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A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review is given annually for a single poem, a short story, or an essay “whose main characters embody the Wild Woman spirit.” Submit up to five pages of poetry or up to 10,000 words of prose with a $20 entry fee by March 8. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to writers working on a book-length biography of an African American figure (or figures) “whose story provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the Black experience.” The winners also receive publicity through the Biographers International Organization (BIO) website and the Biographer’s Craft newsletter, registration to the annual BIO Conference in May, and a one-year BIO membership. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 20 pages, a project description, a statement of need, and an author bio by February 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in some way with the subject of music (of any genre and period) and its influence.” Submit a poetry collection of at least 60 pages or a prose manuscript of 75,000 to 100,000 words with a $25 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a debut biographer. The winner also receives a review of their manuscript proposal by an agent, publicity through the Biographers International Organization (BIO) website and the Biographer’s Craft newsletter, registration to the annual BIO Conference in May, and a one-year BIO membership. Writers who have not previously published or who are not under contract to write a book of biography, history, or other work of narrative nonfiction are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample, a manuscript proposal, and a résumé in one document totaling no more than 20 pages with a $25 entry fee by March 1. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.
Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to editors, agents, and publishers; a professional headshot; and a one-year PEN America membership, are given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers “from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world.” Fellows also participate in workshops on editing, marketing, and building a professional platform. Writers who have not yet published a book and who do not hold an advanced degree in creative writing are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 10 pages of poetry or 15 pages of prose, a series of personal statements, a curriculum vitae, and contact information for at least one reference with a $25 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and aesthetic innovations that upset and reorder readers’ imaginations.” The winner will also receive a $2,000 travel and lodging stipend to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in the summer. Writers who have not published a book of over 15,000 words in any prose genre are eligible. Submissions may consist of unpublished work or work published no earlier than April 2025. Submit a manuscript of up to 15,000 words totaling no more than 100 pages with a $25 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published in the previous year that “foster peace, social justice, and global understanding.” A runner-up for each prize receives $5,000. Publishers may submit any number of books published in 2025 with a $100 entry fee per title by March 4. Books first printed in or translated into English are accepted. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.
’Tis the season for spending? The end of the year is often associated with spending money on last-minute gifts, groceries for parties, travel and outings with family and friends, and holiday sales for your own treats. This week write a personal essay on your traditions and philosophies around holiday spending. How have they evolved over the years? Do you have memories or anecdotes of extravagant purchases or of thrift-savvy techniques? You might reflect on how seasonal cultural traditions influence spending and how those traditions are maintained, broken, or might even evolve. What are alternatives to conventional modes of consumption and capital?
Lulu Wang’s 2019 film, The Farewell, begins with a group of relatives convening in China on the pretext of a wedding but who are actually there to bid farewell to the family matriarch from whom they are hiding her terminal cancer diagnosis. The protagonist of the film, a woman in her thirties who has lived in the United States for most of her life, struggles with this concept and is told by her uncle that it is their duty to carry the emotional burden of her grandmother’s illness for her. “You think one’s life belongs to oneself,” he says. “But that’s the difference between the East and the West. In the East, a person’s life is part of a whole. Family. Society.” Think back to a time when you have carried a burden for someone else and write an essay that examines your personal experience with this concept. Are there situations in which withholding the truth or keeping something secret feels reasonable, ethical, or even honorable to you?
In this 60 Minutes interview, Margaret Atwood speaks about her response to book banning, her new memoir, Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts (Doubleday, 2025), and why she says the popularity of her novel The Handmaid’s Tale is “not due to me or the excellence of the book. It’s partly the twists and turns of history.”
