Genre: Creative Nonfiction

PEN/Bare Life Review Grants

PEN America
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
June 1, 2025
Two grants of $5,000 each are given annually for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction works-in-progress “by immigrant and refugee writers, recognizing that the literature of migration is of inherent and manifest value.” Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 40 pages of poetry or up to 75 pages of prose, a curriculum vitae, and an outline and description of the project by June 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants

PEN America
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
June 1, 2025
Ten grants of $4,000 each are given annually to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that have not previously appeared in English or have appeared only in an “outdated or otherwise flawed translation.” A separate grant of $5,000, called the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature, is also given to support the translation of a book of fiction or nonfiction from Italian into English. Manuscripts with up to two translators are accepted. Using only the online submission system, submit a translation sample of 8 to 10 pages of poetry or prose, a copy of the same passage in the original language, a biography and bibliography of the translated author, a project statement, and the curriculum vitae of the translator by June 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History

PEN America
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
June 1, 2025
Two grants of $15,000 each are given annually for nonfiction works-in-progress that “use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement.” Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of 20 to 40 pages of nonfiction, 6 to 10 pages of transcribed interviews, a curriculum vitae, and an outline and description of the project by June 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Prize for Literature

Towson University
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
June 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction by a current resident of Maryland who has lived in the state for at least three years. Books published within the past three years or scheduled for publication in 2025 are eligible. Publishers, institutions, or individuals may submit three copies of a book or manuscript by June 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Chapbook Prize

Tusculum Review
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
June 15, 2025
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Tusculum Review is given annually for a collection of poems, a short story, or an essay in alternating years. The winner’s work is also published as a limited-edition stand-alone chapbook with original art. This year’s prize will be awarded in fiction. Jaime Cortez will judge. Submit a manuscript of 2,000 to 7,000 words with a $20 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Tusculum Review, by June 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition

Vine Leaves Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
July 1, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Vine Leaves Press will be given for a book of nonfiction, including biography, memoir, and hybrid work. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50,000 to 80,000 words of prose or at least 100 pages of hybrid work with a $25 entry fee by July 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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