During these increasingly sunny days, stay cool indoors and submit to contests with deadlines of April 30 and May 1! A poet residing or working in Inland Southern California could win $1,000 and publication by the Inlandia Institute; a fiction writer with a supernatural story to tell could receive $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website; and a nonfiction writer with work focusing on the desert “as both subject and setting” could be awarded $3,000, an invitation to a High Desert Museum ceremony in Oregon, and a writing residency. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more. Keep cool as your literary careers heat up, writers!
Backwaters Press
Backwaters Prize in Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is also given. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $32.
Beloit Poetry Journal
Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Marie Howe will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $15.
Ghost Story
Supernatural Fiction Award
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. The winning work will also be published in the print anthology 21st Century Ghost Stories—Volume III. The editors will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.
High Desert Museum
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative, with the desert as both subject and setting.” The winner will also be provided with travel and lodging to attend a reception and awards ceremony at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, in September, as well as the opportunity to attend a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake. Works-in-progress as well as published and unpublished prose are eligible. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: none.
Inlandia Institute
Hillary Gravendyk Prizes
Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by the Inlandia Institute, and 20 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing or working in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.
Noemi Press
Book Award
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $25.
Oversound
Chapbook Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Andrew Zawacki will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $18, which includes a subscription to Oversound.
University of Pittsburgh Press
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $25.
Wick Poetry Center
Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winner is also invited to teach a weeklong writing workshop at Kent State University and give a reading with the judge, Marilyn Chin. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $30.
Winning Writers
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
Two prizes of $3,000 each, two gift certificates for two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a short story and an essay. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. Mina Manchester will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $22.
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.