Writing 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.

Sixfold

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 11/21/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...

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Narrative

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 11/26/24

A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, a memoir, a photo essay, a short graphic narrative,...

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Red Hen Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 11/30/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, a memoir, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Raymond...

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Tadpole Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/30/24

A prize of $2,000 and publication on the Tadpole Press website and in Tadpole Press Literary Magazine is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Submit a...

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Quarter After Eight

Cash Prize: $1,008
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/30/24

A prize of $1,008.15 and publication in Quarter After Eight is given annually for a prose poem, a short short story, a micro essay, or other work of short prose. Lily...

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LitMag

Cash Prize: $1,250
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 11/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,250 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents Jenny Bent (Bent...

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Fish Publishing

Cash Prize: $3,302
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 11/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,302) and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short story. The winner will also be invited to attend...

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Green Linden Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/30/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English....

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Pushcart Press

Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/24

Publication in The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is awarded annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by literary magazines...

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Regal House Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a story collection. Heather Bell Adams will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 350 pages...

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Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/24

Up to two prizes of $1,000 each and an invitation to give a public lecture at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia will be given annually for books of fiction and/or nonfiction...

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Friends of American Writers

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/14/24

A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction published during the current year that is set in the Midwest or by a writer who is a resident...

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Story

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/15/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Story is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words with a $...

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Virginia Commonwealth University

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel published during the current year. The winner is also provided money for the cost of travel and lodging to attend the...

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Michigan Quarterly Review

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000 and publication in Michigan Quarterly Review is given annually for a short story. Ghassan Zeineddine will judge. Using only the online submission...

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Tampa Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Tampa Review is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 500 to 5,000 words...

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LitMag

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents Lisa Bankoff (Bankoff...

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Action, Spectacle

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/24

A prize of $1,000, publication by Action, Spectacle, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a chapbook of poetry, prose, or hybrid-genre work. Using only the online...

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Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $15,000 is given annually to an emerging African American writer for a book of fiction published in the current year. The winner is also provided money for the cost...

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Alternating Current Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 12/31/24

A prize of $1,000, publication by Alternating Current Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection, story collection, essay collection, novel,...

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Lascaux Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Previously published and unpublished stories are eligible. The editors will...

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Boulevard

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. The editors will...

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Press 53

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 53 author copies is given annually for a story collection. Claire V. Foxx will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 250 pages...

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Black Caucus of the American Library Association

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/24

Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a debut novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...

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American Library Association

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a novel published in the current year that is set in a period when the United States was at war. Publishers or authors may submit seven...

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