Grants of $2,500 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are residents of Washington State. Students enrolled in a degree-granting program...
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.
Artist Trust
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/22/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Washington Writers’ Publishing House
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,500 each, publication by Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and 25 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection or...
read moreUniversity of North Texas Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and online publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published or unpublished stories are eligible....
read moreTRP
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000, publication by TRP: The University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using...
read moreBellevue Literary Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the...
read moreBrooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,750
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,750, publication in Pree and New York Carib News, as well as on the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) website, and an...
read moreThe Story Prize
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 7/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story or novella collection written in English and published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up receive $5,000...
read moreFarrar, Straus and Giroux
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/3/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $15,000 is given annually to an emerging poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer from an underrepresented community who has not published and is not...
read moreStony Brook Southampton
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/14/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story by a current undergraduate college student. The winner also receives a full scholarship to attend the Southampton Writers...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/15/26
Genre: Fiction
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...
read moreMunster Literature Centre
Cash Prize: $2,350
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 7/31/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,350) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a four-night stay at a hotel to...
read moreAnthology Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,179
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 7/31/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,179) and publication in Anthology Magazine is given annually for a short story. Submit a story of no more than 1,500 words with an...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a work of flash fiction, and an essay. Using only the...
read moreThe Center For Fiction
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/31/26
Genre: Fiction
Nine fellowships of $5,000 each, a one-year membership to the Center for Fiction, and a year of access to the Writers Studio writing space are given annually to fiction writers...
read moreUniversity of Pittsburgh Press
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/31/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $25,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book...
read moreBlack Warrior Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system...
read moreGranum Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support the completion of a manuscript-in-progress. Up to three finalists are...
read moreDelaware Division of the Arts
Cash Prize: $8,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/3/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Established Professional Fellowships of $8,000 each and Emerging Professional Fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction...
read moreLiterary Arts
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/7/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of $4,000 each are given annually to aid Oregon writers in initiating, developing, or completing literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction....
read moreGival Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/8/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Gival Press website is given annually for a short story. Submit a story of 5,000 to 15,000 words with a $25 entry fee by August 8....
read moreTulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/9/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that responds to the following prompt: “What if the only way to save yourself from this reality is to...
read moreFuturepoem
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 8/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of innovative poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid work “that...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/30/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for a short story or an essay by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book, self-...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 8/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors and a...
read more