Blog
40 Writing Contests to Enter Right Now
by Writing Workshops Staff
A year ago
Here is a list of 40 writing contests to enter right now! Get your Late Fall 2021 and 2022 submissions read and out into the world (and, if you're looking for a class in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or screenwriting, we've got you covered):
Friends of American Writers
A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction published during the previous year by a writer who is a resident of the Midwest (or who...
read moreCommonwealth Club of California
Five prizes of $5,000 are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a first book of fiction, a book of creative nonfiction, and a book of fiction or nonfiction...
read moreWriter’s Digest
A prize of $3,000 and travel and lodging expenses for a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City is given annually for a short short story. A second-place prize...
read moreCenter for Book Arts
A prize of $500 and letterpress publication by the Center for Book Arts is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive 10 copies of their chapbook and an...
read moreStory Magazine
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Story Magazine will be given annually for a short story. Submit a short story of no more than 10,000 words with a $25 entry fee by...
read moreNowhere
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Nowhere is given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, or an essay that "possesses a powerful sense of place." Porter Fox will...
read moreSilverfish Review Press
A prize of $1,000, publication by Silverfish Review Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a first poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a...
read moreLascaux Review
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words...
read moreVirginia Commonwealth University
A prize of at least $3,000 is given annually for a first novel published during the previous year. The winner and two additional guest panelists (usually the winner's agent and...
read moreCodhill Press
A prize of $1,000, publication by Codhill Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. James Sherwood will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 70...
read moreBefore Columbus Foundation
Awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the previous year to recognize “outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s...
read moreCleveland Foundation
Three to four prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published during...
read moreLitMag
A prize of $2,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. The winner will have their work reviewed by agents from Bankoff Collaborative, the...
read moreFlorida Review
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Florida Review is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative. Submit a manuscript of...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Two prizes of $65,000 CAD (approximately $51,912) each are given annually for poetry collections published during the previous year by a Canadian poet or translator and by an...
read moreMoth
A prize of €6,000 (approximately $7,032) and publication in the Moth is given annually for a single poem. Three runner-up prizes of €1,000 (approximately $1,172) each...
read moreBurnside Review Press
A prize of $1,000, publication by Burnside Review Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Sommer Browning will judge. Using only the online...
read moreLivingston Press
A prize of $1,000, publication by Livingston Press, and 100 author copies is given annually for a first collection of short stories by a U.S. citizen. Submit a manuscript of...
read morePoetry Society of America
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website will be given annually for a group of poems from a manuscript-in-progress. Major Jackson will judge....
read moreAshland Creek Press
A prize of $1,000 is given biennially for an unpublished or published book of fiction or creative nonfiction that focuses on the environment, animal protection, ecology, or...
read moreHub City Press
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Hub City Press is given biennially for a short story collection. Writers who have published no more than one book and who currently live in...
read moreCrosswinds
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Crosswinds is given annually for a single poem. Chard deNiord will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...
read moreKallisto Gaia Press
A prize of $1,200 and publication by Kallisto Gaia Press will be given annually for a collection of short works of fiction. Submit any combination of short stories, flash...
read morePoetry Society of America
A prize of $2,500 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website is given annually to a poet over 40 who has published no more than one book. Traci Brimhall will...
read moreBoulevard
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. The editors will...
read moreKallisto Gaia Press
A prize of $1,200 and publication by Kallisto Gaia Press will be given annually for a poetry chapbook. Submit 28 to 48 pages of poems and a $25 entry fee, which includes a copy...
read moreTupelo Press
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Tupelo Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives a weeklong residency at the Massachusetts Museum of...
read morePress 53
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 50 author copies is given annually for a story collection. Claire V. Foxx will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 250 pages...
read moreMississippi Review
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of Southern...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
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 will be...
read moreSan José State University
Yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include a stipend of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative...
read moreGemini Magazine
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a single poem. The editors will judge. Submit up to three poems of any length with an $8...
read moreLeon Levy Center for Biography
Four fellowships of $72,000, writing space at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, access to research facilities, and research assistance from a graduate student is given...
read moreNational Endowment for the Arts
Grants of up to $25,000 each are given annually to translators of poetry and prose from any language into English. Applicants must have published, alone or in collaboration, at...
read moreColorado Review
A prize of $2,500 and publication by the Center for Literary Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. Gillian Conoley will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100...
read moreFrench-American Foundation
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 moreEllen Meloy Fund
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to enable a creative nonfiction writer “whose work reflects the spirit and passions for the desert embodied in Ellen Meloy’s writing” to...
read moreAsheville Poetry Review
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Asheville Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Malaprop's Bookstore...
read moreLorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the competition website is given annually for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed...
read moreFordham University at Lincoln Center
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Fordham University Press are given annually for poetry collections. The winners also receive a publicity consultation and headline...
read more
