Writing Contests
Poetry Contests, Fiction Contests, Creative Nonfiction, Flash Fiction, Essay and Photography Contests, and more! Contests for publications, publishers and universities listed in NewPages.com. Book contests listed separately.
Deadline Dates
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Open or No Deadline Contests
/ Awards for Works Published
Please note dates carefully.
The "NEW!"
graphic indicates recently added or updated. Most recent updated
May 8, 2008
May Deadline
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Blue Collar Review
Working People's Poetry Contest
Deadline: May 1 (Annual)
Fugue
Poetry / Judge: Mark Halliday
Fiction / Judge: TBA
Deadline: Postmark May 1, 2008
The Journal
Short Story Contest
Deadline: Postmark May 1 (annual)
Knock
Green Art & Ecolit Contest
Deadlin: May 1, 2008
The Malahat Review
Far Horizons Award for Poetry
Deadline: Postmark May 1, 2008
(Alternating years fiction/poetry: fiction-2009.)
Merlyn’s Pen
Down to the Sea with Paper & Pen
Deadline: March 1 - May 1, 2008
Ages: 13 - 17 yrs on June 15, 2008
The Southwest Review
David Nathan Mayerson Prize for Fiction
Deadline: May 1 (annual)
Sport Literate
Football Contest
Creative Non-fiction Essay
Deadline: Postmark May 1, 2008
Atlanta Review
International Poetry Competition
Deadline: Postmark May 9, 2008
The LBJ: Avian Life, Literary Arts
The Sparrow Prizes for Poetry and Prose
Deadline: Postmark May 15 (date inclusive)
Blind Man's Rainbow
Bi-Annual Poetry Contest
Deadlines: Postmark May 15 & November 15 (annual)
Boulevard
Poetry Contest For Emerging Poets
Deadline: Postmark May 15, 2008
Dancing Poetry Contest
Artist's Embassy International
You send the poem, they create the dance.
Deadline: Postmark May 15 (annual)
Room of One's Own
Annual Fiction and Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark May 15 (annual)
Ramble Underground
Short Fiction Contest
Deadline: Midnight May 15, 2008
Room Magazine
Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
Deadline: Postmark May 15, 2008
Ruminate
Janet B. McCabe Poetry Contest
Deadline: May 15, 2008
subTerrain
Annual Literary Awards Competition
Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Deadline: Postmark May 15 (annual)
New Letters
Annual Literary Awards Competition
Poetry, Creative Non-Fiction, and Fiction
Deadline: Postmark May 18 (annual)
Vocabula Review
Well-Written Writing Contest
Deadline: May 30 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Photo
Deadline: Postmark May 30 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Short Story
Deadline: Postmark May 30 (annual)
Hot Metal Press
The Antigonish Review
Annual Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark May 31, 2008
Calyx
2008 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize
Deadline: Postmark March 1 - May 31, 2008
Carve Magazine
Raymond Carver Short Story Contest
Deadline: April 15 - May 31, 2008
Crab Creek Review
The Crab Creek Review Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark May 31, 2008
Field
The Field Poetry Prize
Deadline: Entries postmarked during May 2008
Glimmer Train
Short Story Award for New Writers
Deadline: Submit during May only (annual)
Knockout Literary Magazine
Poetry Contest
Deadline: May 31, 2008
Madhatter's Review
Video Combination Contest
Video submissions of poems published in select lit mags (listed on the MH site)
Deadline: Midnight May 31, 2008
Pearl
Short Story Prize
(scroll down on the site)
Deadline: Postmark April 1 - May 31, 2008
Perigee
Poetry Contest
Deadline: February 1 - May 31 (annual)
(Look in "Current Issue" for information.)
