Tyehimba Jess will judge. The winner and finalists will be announced in April. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Founded in 1980, Milkweed Editions is a nonprofit independent press of literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry based in Minneapolis. The Ballard Spahr Prize is one of several awards offered by the press, including the Jake Adam York Poetry Prize, which is presented in partnership with Copper Nickel, and the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. Recent books published as winners of the Ballard Spahr Prize include Return Flight by Jennifer Huang and Wound From the Mouth of a Wound by torrin a. greathouse; greathouse was featured in the sixteenth annual look at debut poets from Poets & Writers Magazine.