Genre: Creative Nonfiction

Summer Creative Nonfiction Contest

Prairie Schooner
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
August 1, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Prairie Schooner is given annually for an essay. Submit up to 5,000 words of prose with a $20 entry fee by August 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

St. Lawrence Book Award

Black Lawrence Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
August 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors and a panel of previous St. Lawrence Book Award winners will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 45 to 95 pages or a prose manuscript of 120 to 280 pages with a $30 entry fee by August 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Literary Awards

Santa Fe Writers Project
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
September 15, 2025
A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Santa Fe Writers Project is given biennially for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story collection, a novel, an essay collection, or a memoir of any length with a $30 entry fee by September 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Writing Contest

Black Warrior Review
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
August 1, 2025
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length, a story of up to 7,000 words, or an essay of no more than 6,000 words with a $20 entry fee (fee waivers are available based on financial need) by August 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Book Prize

Seneca Review Books
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
August 1, 2025
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Seneca Review Books is given biennially for a collection of lyric essays. The winner will also receive an invitation to give a reading with Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Melissa Febos will judge. Hybrid work, verse forms, text and image, and “connected or related pieces” are accepted. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 120 pages with a $27 entry fee by August 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Individual Artist Fellowships

Delaware Division of the Arts
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
August 1, 2025
Established Professional Fellowships of $8,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year and will remain Delaware residents during the grant period. Using only the online submission system, submit 15 to 20 pages of poetry or prose, a résumé, and an artist’s statement by August 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Tags: 
creative nonfiction | fiction | poetry | grants

Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction Contest

Sewanee Review
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
July 31, 2025
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Cindy Juyoung Ok will judge in poetry, Lauren Groff will judge in fiction, and Roger Reeves will judge in creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to six poems or a story or essay of up to 10,000 words with a $30 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Sewanee Review, from July 1 to July 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Chapbook Contest

DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
July 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by New Michigan Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. Ander Monson will judge. Submit a manuscript of 18 to 44 pages with a $25 entry fee by July 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Stories That Need to Be Told Contest

TulipTree Publishing
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
August 9, 2025
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that responds to the following prompt: “What if the only way to save yourself from this reality is to write yourself a new one?” The winner also receives a two-year subscription to the literary database Duotrope and publication in the annual Stories That Need to Be Told anthology. E-mail a poem of up to five pages or a story or essay of up to 10,000 words with a $20 entry fee (sent via postal mail or PayPal) by August 9. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Pages

Subscribe to Creative Nonfiction