Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of...
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.
Mississippi Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
North Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/2/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or an essay that “seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of Black North Carolinians.” The winning entry is...
read moreSan José State University
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/4/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Six yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include stipends of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/7/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by the Florida Review, and 50 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative....
read moreNew Literary Project
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/9/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to ten fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to creative writers who are high school teachers to support summer work on an ongoing fiction, creative nonfiction,...
read moreWinter Anthology
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 1/10/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Winter Anthology is given annually for a group of poems, a short story, a novel excerpt, or an essay. Srikanth Reddy will judge....
read moreFrench-American Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/12/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for translations from French into English of a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published...
read moreArts + Literature Laboratory
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and a five-day stay at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of...
read moreGeorgia Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given annually for a short story or an essay. Kiese Laymon will judge. Submit a story or essay of up to 9,000...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story collection, a novella, a novel, or other book-length work of fiction. Using only the online...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Thomas Wolfe Review is given annually for a short story or a self-contained novel excerpt. Karen Tucker will judge. Submit a work...
read moreStanford University Libraries
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 1/30/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for books of fiction and nonfiction published in the previous two years. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford University...
read moreSchaffner Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in...
read moreMoney for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $2,000 each are given in alternating years to feminist poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. This year...
read moreIowa Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission...
read morePrairie Heritage, Inc.
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of creative nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-...
read moreswamp pink
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in swamp pink are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
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 moreAustin Community College
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published during the previous year. Authors or...
read moreChautauqua Institution
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novel. The contest is open to traditional novels as well as “novels-in-...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to...
read moreNimrod International Journal
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for a poem or group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each...
read moreBiographers International Organization
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to writers working on a book-length biography of an African American figure (or figures) “whose story provides a significant...
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