G&A: The Contest Blog

With the fall season underway and a new month around the corner, get a jump start on submitting to contests with deadlines of November 30 and December 1! These awards present opportunities for queer writers as well as debut poetry and prose writers, among others. Plus, one lucky poet will win $3,000, publication of their manuscript, and the chance to give a reading under the auspices of the Folger Shakespeare Library. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and one is even free to enter. Onward, writers!  

Autumn House Press
Rising Writer Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given in alternating years for a debut work of poetry or fiction. The 2023 prize will be given for fiction. The winner will also receive a $500 grant for travel and book promotion. Matt Bell will judge. All finalists are considered for publication. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $25 (the submission fee may be waived in cases of financial need).

BOA Editions
A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a first book of poetry by a U.S. resident. Tina Chang will judge. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $25.

Langum Foundation
David J. Langum Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of historical fiction published during the current year. Self-published books are ineligible. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: none.

Masters Review
Novel Excerpt Contest
A prize of $3,000, publication in Masters Review, and an agent consultation will be given annually for an excerpt of an unpublished novel or novel-in-progress showing “a sense of style, with a clear grasp on craft” by an emerging writer. Halley Dunne Parry of the Hamilburg Agency will offer the consultation for this contest cycle. Charmaine Craig will judge. Writers who have not published a book or who have published a book with a circulation of less than 5,000 are eligible. All entries will be considered for publication. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $20.

Meadowlark Press
Birdy Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Meadowlark Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $25.

Quarter After Eight
Robert J. DeMott Short Prose Contest
A prize of $1,008.15 and publication in Quarter After Eight is given annually for a prose poem, a short short story, or a micro essay. Kirstin Valdez Quade will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $15.

Red Hen Press
Quill Prose Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Elizabeth Bradfield will judge. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $10.

Regal House Publishing
W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a story collection. The editors will judge. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $25.

Tadpole Press
100-Word Writing Contest
A prize of $1,000 will be given twice annually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $10. 

Waywiser Press
Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize
A prize of $3,000 and publication by the Waywiser Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published no more than one previous collection. The winner will also give a reading with the contest judge under the auspices of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $29.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Nine writers have won the Whiting Foundation’s Creative Nonfiction Grant for 2022, the seventh year the foundation has offered the award. The $40,000 grants—which, unlike the Whiting Awards, writers must apply for—are meant to support multi-year book projects that exhibit both boldness of vision and evidence of sharply honed craft: “singularity of voice, arresting narrative vision, and in-depth research spread over multiple years,” as the foundation puts it.

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The winners are Atossa Araxia Abrahamian for The Hidden Globe, an investigation of special economic zones that exist outside the bounds of nation states, forthcoming from Riverhead; Emily Dufton for Addiction, Inc.: Medication-Assisted Treatment and the War on Drugs, a history of the medication-assisted treatment for heroin addiction, forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press; Wes Enzinna for Impossible Paradise: Life, Death, and Home in a California Tent City, which probes the origins and consequences of American homelessness through the lens of an outdoor encampment in Oakland, forthcoming from Penguin Press; Ekow Eshun for The Strangers, a study of Black masculinity that mashes up memoir with biographies of culturally influential figures from the 19th century to the present day, forthcoming from Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom; Patricia Evangelista for Some People Need Killing, a mix of literary journalism and first-person narrative investigating President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs in the Phillipines, forthcoming from Random House; Brooke Jarvis for Invisible Apocalypse, a deep-dive into the disappearance of insects across the globe, forthcoming from Crown; May Jeong for The Life: Sex, Work, and Love in America, an intersectional exploration of the lives of sex workers, forthcoming from Atria; Mathelinda Nabugodi for The Trembling Hand: Reflections of a Black Woman in the Romantic Archive, a critique of Romantic poetry and its links to the Black Atlantic slave trade, forthcoming from Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom and Knopf in the United States; and Alejandra Oliva for Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration, which explores the U.S. immigration system as seen through the eyes of the author, who has worked as a translator for asylum seekers, forthcoming from Astra House.

