Genre: Creative Nonfiction

Writing Fellowships

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
September 16, 2025
Fellowships of approximately $60,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers on the basis of “exceptional creative ability.” Citizens and permanent residents of the United States and Canada who are midcareer professionals and have “already made significant contributions to their field” are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a career summary, a list of publications, a three-page project proposal, and contact information for up to four references by September 16. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Tags: 

Money Chronicles: A Story Initiative

Principal Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
October 12, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Short Édition website and in Principal Foundation’s Short Story Dispensers (located in six cities across the United States) will be given annually for a short story or essay “on themes related to money and personal finance.” Mateo Askaripour, Paco de Leon, David Drury, Bourree Lam, and Daniel Lefferts will judge. Using only the online submission, submit a manuscript of up to 7,500 characters of prose by October 12. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

John Updike Tucson Casitas Fellowship

John Updike Society
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
November 1, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas that John Updike owned and worked out of in Tucson is given annually for a group of poems or a work of fiction or nonfiction. The fellowship selection committee will judge. Submit five pages of poetry or prose (excerpts from a longer work are accepted), a brief bio, and a project description in a single PDF by November 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Helena Whitehill Award

Tupelo Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
November 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Tupelo Press is given annually for a full- or chapbook-length poetry collection or a book of creative nonfiction (including memoir, essays, and hybrid work). The winner will also receive a one-week residency at Gentle House in Port Angeles, Washington. Jane Wong will judge. Submit a manuscript of poetry or prose of any length with a $30 entry fee by October 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Prize in Creative Nonfiction

Lascaux Review
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
September 30, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Lascaux Review website is given annually for an essay. Previously published and unpublished essays are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit an essay of up to 10,000 words with a $15 entry fee by September 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

McKnight Fellowships for Writers

Loft Literary Center
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
November 15, 2025
Four prizes of $25,000 each are given annually to Minnesota poets, prose writers, and spoken word artists. Fellows will also receive an all-expenses-paid, one- or two-week residency in partnership with Artist Communities Alliance and have the opportunity to attend one-on-one career consultations, workshops, and networking events run by the nonprofit organization Springboard for the Arts. The prizes are offered in poetry/spoken word and prose in alternating years; the 2026 fellowships will be awarded in poetry and spoken word. Writers who have been residents of Minnesota for the year prior to the deadline and who will reside in Minnesota for the duration of the fellowship are eligible; writers must also have published at least one book, have had work appear in several journals, or have been booked to perform their work. Using only the online submission system, submit 15 to 18 pages of poetry by November 15. Spoken-word poets can also submit 8 to 10 minutes of recorded poetry. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Open Season Awards

Malahat Review
Entry Fee: 
$22
Deadline: 
November 1, 2025
Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,455) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of no more than 100 lines each or a short story or essay of up to 2,500 words with a $30 Canadian (approximately $22) entry fee by the early-bird deadline of September 30 or a $45 Canadian (approximately $33) entry fee by November 1. All entry fees include a subscription to Malahat Review. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Banned Artists

In a recently published article in T Magazine, artists, including John Waters, Andres Serrano, Karen Finley, Khaled Hosseini, Geraldine Brooks, Art Spiegelman, Kate Bornstein, and Dread Scott, were interviewed about how censorship changed their work and lives. “The censorship does the opposite of what it wants to do,” said playwright and director Moisés Kaufman. “It makes people really think: ‘What are the issues in the play? Whose stories get to be told?’” This week write a personal essay that focuses on either a work of art, literature, or performance that has endured censorship at some point. Describe the work and the themes within the work that provoked censorship. How did this banning affect your ideas of the role of an artist?

Garrett Hongo and Edward Hirsch

Caption: 

In this Poets House event, Garrett Hongo reads from his fourth poetry collection, Ocean of Clouds (Knopf, 2025), and Edward Hirsch reads from his new memoir, My Childhood in Pieces: A Stand-Up Comedy, a Skokie Elegy (Knopf, 2025), followed by a conversation between the authors about their friendship and humor.

Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of a Nation

Caption: 

Directed by Ebs Burnough, this documentary explores the influence that Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel, On the Road, has had on writers, actors, storytellers and artists, and follows the lives of Americans who set off on their own journeys in the footsteps of the famous author, who died in 1969 at the age of forty-seven.

Pages

Subscribe to Creative Nonfiction