River Styx
2008 International Poetry Contest
Deadline: May 31, 2008
Runes: A Review of Poetry
Poetry Award
Deadline: Postmark April 1 - May 31 (annual)
University of Georgia Press
Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction
Deadline: Postmark April 1 and May 31
Whidbey Island Writers Association
Whidbey Writers Workshop Short Form Student Choice Award
Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Prose Poetry, and Children/ Young Adults
Deadline: Monthly
June Deadline
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Boston Review
Tenth Annual Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark June 1 (annual)
Burning Bush Publications
The People Before Profits Poetry Prize
Deadline: June 1, 2008
Hunger Mountain
Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark June 1, 2008
Inglish House Poetry
(Wordgathering Online Journal)
Disability Poetry Contest
Deadline: June 1, 2008
Kennesaw Review
Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: June 1, 2008
Mid-American Review
Fineline Competition for Prose Poems, Short Shorts, and Anything In Between
Deadline: Postmark June 1, 2008
The MacGuffin
Poet Hunt Contest
Deadline: Postmark April 1 - June 3, 2008
Literal Latte Magazine
Short Shorts Awards
Deadline: Postmark June 7 (annual)
Indiana Review
Prose Poem and Short-short
Deadline: Postmark June 9, 2008
Final Judge: Russell Edson
Best New Poets
Deadline: June 10, 2008
The Bitter Oleander
The Frances Locke Memorial Poetry Award
Deadline: June 15, 2008
Chelsea
Short Fiction Competition
Deadline: Postmark June 15 (annual)
Southern Poetry Review
Guy Owen Prize Contest
Deadline: March 1 - June 15 (annual)
Rosebud
The William Stafford Award for Poetry
Deadline: June 1, 2007 - June 15, 2008
New Millennium
Awards for Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Short-short Fiction
Deadline: Midnight June 17, 2008
The Writers Journal
Write to Win!
"The cellar was open, but..."
Deadline: June 20
Toasted Cheese
A Midsummer Tale Writing Contest
Creative non-fiction
Deadline: June 21 (annual)
Gival Press
Oscar Wilde Award
GLBT Poem
Deadline: Postmark June 27 (annual)
The American Poetry Journal
Poetry
Deadline: June 30, 2008
The Antigonish Review
Annual Blue Heron Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark June 30, 2008
Arc Poetry Magazine
Poem of the Year Contest
Deadline: Postmark June 30, 2008
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
Deadline: Submit during June only (annual)
HereThere
Poetry Contest
Deadline: June 30, 2008
Lunch Hour Stories
Short Story Contest
Deadline: Postmark April 1 - June 30 (annual)
the new renaissance
tnr Poetry Award
The Louise E. Reynolds Memorial Fiction Award
The awards are give for each 3-issue volume of tnr, and only writers published in that volume are eligible.
Deadline: January 2 – June 30 for fiction or poetry;
September 1 – October 31 for fiction only
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
The Bechtel Prize - Essay
Deadline: June 30, 2008
July Deadline
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Alehouse
The 2007 Happy Hour Poetry Awards
Deadline: Postmark July 1, 2008
The Baltimore Review
Poetry Competition
Deadline: Postmark April 1 - July 1 (annual)
Comstock Review
The Comstock Review Poetry Contest
Final Judge: Carolyn Forché
Deadline: Postmark July 1 (annual)
Elsewhere Journal
Scott Russell Sander Prize for Nonfiction
Deadline: April 1 - July 4, 2008
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
Summer Deadline: May 1– July 15 (annual)
Winter Deadline: November 1 - January 15 (annual)
Literal Latte Magazine
Poetry Awards
Deadline: July 15 (annual)
Post Road Magazine
Fiction and Poetry Contest
Deadline: July 15 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Romance
Deadline: Postmark July 30 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Family Matters Contest
Standard Short Story Contest
Deadline: Submit during July only (annual)
August Deadline
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Bellevue Literary Review
BLR Prize for outstanding writing related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body - any genre.
Deadline: August 1, 2008
Ecotone
Ecotone Evolution Contest
Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction
Deadline: October 15, 2008 Changed to August 1, 2008
The Malahat Review
Creative Non-fiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark August 1, 2008
Juked
Fiction and Poetry Prizes
Final Judges: Mark Winegardner (fiction) and
Angela Ball (poetry)
Deadline: Postmark August 1, 2008
American Zoetrope
Screenplay Contest
Opens: June 2, 2008
Early Deadline: August 1, 2008
Late Deadline: September 2, 2008
Rattle
Poetry Prize
Deadline: Postmark August 1, 2008
Southeast Missouri State University Press
Big Muddy Journal
Mighty River Short Story Contest
Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: August 1, 2008
Gival Press
Short Story Award
Deadline: Postmark August 8, 2008
Memoir (and)
Nonfiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark May - August 15, 2008
Smartish Pace
Annual Erskine J. Poetry Prize
Deadline: August 15 (annual)
The Writers Journal
Write to Win!
"Those ungrateful..."
