Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Alaska Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2025 prize will be given in creative nonfiction. Alison Hawthorne Deming will judge. Submit an essay collection or book-length creative nonfiction manuscript, including memoir and literary journalism, of 150 to 300 pages and a brief bio with a $25 entry fee by October 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Fordham University Press are given annually for poetry collections. The winners also receive a one-on-one publicity consultation and a virtual book launch. All writers are eligible for the Poetic Justice Institute Prize; the Poetic Justice Institute Editor’s Prize is given for a poetry collection by a BIPOC writer. Eligible writers may enter both contests. Victoria Chang will judge the Poetic Justice Institute Prize, and Elisabeth Frost will judge the Poetic Justice Institute Editor’s Prize. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 120 pages with a $28 entry fee (there is no entry fee for the Editor’s Prize) by October 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Two prizes of $3,500 each, two-year gift certificates for membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a poem in any style and a poem that either rhymes or is written in a traditional style. Briana Grogan, Michal ‘MJ’ Jones, and Dare Williams will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit any number of poems of up to 250 lines each with a $25 entry fee for each submission of up to three poems by October 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Three grants of $500 each are given annually in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to “elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of Black writers in Georgia.” Grantees also receive a scholarship to attend and present a reading at the Red Clay Writers Conference, held in March 2026 at Kennesaw State University in Marietta, Georgia. Black writers who have been residents of Georgia for at least one year (or who are full-time students at a Georgia college or university at the time of application and on the date of the award) and who have published no more than one book are eligible to apply. Submit a poetry or prose writing sample of up to 10 pages and an artist’s statement of no more than 500 words discussing your work and goals as a writer by October 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for an application and complete guidelines.