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.

New York Public Library

Cash Prize: $85,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/27/24

Fifteen fellowships are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators, whose work...

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Ghost Story

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a short story with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge....

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University of Mississippi

Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a novel published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the U.S. South.” The...

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Texas Review Press: The University Press of SHSU

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000, publication by Texas Review Press: The University Press of SHSU, and 10 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using only the...

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Dzanc Books

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. Farah Ali, Chika Unigwe,...

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University of Iowa Press

Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

Two prizes of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for debut collections of short fiction. Submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages by September 30....

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PEN/Faulkner Foundation

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $95
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published during the current year. Four finalists each receive $5,000. The winner and finalists will also be invited...

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Hackney Literary Awards

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Submit a manuscript of any length with a $30 entry fee by September 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines...

The Moth

Cash Prize: $1,094
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,094) and online publication in Irish Times is given annually for a poem, a story, or an essay that features “an exploration of the...

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University of Massachusetts Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/24

Five prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a debut poetry collection, a poetry collection by an author who has...

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Dzanc Books

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,500 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...

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Zoetrope: All-Story

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

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Zoetrope: All-Story website is given annually for a short story. The winner and finalists are considered for representation by...

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Permafrost

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

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Alaska Press will be given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The 2024 prize will be given in...

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Willow Springs Books

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000 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 98...

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Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a book of fiction. The winner also receives domestic airfare of up to $500, private...

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American Literary Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/1/24

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in American Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission...

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Georgia Writers

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/1/24

Three grants of $500 each are given annually in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to “elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of Black writers in Georgia.” Grantees also...

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One Story

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/9/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000, access to One Story online classes, and admission to One Story’s weeklong summer writers’ conference, which includes craft lectures, an intensive...

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University of Louisville

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

A prize of $2,000 and publication in Miracle Monocle is given annually for a work of fiction written in the fabulist experimental style of Italo Calvino. Elizabeth Crane...

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Pulitzer Prizes

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 10/15/24

Six prizes of $15,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U.S. history, biography, and memoir first published in the United States during...

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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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Masters Review

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/27/24
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 displaying “a strong voice, compelling...

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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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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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