Deadline: August 20 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Very Short Fiction Award
Deadline: Submit during August only (annual)
Writers' Journal
Poetry
Deadline: Postmark August 30 (annual)
Our Stories
Emerging Writers Story Contest
Deadline: June 1 - August 31 (annual)
Feedback provided for all entries
Southern California Review
Fiction Contest
Deadline: Postmark August 31, 2008
September Deadline
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American Literary Review
Short Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry
Deadline: Postmark June 1 - September 1, 2008
*Site not updated, but most recent issue of review shows 2008 deadline dates.
Ontario Review
Short Fiction Prize
Deadline: May 1 – September 1, 2008
American Zoetrope
Screenplay Contest
Opens: June 2, 2008
Early Deadline: August 1, 2008
Late Deadline: September 2, 2008
Moment
The Moment-Karma Short Fiction Contest
For "works of unpublished short fiction with Jewish content"
Deadline: Postmark September 3, 2008
Hunger Mountain
Creative Nonfiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark June 1 - September 10, 2008
High Desert Journal
The Obsidian Prize
For Fiction and Nonfiction
Deadline: September 15, 2008
*Guidelines in the Spring 2008 issue (7).
The Missouri Review
Audio & Video Competition
Voice-Only Literature, Narrative Essay, Documentary, Video
Deadline: Postmark September 15, 2008
Open City
RRofihe Trophy
For an unpublished short story
Deadline: Postmark September 15, 2008
Literal Latte Magazine
Essay Awards
Deadline: Postmark September 20 (annual)
Toasted Cheese
Three Cheers and a Tiger Writing Contest
Time-limited science fiction / fantasy contest
Deadline: Held the weekend closest to 21st of September (annual)
ARC Poetry Magazine
Diana Brebner Prize for Ottawa poets
Deadline: Received by September 30 (annual)
Canadian Writer's Journal
Semi-annual Short Fiction Contest
Deadline: Postmark March 31 & September 30
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
Deadline: Submit during September only (annual)
Raving Dove
Evolve Beyond Violence Nonfiction Essay Award
Deadline: March 1 - September 30, 2008
The Southwest Review
Morton Marr Poetry Prize
Deadline: Postmark September 30 (annual)
October Deadline
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Black Warrior Review
Fiction and Poetry
Deadline: Postmark May 1 - October 1, 2008
Boston Review
Annual Short-Story Contest
Deadline: October 1 (annual)
Harpur Palate
The Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry
Deadline: July 1 - October 1 (annual)
The Missouri Review
Editors' Prize in Fiction, Essay, & Poetry
Deadline: Postmark October 1 (annual)
Yalobusha Review
Barry Hannah Fiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark October 1, 2008
Cutthroat
Joy Harjo Poetry Award and
Rick DeMarinis Short Fiction Award
Deadline: Postmark June 15 - October 10, 2008
Ecotone
Ecotone Evolution Contest
Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction
Deadline: October 15, 2008 Changed to August 1, 2008
So to Speak
Poetry and Nonfiction Contests
Deadline: October 15, 2008
Inkwell
Short Fiction Contest
Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark August 1 - October 30, 2008
Glimmer Train
Family Matters Contest
Standard Short Story Contest
Deadline: Submit during October only (annual)
the new renaissance
tnr Poetry Award
The Louise E. Reynolds Memorial Fiction Award
The awards are give for each 3-issue volume of tnr, and only writers published in that volume are eligible.