Courtney Hodell, the Whiting Foundation’s director of literary programs, praised the grantees for having “the courage and freshness of vision to address consequential stories hiding in plain sight,” she said in a statement. “It’s our hope that the Foundation’s support will help these gifted writers delve into the most necessary places, whether that’s in the archives, on the street, or within our understanding.”

Each of the winning projects were reviewed by two first-round readers, who judged according to “substance, narrative skill, quality of research, and impact.” Sixteen finalists were then evaluated by a panel of four judges, who considered how the grant might support the development of the book. The anonymous readers and judges were experts in the field of each proposed book project.

For more than forty years, the Whiting Foundation has supported literature and the humanities through its programs and grants. The Whiting Awards annually awards ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama with $50,000 each, and the Whiting Literary Magazines Prizes help journals foster path-breaking writing with individual financial awards.

To learn more about the Whiting Foundation’s Creative Nonfiction Grant, visit the foundation’s website. Check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. 

Before the holiday season descends with its tinsel-trimmed excuses for not sending out your work, try submitting to these eleven contests with a November 15 deadline! Among the awards are $20,000 for a published story collection, $3,000 for a short short story, $1,000 for a poetry collection, and $1,000 for an individual poem, story, and essay. All awards offer a cash prize of $500 or more. Good luck to you, writers!

Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival
Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize
A prize of $500 and publication on the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival website is given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and renders the borough’s “rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences in Brooklyn.” The winner will also be invited to read and discuss their winning work at the festival’s finale event. All entries are considered for publication. Entry Fee: None.

Carve
Prose & Poetry Contest
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Carve will be given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Entry Fee: $17.

Commonwealth Club of California
California Book Awards
Five prizes of $5,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a first book of fiction, a book of creative nonfiction, and a book of fiction or nonfiction that relates to California. Three additional prizes of $2,500 are also given in the fiction, first fiction, and nonfiction categories. Books written by authors residing in California are eligible. Entry Fee: None.

Community of Literary Magazines & Presses
Firecracker Awards 
Three prizes of $2,000 each will be given annually for a book of poetry, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published by an independent press in the current year ($1,000 for each author and $1,000 for their respective publisher). Works in translation and graphic novels are eligible. Entry Fee: $65.

Nightboat Books
Poetry Prize
Up to four prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Nightboat Books are given annually for poetry collections. The editors will judge. Entry Fee: $28.

Nina Riggs Poetry Foundation
Nina Riggs Poetry Award
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem that examines relationships, family, or domestic life that was published in a book or magazine in the last three years. Nominate no more than six poems by one author that were published in a book or print magazine in 2020, 2021, or 2022. Self-nominations are not accepted. Entry Fee: None.

Perugia Press
Perugia Press Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Perugia Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman. Entry Fee: $15.

Pushcart Press
Editors’ Book Award
A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that have been overlooked by today’s high-pressure, bottom-line publishing conglomerates.” Manuscripts must be submitted with a formal letter of nomination from an editor at a U.S. or Canadian publishing company. Entry Fee: None.

The Story Prize
The Story Prize
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story collection written in English and first published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up will receive $5,000 each, and one entrant will receive the $1,000 Story Prize Spotlight Award, given for a collection that merits further attention. Larry Dark and Julie Lindsey will select the three finalists and the Spotlight Award winner; three independent judges will choose the Story Prize winner. Entry Fee: $75.

Writer’s Digest
Short Short Story Competition
A prize of $3,000 and travel and lodging expenses for a trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is given annually for a short short story. A second-place prize of $1,500 is also awarded. The winners will both be published in Writer’s Digest. Entry Fee: $30.

Yale University Press
Yale Series of Younger Poets
A prize of $1,000, publication by Yale University Press, and a writing fellowship at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut, is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a full-length book of poetry. Rae Armantrout will judge. Entry Fee: $25.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Submissions are still open for the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry! As part of this award, $1,500 is given annually for ten poems written by an African poet who has not yet published a poetry collection (self-published works of poetry and chapbooks not included). Writers who were born in Africa, who are a national or a resident of an African country, or whose parents are African are eligible. Only collections written in English, including works of translation, will be considered.

