by Writing Workshops Staff
A year ago
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Find 52 excellent writing contests below with deadlines between now and February 15th, 2023. Polish your manuscript and submit it to one of these great writing contests (and, if you're looking for a class in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or screenwriting, we've got you covered).
Winter Anthology
Writing Contest
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 1/10/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Winter Anthology is given annually for a group of poems, a story, a novel excerpt, or an essay. Ann Lauterbach will judge. Using...
National Endowment for the Arts
Translation Projects Fellowship
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/12/23
Genre: Poetry
Around 20 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...
92NY Unterberg Poetry Center
Discovery Poetry Contest
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/13/23
Genre: Poetry
Four prizes of $500 each and publication in Paris Review Daily are given annually for a group of poems. Winners also receive lodging and travel expenses to give a reading at...
French-American Foundation
Translation Prize
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/13/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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...
Colorado Review
Colorado Prize for Poetry
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/14/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,500 and publication by the Center for Literary Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. Felicia Zamora will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100...
Ellen Meloy Fund
Desert Writers Award
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/15/23
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
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...
North Carolina Writers’ Network
Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $12
Application Deadline: 1/15/23
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for an essay “that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians.” The winning essay will also be...
Asheville Poetry Review
William Matthews Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/15/23
Genre: Poetry
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 in...
Virginia Commonwealth University
Levis Reading Prize
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to give a reading at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond is given annually for a first or second book of poetry...
Poetry Society of Virginia
North American Book Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $36
Application Deadline: 1/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the previous year. The winner is also invited to read at the organization’s annual Spring Poetry...
Sixfold
Poetry and Short Story Awards
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 1/24/23
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...
North Carolina Writers’ Network
Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/30/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or a self-contained novel excerpt. Judy Goldman will judge. The winning work of fiction will also be considered for...
Ghost Story
Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website and in the 21st Century Ghost Stories anthology is given twice yearly for a work of flash fiction with a...
Regal House Publishing
Terry J. Cox Poetry Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $25 entry fee by January 31...
Iowa Review
Iowa Review Awards
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
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...
WOMR/WFMR Community Radio
Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Marge Piercy will judge. Submit up to five poems totaling no more than seven pages with a $15 entry fee by January 31....
New Millennium Writings
New Millennium Writing Awards
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings are given twice yearly for a single poem, a short story, a work of flash fiction, and a work of...
Poetry Northwest
James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Poetry Northwest are given annually for a single poem by an Indigenous poet. The winners will also receive an all-expenses-...
Tupelo Press
Dorset Prize
Cash Prize: $8,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $8,500, publication by Tupelo Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives the option of either a weeklong...
Schaffner Press
Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
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...
Masters Review
Short Story Award for New Writers
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and online publication in Masters Review is given twice yearly for a short story by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book or who...
Fish Publishing
Short Memoir Prize
Cash Prize: $1,035
Entry Fee: $19
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,035) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short memoir. The winner is also invited to give a reading at...
Inlandia Institute
Eliud Martínez Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Inlandia Books will be given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by a writer who identifies as Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or...
swamp pink
Writing Prizes
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
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. Matthew Olzmann will judge in poetry, Jamil...
PEN America
Emerging Voices Fellowship
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Twelve 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...
Little Tokyo Historical Society
Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
Genre: Fiction
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Rafu Shimpo and on the Discover Nikkei and Little Tokyo Historical Society websites are given annually for short stories...
Black Lawrence Press
Big Moose Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 1/31/23
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-...
WB Yeats Society of NY
Yeats Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the WB Yeats Society of NY website is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives a two-year membership to the organization...
Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts
Philip Roth Residencies
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two four-month residencies, which include a stipend of $5,000 each, at the Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts at Bucknell University are given annually to writers in...
Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College
Paterson Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year. The winning poet is expected to participate in an awards ceremony, give a reading,...
Biographers International Organization
Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Fiction
Two prizes of $5,000 each will be given annually to writers “working on a biographical work about an African American figure (or figures) whose story provides a significant...
American Short Fiction
American Short(er) Fiction Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Short Fiction is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three...
Southern Indiana Review
Michael Waters Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Southern Indiana Review Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Michael Waters will judge. Submit 40 to 100 pages of poetry (no...
Slippery Elm
Prizes in Poetry and Prose
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Slippery Elm are given annually for a single poem and a short story or essay. Using only the online submission system,...
Salem State University
Claire Keyes Poetry Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Soundings East is given annually for a group of poems. Naomi Shihab Nye will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit...
Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College
Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 2/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Paterson Literary Review is given annually for a single poem. A second prize of $1,000 and publication in Paterson Literary...