Deadline: January 2 – June 30 for fiction or poetry;
September 1 – October 31 for fiction only
Transitions
Abroad
Narrative Travel Writing Contest
Deadline: February 1 - October 31, 2008
November Deadline
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Anderbo
Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark November 1, 2008
Judge: Kim Waller
Compass Rose
Pat Parnell Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark November 1 (annual)
Harpur Palate
The Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry
Deadline: July 1 - Extended to November 1 (annual)
The Pinch
2nd Annual Patrick W. Ryan Undergraduate Writing Awards
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Deadline: Postmark August 15 - November 1
Reed
The Edwin Markham Prize in Poetry
Deadline: Online June - November 1, 2008
Reed
The John Steinbeck Award for The Short Story
Deadline: Oline June - November 1, 2008
Ruminate
Short Story Contest
Deadline: November 1, 2008
Smartish Pace
Beullah Rose Poetry Prize
Deadline: November 1 (annual)
Sow's Ear Poetry Review
Poetry Competition
Submit September-October only
Deadline: Postmark November 1 (annual)
The Tampa Review
Danahy Fiction Prize
Deadline: November 1 (annual)
Blind Man's Rainbow
Bi-Annual Poetry Contest
Deadlines: Postmark May 15 & November 15 (annual)
Fourth River
Poetry and Creative Nonfiction
Deadline: Postmark November 15, 2008
Hollins University
Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest For High School Sophomore and Junior Girls
Deadline: November 15 (annual)
Yemassee Journal
The William Richey Short Story Contest
Deadline: Postmark November 15 (annual)
Five Points
James Dickey Poetry Prize
Deadline: Postmark November 30, 2007
(website still has last year's info, but new info has been published in recent lit mags)
Glimmer Train
Short Story Award for New Writers
Deadline: Submit during November only (annual)
Prairie Fire Press
The Banff Centre Bliss Carman Poetry Award
Short Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction
Deadline: November 30, 2008
Writers' Journal
Photo
Deadline: Postmark November 30 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Travel
Deadline: Postmark November 30 (annual)
December Deadline
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The Baltimore Review
Annual Short Fiction Competition
Deadline: Postmark August 1 - December 1 (annual)
The Cream City Review
Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry Contests
Deadline: December 1 (annual)
Phoebe
Winter Fiction Contest
Greg Grummer Poetry Award
Deadline: Postmark December 1 (annual)
Hunger Mountain
Ruth Stone Prize in Poetry
Deadline: December 10, 2008
The Adirondack Review
Photography Contest
Deadline: December 15 (annual)
Boulevard
Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
Deadline: Postmark December 15, 2007
Chelsea
Poetry Competition
Deadline: Postmark December 15 (annual)
The Fiddlehead
Theme Contest: Anniversaries
Poem and Short Story
Deadline: December 15 (annual)
Water~Stone Review
Jane Kenyon Poetry Prize
Deadline: November 1 - December 15, 2008
Meridian
Editor's Prize Competition in Fiction and Poetry
Deadline: October 19 - Midnight December 20 (annual)
Toasted Cheese
Dead of Winter Writing Contest - Fiction
Details available November 1
Deadline: November 1 - December 21 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Poetry
Deadline: Postmark December 30 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
Deadline: Submit during December only (annual)
Lunch Hour Stories
Very Short Story Contest
Deadline: Postmark October 1 - December 31 (annual)
North American Review
Kurt Vonnegut Fiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark December 31, 2007
Perigee
Short Story Contest
Deadline: September 1 - December 31 (annual)
(Look in "Current Issue" for information.)
Southern California Review
Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark December 31, 2008
January Deadline
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The Journal
William Allen Creative Nonfiction Prize
Deadline: Postmark January 15 (annual)
Literal Latte Magazine
Fiction Awards
Food Verse Awards
Deadline: Postmark January 15 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Fiction
Deadline: Postmark January 30 (annual)
Chattahoochee Review
Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction
Deadline: October 1 - January 31 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Family Matters Contest
Standard Short Story Contest
Deadline: Submit during January only (annual)
February Deadline
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The Madison Review
Phyllis Smart Young Prize in Poetry
Chris O'Malley Prize in Fiction
Deadline: February 1 (annual)
Yemassee Journal
The Pocataligo Poetry Contest
Deadline: Postmark February 15 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Very Short Fiction Award
Deadline: Submit during February only (annual)
March Deadline
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Flint Hills Review
Annual Nonfiction Contest
Deadline: Postmark March 15 (annual)
The Pinch
The River City Writing Awards in Fiction and Poetry
Deadline: Postmark January 15 - March 15
Toasted Cheese
Three Cheers and a Tiger Writing Contest
48 hour mystery short story contest
Deadline: Held on the weekend closest to 21st of March (annual)
Writers' Journal
Horror/Ghost
Deadline: Postmark March 30 (annual)
Bayou Magazine
Nonfiction Bonanza
Deadline: Postmark November 15 - March 31 (annual)
Canadian Writer's Journal
Semi-annual Short Fiction Contest
Deadline: Postmark March 31 & September 30
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
Deadline: Submit during March only (annual)
Harpur Palate
The John Gardner Memorial Prize for Fiction
Deadline: January 1 - March 31 (annual)
Poetica Magazine
Poetry Contest
Deadline: March 31 (annual)
Shenandoah
The Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers
2006 Prize - Short Fiction; 2007 Prize - Poetry; 2008 Prize - Creative Nonfiction; 2009 Prize - Short Stories
Deadline: March 15 - March 31 (annual)
Whiskey Island
Poetry and Fiction Contest
Deadline: October 1 - March 31 (annual)
April Deadline
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The Baltimore Review
Annual Creative Nonfiction Competition
Deadline: Postmark January 1 - April 1 (annual)
Crab Orchard Review
Poetry, Fiction, Literary Nonfiction
Deadline: Postmark February 1 - April 1 (annual)
Eleventh Muse
Poetry West
Poetry Contest
Deadline: April 1
sub-TERRAIN
Lush Triumphant
Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Deadline: Postmark April 15 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Family Matters Contest
Standard Short Story Contest
Deadline: April 30 (annual)
Writers' Journal
Poetry
Deadline: Postmark April 30 (annual)
Open Deadline or No Noted Deadline
top of page
poemeleon
The Mystery Box Contest
Write a poem inspired by the box pictured online.
