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.

National Federation of State Poetry Societies

Cash Prize: $1,300
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by National Federation of State Poetry Societies Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives...

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Copper Nickel

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Matthew Olzmann will judge. Using only the online submission...

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TulipTree Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/24

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 pages...

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Sixfold

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 10/24/24
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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Tucson Festival of Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

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...

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Red Hen Press

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $3,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Jason Schneiderman will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Carlow University

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Voices From the Attic is given annually to a woman poet over 40 who has not published a full-length poetry collection. The winner...

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University of North Texas Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of...

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Tupelo Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Tupelo Press will be given annually for a full- or chapbook-length poetry collection or a book of nonfiction (including memoir, essays, and...

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Bedford Competition

Cash Prize: $1,951
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of £1,500 (approximately $1,951) each and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Jessica Mookherjee will...

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Saturnalia Books

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Saturnalia Books is given annually for a poetry collection in translation. Translators who identify as female (including those who are...

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Comstock Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Comstock Review, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Abayomi Animashaun will judge. Submit a manuscript of 25 to 34...

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Poetry Society of the United Kingdom

Cash Prize: $6,504
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,504) and publication on the Poetry Society of the United Kingdom website is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £2,000...

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Cloudbank Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

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...

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Persea Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman. The winner also receives an optional...

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Malahat Review

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $26
Application Deadline: 11/1/24

Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,461) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the...

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Stanford University

Cash Prize: $102,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Five fellowships in poetry and five fellowships in fiction, each of $51,000 per year to attend Stanford University’s two-year creative writing program, will be given annually...

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Brick Road Poetry Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Brick Road Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Miriam Calleja will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50...

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African Poetry Book Fund

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 is given annually for a group of poems by an African poet who has not published a full-length collection. Writers who were born in Africa, are nationals or...

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North American Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a single poem. Stephanie Burt will judge. Submit up to five poems of any length with a $...

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American Academy in Rome

Cash Prize: $16,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 11/1/24

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...

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John Updike Society

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/24

A prize of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas in Tucson, Arizona, will be given annually for a group of poems or a work of fiction or nonfiction. The...

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Conduit Books & Ephemera

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/3/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 30 author copies is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...

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University of Wisconsin Press

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 11/7/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Wisconsin Press will be given for a poetry collection in translation. Idra Novey will judge. Using only the online submission...

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Yale University Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Yale University Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a full-length book of poetry and who...

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