The de Groot Foundation
Courage to Write Grants
Cash Prize: $7,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 2/12/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Seven grants of $7,000 each will be given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with works-in-progress and “for whom a monetary boost...
Omnidawn Publishing
First/Second Poetry Book Contest
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/13/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Sawako Nakayasu will judge. Using only...
Academy of American Poets
Ambroggio Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arizona Press is given annually for a poetry collection originally written in Spanish by a living writer and translated into...
Academy of American Poets
Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the United States during the previous year. Anna Deeny...
Furious Flower Poetry Center
Furious Flower Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems. The winner also receives a $500...
New American Press
New American Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by New American Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Jamaica Baldwin will judge. Writers of any citizenship...
Sarabande Books
Morton and McCarthy Prizes
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $29
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for collections of poetry and fiction. For the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, using only the...
Airlie Press
Airlie Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Airlie Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
Arrowsmith Press
Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in English during the previous year by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States. Poets who are...
Syracuse University Press
Veterans Writing Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Syracuse University Press is given biennially in alternating years for either a debut fiction or a debut nonfiction manuscript written by a...
Center for African American Poetry and Poetics/Autumn House Press
Book Prize
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection or a work that intersects with poetry, including hybrid text,...
Hidden River Arts
Willow Run Poetry Book Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/20/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Works translated into English are eligible, but the author must submit. The...
Sustainable Arts Foundation
Writing Awards
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/24/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to 20 awards of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with children. Writers with at least one child under the age of 18...
Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Janus Prize
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
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...
Minds Shine Bright
Confidence Competition
Cash Prize: $1,031
Entry Fee: $3
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
A prize of $1,600 AUD (approximately $1,031) and publication in the Confidence Minds Shine Bright anthology will be given annually for works of poetry or fiction exploring the...
Tupelo Press
Snowbound Chapbook Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 36 pages with a $25 entry fee by...
Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Self-Publishing Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book by an African American writer self-published in the United States during the previous year...
Fish Publishing
Flash Fiction Prize
Cash Prize: $1,035
Entry Fee: $14
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,035) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short short story. The winner is also invited to give a...
Red Hen Press
Women’s Prose Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction by a writer who identifies as a woman. Cai Emmons will judge. Using...
Austin Community College
Balcones Prizes
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Two prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction published during the previous year. Authors or publishers may submit three copies of...
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Award Series
Cash Prize: $5,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. In addition, two prizes of $2,500 each and...
Mississippi Arts Commission
Literary Artist Fellowships
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be offered in...
Kansas City Public Library
Maya Angelou Book Award
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
A prize of $10,000 is given in alternating years for a poetry collection or a novel by an author whose work “demonstrates a commitment to social justice in America and/or the...
Poets & Writers, Inc.
Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner will also receive a monthlong residency at the Jentel Artist...
Broadside Lotus Press
Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $500 and publication by Broadside Lotus Press is given annually for a poetry collection by an African American poet. Submit two copies of a manuscript of...
Academy of American Poets
Raiziss/de Palchi Fellowship
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A fellowship of $25,000 is given biennially for the translation into English of a work of modern Italian poetry. The winning translator will also receive a five-week residency...
Biographers International Organization
Hazel Rowley Prize
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a writer who has not published a biography. The winner will also receive review of their proposal by an agent,...
Alabama State Council on the Arts
Literary Arts Fellowships
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Approximately two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in the state of Alabama for at least...
University of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships
Cash Prize: $39,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
An academic year in residence, which includes a stipend of at least $39,000, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is given annually to at least five writers working on a...
Persea Books
Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/7/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet who has published at least one book of poetry. Using only the online...
TulipTree Publishing
Wild Women Story Contest
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/8/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review is given annually for a single poem, a short story, or an essay “whose main characters embody the Wild Woman spirit...
National Endowment for the Arts
Creative Writing Fellowships
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/8/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Around 35 grants of $25,000 each are given annually in alternating years to poets and prose writers to “enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel,...
Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation
Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $100
Application Deadline: 3/10/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published in the previous year that “foster peace,...
Selected Shorts
Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Contest
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/10/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and tuition for a 10-week writing class through New York City’s Gotham Writers Workshop is given annually for a short story. The winning work will be...
Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Fiction
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...
Hidden River Arts
Eludia Award
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Sowilo Press is given annually for a first book of fiction by a woman writer over the age of 40. Works translated into English are eligible...
James Jones Literary Society
First Novel Fellowship
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $33
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. The first runner-up will receive $3,000 and the second runner-up...
Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
Poetry Prize
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Juan Felipe Herrera will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each with a $10 entry fee by March...
Prairie Schooner
Raz-Shumaker Book Prizes
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by University of Nebraska Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. Kwame Dawes will judge. Submit a...
