A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Submit a poem of up to five...
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.
Tuliptree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Creative Writing Ink
Cash Prize: $1,335
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 10/21/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,335), publication on the Creative Writing Ink website, and a free online writing course with Creative Writing Ink is given annually for a...
read moreTucson Festival of Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The winners will also receive scholarships to attend a workshop at the...
read moreBedford Competition
Cash Prize: $2,670
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Two prizes of £2,000 (approximately $2,670) each and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Fran Lock will judge in...
read moreCloudbank Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Cloudbank Books, and 50 author copies is given annually for a collection of poetry, flash fiction, or a combination of the two. Submit a...
read moreFonograf Editions
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500, publication by Fonograf Editions, and 15 author copies will be given annually for a book in any genre, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and...
read moreNorth American Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a work of speculative fiction. Kate Folk will judge. Submit up to two works of flash...
read moreMalahat Review
Cash Prize: $1,405
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,405) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only...
read moreAmerican Academy in Rome
Cash Prize: $16,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Half-term and full-term fellowships of $16,000 and $30,000 respectively are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, and...
read moreEpiphany
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Epiphany is given annually for a poem or a group of poems, a work of fiction, or a work of creative nonfiction. The winner will...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, a story collection, a novella, or a...
read moreJohn Updike Society
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas that John Updike owned and worked out of in Tucson is given annually for a group of poems or a work of...
read moreWillow Springs Books
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Willow Springs Books is given annually for a short story collection. Submit a manuscript of three or more stories totaling at least 100...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, a story collection, a novella, or a...
read moreStanford University
Cash Prize: $75,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 11/2/26
Ten fellowships, five in poetry and five in fiction, of $75,000 each per year to attend Stanford University’s two-year creative writing program are given annually for...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/8/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for an excerpt of an unpublished novel or novel-in-progress by an emerging writer. The winner...
read moreNarrative
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 11/13/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a short story, a work of flash fiction, an essay, a memoir, a photo essay, a short graphic narrative, or an excerpt from a longer work...
read moreF(r)iction
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/13/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the F(r)iction website is given biannually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 1,001 to...
read moreCommonwealth Club of California
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a first book of fiction, a book of creative nonfiction, and a book dealing with a...
read moreNarratively
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication on Narratively’s storytelling platform is given annually for a short work of memoir written in the first person. Using only the online...
read moreFine Arts Work Center
Cash Prize: $1,300
Entry Fee: $40
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Fellowships for a seven-month residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are given annually to four poets and four fiction writers who have not...
read morePushcart Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that...
read moreWriter’s Digest
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/16/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a short short story. The winner is also provided money for travel and lodging expenses to attend the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference....
read moreThe Story Prize
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 11/16/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story collection written in English and published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up will receive $5,000 each,...
read moreCommunity of Literary Magazines & Presses
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $65
Application Deadline: 11/18/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each are given annually for a book of poetry, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published by an independent press in the current year...
read more