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Using only the online submission system, submit exactly ten poems of no more than 40 lines each by November 1. There is no entry fee. Editorial board member Gabeba Baderoon will judge alongside poets Tjawangwa Dema and Tsitsi Ella Jaji. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Formerly known as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, this award was established in 2012 by British writer Bernardine Evaristo and was recently passed on to the African Poetry Book Fund. With a decade long history and a 2022 inaugural contest cycle under a new title, the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry still seeks to “encourage a new generation of poets who might one day become an international presence.” The shortlist will be announced in April, and the winner will be revealed in May. Formerly known as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, this award was established in 2012 by British writer Bernardine Evaristo and was recently passed on to the African Poetry Book Fund. With a decade long history and a 2022 inaugural contest cycle under a new title, the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry still seeks to “encourage a new generation of poets who might one day become an international presence.” The shortlist will be announced in April, and the winner will be revealed in May. 

Embrace the harvest season by enjoying the bounty of literary opportunities this fall brings, including contests with a November 1 deadline! Prizes abound for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers alike, with awards offered in speculative fiction and for writers living in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia area. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more, including the opportunity for one fiction writer to win $15,000 plus publication. Best of luck!

Briar Cliff Review
Writing Contests
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Briar Cliff Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $20, which includes a copy of the prize issue.

Brick Road Poetry Press
Book Contest
A prize of $1,000, publication by Brick Road Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Keith Badowski and Olivia Ivings will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30. 

Fiction Collective Two
Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize
A prize of $15,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, short story collection, novella, or novella collection. U.S. writers who have published at least three books of fiction are eligible. Matt Bell will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Fiction Collective Two
Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Contest
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Fiction Collective Two is given annually for a novel, short story collection, novella, or novella collection. U.S. writers who have not previously published a book with Fiction Collective Two are eligible. Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi will judge. Entry fee: $25.

F(r)iction
Short Story Contest
A prize of $1,000 is given twice a year for a short story. Ken Liu will judge. The winning story and all entries are considered for publication in F(r)iction. Entry fee: $15.

Malahat Review
Open Season Awards
Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,595) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Ki’en Debicki will judge in poetry, Ben Lof will judge in fiction, and Bahar Orang will judge in creative nonfiction. Entry fee: $45 Canadian (approximately $36), which includes a subscription to Malahat Review.

North American Review
James Hearst Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a single poem. Paul Guest will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $23, which includes an issue of North American Review.

North American Review
Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review will be given annually for a work of speculative fiction. Brian Evenson will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $23, which includes an issue of North American Review.

Southeast Missouri State University Press
Nilsen Literary Prize
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Southeast Missouri State University Press is given annually for a novel, novella, or collection of linked stories by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. Entry fee: $25.

Washington Writers’ Publishing House
Literary Awards
Three prizes of $1,500 each, publication by Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and 25 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection, a short story collection or novel, and, as of this award cycle, a memoir, essay collection, or creative nonfiction hybrid collection. Writers who live in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia are eligible. Entry fee: $28.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Poets looking to publish their first or second poetry collections have until the end of the month to submit manuscripts to the Changes Press Bergman Prize. Offered annually, the prize awards the winner $10,000, publication by Changes Press, a book launch in New York City, and other opportunities for publicity.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages, a brief bio, and a list of previously published poems by October 31. Louise Glück, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, will judge. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Bergman Prize was established in 2020 in memory of Judson and Susan Bergman. The prize’s inaugural winner was Rachel Mannheimer, whose collection Earth Room was selected by Glück and released by Changes Press in April. An independent publisher based in New York City, Changes Press also publishes the online periodical Changes Review. Submissions for the journal are currently closed.

