Writing 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.

Desperate Literature

Cash Prize: $2,059
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 4/14/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,059), publication in the Desperate Literature prize anthology, and a weeklong residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation’s castle in the...

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New Ohio Review

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 4/15/25

Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Submit a poem or group of...

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Jaded Ibis Press

Cash Prize: $2,050
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/15/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500, publication by Jaded Ibis Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a novel, a novel-in-stories, or a short story collection by an author who...

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Florida Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/15/25

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Florida Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge....

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Pen Parentis

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/17/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000, a year of mentorship, and publication in Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine is given annually to a fiction writer who is the parent of a child under...

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Tadpole Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 4/30/25

A prize of $2,000 is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Submit a work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction of up to 100 words with a $15 entry fee by April 30....

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Ghost Story 

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a short story with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge....

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Winning Writers

Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/25

Two prizes of $3,500 each, two gift certificates for two-year memberships to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually...

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Moon City Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Moon City Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the...

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Interlochen Center for the Arts

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/25

A prize of $25,000 and a two- to three-day residency at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction...

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F(r)iction

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/2/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 is given biannually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 1,001 to 7,500 words with a $15 entry fee by May 2. All...

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Writer’s Digest

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/5/25

A prize of $5,000, an interview in Writer’s Digest, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is given annually for a single poem, a short...

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Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel primarily set in the American South. Authors living anywhere are eligible. Self-published books are accepted, but books...

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Ploughshares

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/15/25

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...

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