A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, a memoir, a photo essay, a short graphic narrative,...
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.
Narrative
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 11/26/24
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Tadpole Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/30/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication on the Tadpole Press website and in Tadpole Press Literary Magazine is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Submit a...
read moreQuarter After Eight
Cash Prize: $1,008
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/30/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,008.15 and publication in Quarter After Eight is given annually for a prose poem, a short short story, a micro essay, or other work of short prose. Lily...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 11/30/24
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, a memoir, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Raymond...
read moreGreen Linden Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/30/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English....
read moreAthenaeum of Philadelphia
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/24
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to two prizes of $1,000 each and an invitation to give a public lecture at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia will be given annually for books of fiction and/or nonfiction...
read morePushcart Press
Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Publication in The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is awarded annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by literary magazines...
read moreFriends of American Writers
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/14/24
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction published during the current year that is set in the Midwest or by a writer who is a resident...
read moreNarratively
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/19/24
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Narratively will be given annually for a short work of memoir written in the first person. Two runners-up prizes of $1,000 each...
read moreAlternating Current Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Alternating Current Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection, story collection, essay collection, novel,...
read moreAction, Spectacle
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Action, Spectacle, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a chapbook of poetry, prose, or hybrid-genre work. Using only the online...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a debut novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...
read moreMississippi Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/2/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or an essay that “seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of Black North Carolinians.” The winning entry is...
read moreNew Literary Project
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/3/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Ten fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to creative writers who are high school teachers to support summer work on an ongoing fiction, creative nonfiction, or memoir...
read moreSan José State University
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/5/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Six yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include stipends of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative...
read moreLeon Levy Center for Biography
Cash Prize: $72,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/6/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four yearlong fellowships of $72,000, writing space at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, access to research facilities, and research assistance from a graduate student...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/7/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication in Florida Review, and 50 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic...
read moreWinter Anthology
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 1/10/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Winter Anthology is given annually for a group of poems, a short story, a novel excerpt, or an essay. Joyelle McSweeney will judge...
read moreFrench-American Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/10/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for translations from French into English of a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published...
read moreGeorgia Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review will be given annually for a short story or an essay. Allegra Hyde will judge. Submit a story or essay of up to 9,...
read moreEllen Meloy Fund
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/15/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to enable a creative nonfiction writer “whose work reflects the spirit and passions for the desert embodied in Ellen Meloy’s writing” to...
read more