A prize of $10,000 is given in alternating years for a poetry collection or a book of fiction by an author whose work “demonstrates a commitment to social justice.” This year...
read moreWriting Contests, Grants & Awards
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Kansas City Public Library
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 4/1/26
Orison Books
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/1/26
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by Orison Books are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction. Leila Chatti will judge in poetry, and Margot...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Florida Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge....
read moreNew Ohio Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 4/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Submit a poem or group of...
read moreEpiphany
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 4/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Epiphany are given annually for a poem or a group of poems and a short work of fiction or nonfiction. Using only the...
read morePen Parentis
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/17/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000, a year of mentorship, and publication in Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine is given annually to a fiction writer who is the parent of a child under...
read moreDesperate Literature
Cash Prize: $2,334
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 4/19/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,334), publication in the Desperate Literature prize anthology, and a weeklong residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation’s castle in the...
read moreNarrative
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 4/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
An award of $5,000 is given annually for a poem, short story, novel excerpt, or work of creative nonfiction by an emerging writer. Previously unpublished work and work...
read moreDIAGRAM/New Michigan Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 4/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
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...
read moreTadpole Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 4/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Submit a work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction of up to 100 words with a $15 entry fee by April 30....
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a short story with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge...
read moreWinning Writers
Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $3,500 each, two gift certificates for two-year memberships to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually...
read moreInterlochen Center for the Arts
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $25,000 and a two- to three-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction published in...
read moreRegal House Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novella. The editors will judge. English translations of works originally written in another...
read moreCrook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 5/15/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel primarily set in the American South. Authors living anywhere are eligible. Self-published books are accepted, but books...
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