Spooky season officially starts tomorrow, but don’t let fear stop you from submitting to River Teeth’s Book Prize by the Halloween deadline! Offered annually for a volume of creative nonfiction, the prize awards the winner $1,000 and publication by the University of New Mexico Press.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of approximately 150 to 350 pages with a $27 entry fee, which includes a subscription to River Teeth, by October 31. Any style of literary nonfiction—including memoir, personal essays, and investigative reporting—is eligible. Natasha Trethewey, who served as U.S. poet laureate from 2012–2014 and is the author of Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir (Ecco, 2020), will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Previous winners of River Teeth’s Book Prize include Kevin Honold in 2019 for The Rock Cycle, Joan Frank in 2018 for Try to Get Lost: Essays on Travel and Place, and Debra Gwartney in 2017 for I Am a Stranger Here Myself.

Founded in 1999 at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, by professors Joe Mackall and Dan Lehman, River Teeth publishes essays, memoir, and literary journalism in a biannual print journal as well as online content, including reviews and a weekly web publication called “Beautiful Things,” which highlights the beauty found in daily life. In 2019, River Teeth moved to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where it is led by senior editors Jill Christman and Mark Neely. Now retired from Ashland University, Mackall and Lehman remain as editors in chief of River Teeth.

Though the temperature outside is starting to drop, you can stoke the fires of your writing practice by submitting to contests with deadlines of October 15, 16, 17, and 18! Poets, there are multiple awards to win, including a prize of approximately $66,500 for a year of travel and study outside of North America, and $5,000 plus publication of a poetry collection by Alice James Books. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and two are free to enter. Keep those literary fires burning!

Alice James Books
Alice James Award
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Alice James Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet residing in the United States. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: October 16. Entry fee: $30.

Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship
An award of approximately $66,500 is given annually to a U.S. poet for a year of travel and study outside of North America. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: none.

Copper Nickel
Jake Adam York Prize
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Amaud Jamaul Johnson will judge. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a subscription to Copper Nickel.

John Pollard Foundation
International Poetry Prize
A prize of €10,000 (approximately $10,732) is given annually for a debut poetry collection published during the current year. Deadline: October 18. Entry fee: none. 

Pulitzer Prizes
Prizes in Books
Six prizes of $15,000 each are given annually to honor books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U. S. history, biography, and memoir or autobiography published in the United States during the current year. American authors only are eligible for the poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, biography, and memoir or autobiography categories. Deadline: October 17. Entry fee: $75.

San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild
Steve Kowit Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in San Diego Poetry Annual is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive an invitation to read at an award ceremony in April 2023. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $15.

Silverfish Review Press
Gerald Cable Book Award
A prize of $1,000, publication by Silverfish Review Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a first poetry collection. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a copy of the winning book.

TulipTree Publishing
Humor Story Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Deadline: October 17. Entry fee: $20.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

The deadline is approaching for the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, presented by the African Poetry Book Fund and in partnership with Prairie Schooner. Offered annually for a book of poetry written by an African poet and published during the previous year, the prize awards $1,000. Writers who were born in Africa, who are a national or a resident of an African country, or whose parents are African are eligible. Only collections written in English, including works of translation, will be considered.

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Authors and publishers may submit four copies (or unbound proofs) of a poetry collection of at least 48 pages published in 2021 by October 1. There is no entry fee. Gabeba Baderoon will judge. Visit the website for an entry form and complete guidelines.

Established in 2015, this Pan African Poetry Prize, named after the literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei, “is the only one of its kind in the world and aims to honor and promote African poetry.” The winner will be announced in January 2023. Please note that self-published books and books published by the African Poetry Book Fund are ineligible. Recent winners include Mangaliso Buzani (a naked bone), Koleka Putuma (Collective Amnesia), Juliane Okot Bitek (100 Days), and Rethabile Masilo (Waslap). Established in 2015, this Pan African Poetry Prize, named after the literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei, “is the only one of its kind in the world and aims to honor and promote African poetry.” The winner will be announced in January 2023. Please note that self-published books and books published by the African Poetry Book Fund are ineligible. Recent winners include Mangaliso Buzani (a naked bone), Koleka Putuma (Collective Amnesia), Juliane Okot Bitek (100 Days), and Rethabile Masilo (Waslap).