A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a book of nonfiction by a writer living in the United States. The editors will...
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.
Trio House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Leeway Foundation
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Awards of $15,000 each are given annually to women, transgender, and/or gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area...
read morePloughshares
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a...
read moreLost Horse Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Lost Horse Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Using only the online submission system,...
read morePittsburg State University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Pittsburg State University, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Rebecca Gayle Howell will judge. Submit a manuscript...
read moreGeorgia Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given for a single poem. Brandon Som will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $...
read moreNew Letters
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 5/19/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,500 each and publication in New Letters are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up...
read moreGaudy Boy
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 5/19/25
Genre: Poetry
A grant of $1,500 and publication by Gaudy Boy, an imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, is given annually for a poetry collection by a...
read moreGreat Lakes Colleges Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/25/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes are given annually for first books by a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The winners each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to several of...
read moreLivingston Press
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/30/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $500, publication by Livingston Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a novel-in-verse. Eleanor Boudreau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 90 to 160...
read moreTwo Sylvias Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Two Sylvias Press, and 20 author copies will be given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ellen Bass will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreSixfold
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
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 moreBOA Editions
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a story collection. Peter Conners will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 200 pages with a $30 entry...
read moreUniversity of Georgia Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Georgia Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Lori Ostlund will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreBridge Book Award
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of up to $5,000 each will be given annually for a book of fiction and a book of creative nonfiction by U.S. citizens or permanent residents published in the previous...
read moreSouthern Poetry Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Submit three to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $20...
read moreAnhinga Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives $500 to cover travel costs for the...
read moreFence
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000, publication by Fence Books (with distribution by Consortium), and 40 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who identifies...
read moreMichigan Quarterly Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Michigan Quarterly Review is given annually for an essay or a work of nonfiction in hybrid form. Using only the online submission...
read moreJohn D. Voelker Foundation
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication in American Fly Fisher as well as on the John D. Voelker Foundation and the American Museum of Fly Fishing websites is given annually...
read moreBridport Arts Centre
Cash Prize: $6,482
Entry Fee: $14
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,482) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A second-place prize of £1,000...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two grants of $5,000 each are given annually for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction works-in-progress “by immigrant and refugee writers, recognizing that the literature of...
read moreSalamander
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Salamander is given annually for a short story. Helen Phillips will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Ten grants of $4,000 each are given annually to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that have not previously appeared in...
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