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 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.
Michigan Quarterly Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
BOA 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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: $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 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...
read moreBard College
Cash Prize: $30,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $30,000 and a one-semester appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College is given annually to a fiction writer under the age of 40. The winner must give at...
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 morePEN America
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Two grants of $15,000 each are given annually for nonfiction works-in-progress that “use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement.” Using only the...
read moreAmerican Short Fiction
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication in American Short Fiction is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong, all-expenses-paid writing retreat...
read moreNational Book Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $135
Application Deadline: 6/6/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature written by U.S. writers and published in the United...
read moreUniversity of Akron Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Akron Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Eduardo C. Corral will judge. Using only the online submission system...
read more42 Miles Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by 42 Miles Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Indiana...
read moreTusculum Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Tusculum Review is given annually for a collection of poems, a short story, or an essay in alternating years. The winner’s work is...
read moreTowson University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction by a current resident of Maryland who has lived in the state for at least three years...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/16/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ewa Chrusciel will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $90,479
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/20/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $130,000 Canadian (approximately $90,479) is given annually for a poetry collection written in or translated into English by a living poet or translator from...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $6,960
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/20/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $10,000 Canadian (approximately $6,960) is awarded for a debut poetry collection by a living Canadian poet or permanent resident. The winner is also offered a six-...
read more