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An award of $2,000, publication in Pinch, and two contributor copies will be given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 4,000 words with a $28 entry fee by February 28. All entries are considered for publication. 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 Submissions may consist of unpublished work or work published no earlier than April 2025.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 $750 each are given annually to a poet and a fiction writer residing in the United States. Both winners also receive a monthlong residency at Jentel Artist Residency in Wyoming and will meet with writers, editors, publishers, and agents virtually or in person in New York City. The 2026 contest is open to residents of Connecticut. Poets and fiction writers who have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying are eligible. Submit 7 to 10 pages of poetry or up to 25 pages of fiction via e-mail by March 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and 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.
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of creative nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-continental prairies.” Authors, publishers, and the general public may submit two copies of a book by January 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,155) and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner is also invited to give a reading at the West Cork Literary Festival in July. Tania Hershman will judge. Submit a story of up to 300 words with a €16 (approximately $18) entry fee for online entries or €19 (approximately $22) for postal entries by February 28. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by University of Nebraska Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. Submit a poetry manuscript of at least 50 pages or a fiction manuscript of at least 150 pages with a $25 entry fee by March 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Up to three grants of up to $5,000 each and publication in the Gay & Lesbian Review will be given annually for a project “with LGBTQ+ identity, experiences, or history as their primary focus” by a poet or prose writer. Students enrolled in any master’s or PhD program at the time of application whose “proposed project makes a contribution to LGBTQ+ scholarship or the arts” are eligible. Submit a 100-word project summary, a project description, a description of the proposed article, a biographical sketch, a résumé, a budget and budget narrative, an anticipated time line, a list of other funding sources for the project, and a letter verifying graduate student status by February 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for a poetry collection, a work of fiction, and an essay collection. For the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, using only the online submission system, submit a poetry collection of at least 48 pages with a $34 entry fee by February 15. For the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, using only the online submission system, submit a collection of stories or novellas or a short novel of 150 to 250 pages with a $34 entry fee by February 15. For the Sarabande Prize in the Essay, using only the online submission system, submit an essay collection of 150 to 250 pages with a $34 entry fee by February 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a work of flash fiction with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 250 to 1,000 words with a $15 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