Win the box and get published.
Zone 3
Annual Fiction Award
No Deadline
Awards for Published Works
top of page
American Poetry Review
The Jerome J. Shestack Poetry Prizes
Two annual prizes for poetry published in APR during the calendar year.
Arc Poetry Magazine
Confederation Poets Prize
$250 for the best poem published in Arc in the previous calendar year.
Critic's Desk Award
"The Award is given annually to a feature review and to a brief review to have been published in Arc in the previous calendar year."
Beloit Poetry Journal
"Awarded to the author of the poem or group of poems that the editors judge to be the most outstanding among those we've published during the previous year."
Birmingham Poetry Review
The BPR Dean's Award
For the best poem or group of poems published in BPR. Follow standard submission guidelines.
Chaffin Journal
The Chaffin Award
Awarded annually for one poem and one story are published in The Chaffin Journal.
Free Lunch
The Rosine Offen Memorial Award
Awarded to one poem from every issue.
Hunger Mountain
The Stinehour Broadside Award
Honors a contributor from the previous year’s issues by printing their work on a letterpress broadside.
Michigan Quarterly Review
Lawrence Foundation Prize
"This is not a contest."
Best short story published in MQR the previous year.
Narrative Magazine
Narrative Prize awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative.
the new renaissance
tnr Poetry Award
The Louise E. Reynolds Memorial Fiction Award
The awards are give for each 3-issue volume of tnr, and only writers published in that volume are eligible.
Deadline: January 2 – June 30 for fiction or poetry;
September 1 – October 31 for fiction only
The Paris Review
The Plimpton Prize
Awarded to the best work of fiction published in The Paris Review in a given year by an emerging or previously unpublished writer.
The Paris Review Hadada
Awarded annually to a distinguished member of the literary community who has demonstrated a strong and unique commitment to the literary arts.
Pilgrimage
For the best personal essay published in Pilgrimage 2008
Announced on site December 20, 2008
PRISM International
The Earle Birney Prize for Poetry
Awarded annually to an outstanding poetry contributor published in PRISM.
Rhino
Annual Editors’ Prizes for works published in Rhino.
Shenandoah
Fiction, Poetry, Essay
Awarded annually to the best author in each genre published during the volume year.
The Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers
Eligibility for 2007 Prize: all writers of POETRY with only one published book in that genre.
Deadline: March 15 to March 31
The Southern Review
The Eudora Welty Prize in Fiction
given to the best short story published in The
Southern Review each volume year
The Robert Penn Warren Prize in Poetry
given to the best poem or group of poems published in
The Southern Review each volume year
The Cleanth Brooks Prize in Nonfiction
given to the best work of nonfiction published in
The Southern Review each volume year
Southwest Review
McGinnis-Ritchie Awards for Fiction and Nonfiction, Essay
Awarded annually to the best genre works published during the previous year in SR's pages.
The Elizabeth Matchett Stover Memorial Award
Awarded to the best poem or group of poems published during the previous year in SR's pages.
Morton Marr Poetry Prize
An annual award to a poem by a writer who has not yet published a first book of poetry.
The David Nathan Meyerson Prize for Fiction
New prize, beginning in 2008, for fiction writers who have not published a first book.
Weber Studies
Dr. O. Marvin Lewis Essay Award
Best essay/personal narrative published in WS previous year.
Dr. Sherwin W. Howard Poetry Award
Best poetry published in WS previous year.
Dr. Neila C. Seshachari Fiction Award
Best fiction published in WS previous year.