Genre: Fiction

Charles S. Longcope Jr. Writers and Artists Grant

Gay & Lesbian Review
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

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.

Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Contest

Selected Shorts
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
March 6, 2026

A prize of $1,000 and tuition for a 10-week writing class through New York City’s Gotham Writers Workshop is given annually for a short story. The winning work is published on Electric Literature and recorded at a Selected Shorts performance. Simon Rich will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 750 words with a $25 entry fee by March 6. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition

Ghost Story
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

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.

Prizes in Poetry and Prose

Slippery Elm
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
February 1, 2026

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Slippery Elm are given annually for a single poem and a short story or essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of any length or up to 5,000 words of prose with a $15 entry fee, which includes the latest issue of Slippery Elm, by February 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Fiction & Poetry Contest

Hayden’s Ferry Review
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
February 28, 2026

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review are given for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. Sarah Ghazal Ali will judge in poetry and Gina Chung will judge in fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit one to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages or a short story or novel excerpt of up to 20 pages with a $15 or $23 entry fee, which includes a digital or print subscription to Hayden’s Ferry Review, respectively, by February 28. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Philip Roth Residencies

Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 1, 2026

Two residencies of up to four months at the Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts at Bucknell University, which include a stipend of $5,000 each, are given annually to writers working on a first or second book in any literary genre, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, hybrid work, and graphic novels. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 20 pages, a curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation by February 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Literary Arts Fellowships

Alabama State Council on the Arts
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 2, 2026

At least two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who are legal residents of Alabama and have lived in the state for a minimum of two years. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 20 pages of poetry or prose and a résumé including a list of publications by March 2 at 5 PM CDT. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Iowa Review Awards

Iowa Review
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 10 pages of poetry or up to 25 pages of prose with a $20 entry fee between January 1 and January 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

Stanford University Libraries
Entry Fee: 
$50
Deadline: 
January 30, 2026

Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for books of fiction and nonfiction published in the previous two years. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are “intended to encourage new or emerging writers” and honor the “life, legacy and intentions of William Saroyan.” Writers who have published up to two books are eligible. Submit five copies of a fiction or nonfiction book published between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025, with a $50 entry fee by January 30. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Trailer: The Thing With Feathers

Caption: 

Watch the trailer for The Thing With Feathers directed by Dylan Southern and starring Benedict Cumberbatch. A film adaptation of the novel Grief Is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter (Graywolf Press, 2016), the film follows a grieving widow who is greeted by an unwanted house guest while struggling to raise two young sons.

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