A prize of $1,500, publication by High Frequency Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection. The winner will also have 15 poems published for...
read moreWriting Contests, Grants & Awards
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Southern Indiana Review
Cash Prize: $6,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/3/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $6,000 and publication by Southern Indiana Review Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Monica Youn will judge. Submit 40 to 120 pages of poetry (no more...
read moreHigh Frequency Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/3/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500, publication by High Frequency Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a novel or a short story collection. The winner will also receive film...
read moreHippocrates Prize
Cash Prize: $1,271
Entry Fee: $8
Application Deadline: 2/14/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,271) and publication in the Hippocrates Prize anthology is given annually for a single poem on a medical theme. A prize of £1,000 (...
read moreSarabande Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $34
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for a poetry collection, a work of fiction, and an essay collection. For the Kathryn A. Morton...
read moreFinishing Line Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Saba Syed Razvi will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 34 pages, a brief...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Translation
A prize of $10,000 is given biennially for the translation into English of a work of modern, standard (non-dialect) Italian poetry. Books by living translators are eligible....
read moreCenter for African American Poetry and Poetics/Autumn House Press
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry
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...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry
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....
read moreSyracuse University Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Syracuse University Press is given biennially for either a debut fiction or nonfiction manuscript written by a U.S. veteran, active-duty...
read moreFurious Flower Poetry Center
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems that explore Black themes. The...
read moreArrowsmith Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States published in English during the previous year. Authors or...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/16/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Daniela Naomi Molnar will judge. Using...
read moreWest Chester University
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/17/25
Genre: Poetry
Five prizes of $1,000 to $1,500 each are given annually for a single poem “composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme, and received forms” (Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award...
read moreArts & Letters Prizes
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/20/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and online publication in Arts & Letters are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. James Kimbrell will judge...
read moreAutumn House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a book of fiction. The winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Alexandra Kleeman...
read moreHayden’s Ferry Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review will be given annually for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. Using only the online...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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. Alyssa Graybeal will judge....
read moreTupelo Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Deborah Landau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 36 pages...
read moreFish Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,056
Entry Fee: $17
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,056) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner is also invited to give a...
read moreAssociation of Writers & Writing Programs
Cash Prize: $5,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, 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...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book self-published by an African American writer during the previous year. The awards honor...
read moreSixfold
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...
read moreLittle Tokyo Historical Society
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction
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...
read moreMississippi Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be offered in...
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