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.
Contests / Awards for Works Published
Please note dates carefully.
Deadline Dates
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
No Deadline
Most recent update: February 2, 2010
Contests
February Deadline
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The Malahat Review
Novella Contest
$500 CAD +pub
Deadline: Postmark February 1, 2010
Fee: $35 CAD, $40 US, $45 US for Mexico & international submissions
The Aurorean
Haiku Contest
Entrants MUST be U.S. undergraduate/graduate in Creative Writing
Deadline: February 15 (annual)
No Fee
Iron Horse Literary Review
Iron Horse Collection Competition
Prose (fiction/nonfiction)
$1k+pub
Judge: Mark Richard
Deadline: February 15, 2010
Fee: $15 (includes 1 year subscription)
Memoir (and)
Memoir in Prose or Poetry
$500/$250/$100+pub
Graphic Memoir
$100+pub
All submissions eligible to win.
Deadline: February 15 (annual)
No entry fee
Passages North
The Waasmode Short Fiction Prize
1k+pub
7500 word max
Judge: Rebecca Johns
Just Desserts Short-short Fiction Prize
1k+pub
1000 word max
Judge: Jennifer A. Howard
Deadline: Postmark February 15, 2010
Fee: $10
CutBank
The Montana Prizes in Fiction & Nonfiction
Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry
$500/category+pub
Deadline: December 1 - February 28 (annual)
Fee: $15 (includes 1 year subscription)
Fourth Genre
Michael Steinberg Essay Prize
$1k+pub
Deadline: January 5 - February 28 (annual)
Fee: $15
The Kenyon Review
Short Fiction Contest
Conference Scholarship+pub
Deadline: February 1 - 28 (annual)
No Fee
Glimmer Train
Short Story Award for New Writers
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during February only
Fee: $15
The Malahat Review
Long Poem Prize
$500 CAD + pub
Deadline: February 1, 2011
Fee: $35 CAD for Canadians, $40 for Americans
Blue Earth Review. Photography. 9/1/09 - 2/1/2010
The Madison Review. Poetry, Fiction. 12/1 - 2/1 (annual)
Potomac Review. Poetry. 10/1/09 - 2/1/2010
New Delta Review. Poetry, Fiction. 2/5/2010 (extended deadline)
Transitions Abroad. Essay. 2/15/2010
Washington Square. Fiction, Poetry. 2/1/2010 (extended deadline)
Washington Square. Collaborative Work. 2/1/2010 (extended deadline)
Prism International. Poetry, Fiction. 2/15/2010
The National Poetry Series. Poetry. 1/1 - 2/16 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Fiction. 2/20/2010
Wild Violet. Poetry, Fiction. 2/26/2010
Southern Illinois University. Fiction. 2/1 - 2/28 (annual)
WOW!. Flash Fiction. 2/28/2010
Whidbey Island Writers Association. Prose, Poetry. Monthly
March Deadline
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Gulf Coast
Prizes in Poetry, Fiction and Nonfiction
$1k+pub
Deadline: Postmark December 21, 2009 - March 1, 2010
Fee: $20
The Ledge
Fiction Awards Competition
$1k/250/100+pub
Deadline: Postmark March 1, 2010
Fee: $10
Willow Springs
Fiction Prize
$2k+Pub
Deadline: Postmark March 1, 2010
Fee: $15
Colorado Review
Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction
$1.5k+pub
Final Judge: Andrea Barrett
Deadline: January 12 - March 12 (annual)
Fee: $15
Bayou Magazine
Nonfiction Bonanza
Deadline: Postmark November 15 - March 31 (annual)
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
$2k+pub/1k/600
Deadline: Submit during March only
Fee: $20
Indiana Review
Poetry Prize
$1k+pub
Deadline: March 31 (annual)
Fee: $15 (includes 1 year subscription)
Harpur Palate
The John Gardner Memorial Prize for Fiction
$500+pub
Deadline: January 1 - March 31 (annual)
Fee: $15 (includes 1 year subscription)
Narrative
Winter 2010 Story Contest
Fiction, Nonfiction
$4k/1.5k/500+pub
Deadline: January 1 - March 31, 2010
Fee: $20
Shenandoah
The Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers
Poetry
Deadline: March 15 - March 31 (annual)
Fee: $25
ARC Poetry Magazine. Poetry. 3/1/2010
Del Sol Press. Fiction. 3/1/2010
Stony Brook Southampton. Fiction. 3/1/2010
Transitions Abroad. Essay. 3/1/2010
New South. Poetry, Fiction. 3/4/2010
Diagram. Fiction. 3/8/2010
Piccolo Spoleto Arts Festival. Fiction. 3/10/2010
Modern Haiku. Poetry. 3/13 (annual)
Arts & Letters. 1/1 - 3/15 (annual)
Bellingham Review. Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction. 3/15/2010
Campbell Corner/Sarah Lawrence. Poetry. 3/15 (annual)
The Claremont Review. Poetry, Fiction. 3/15 (annual)
Flint Hills Review. Nonfiction. 3/15 (annual)
The Pinch. Fiction, Poetry. 1/15 - 3/15 (annual)
Poetica Magazine. Poetry. 1/1 - 3/15 (annual)
So to Speak. Short Fiction. 3/15 (annual)
South Carolina Review. Poetry. 3/15/2010
Tusculum Review. Poetry. 3/15/2010
Yemassee Journal. Poetry. 3/15 (annual)
Sycamore Review. Fiction. 3/17/2010
Open Minds Quarterly. Poetry. 3/19/2010
Other Voices. Fiction. 3/21 (annual)
Toasted Cheese. Fiction. 3/21 +/- (annual)
Writers' Journal. Fiction. 3/30 (annual)
Permafrost. Fiction. 3/31 (annual)
Whiskey Island. Poetry, Fiction. 10/1 - 3/31 (annual)
April Deadline
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Grain Magazine
Short Grain (with Variations) Contest
Poetry, Short Fiction
$1,250/750/500/500+pub
Judges: Jennifer Still (poetry), Lee Henderson (short fiction)
Deadline: Postmark April 1 (annual)
Fee: $30 CAD, $36 USD
The Spoon River Poetry Review
Editors' Prize Contest
$1k/$100+pub
Deadline: April 15 (annual)
Fee: $16 (includes 1 year subscription)
Glimmer Train
Family Matters Contest
Standard Short Story Contest
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during April only
Fee: $15
The Baltimore Review. Nonfiction. 1/1 - 4/1 (annual)
The Dirty Napkin. Poetry. 4/1/2010
Passager. Poetry. 4/1/2010
Contemporary Verse 2. Poetry. 4/12 - 4/14/2010
Event. Nonfiction. 4/15 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Fiction. 4/20/2010
Poetry International. Poetry. 4/23/2010
Canadian Writer's Journal. Fiction. 4/30/2010
Crab Orchard Review. Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction. 3/1 - 4/30 (annual)
Nimrod. Poetry, Fiction. 1/1 - 4/30/2010
Quills. Poetry. 4/30 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Poetry. 4/30 (annual)
May Deadline
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Fugue
Annual Poetry & Prose Contest
$1000+pub
Deadline: May 1 (annual)
Fee: $20
The Journal
Short Story Prize
$1k+pub
Deadline: Postmark May 1 (annual)
Fee: $10
The Malahat Review
Far Horizons Award for Poetry
$500 CAD +pub
Deadline: Postmark May 1, 2010
(Alternating years fiction/poetry: fiction-2011)
Fee: $25 CAD, $30 US, $35 US for Mexico & international submissions
The New Quarterly
The Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest
The Nick Blatchford Occassional Verse Contest
$1k/category+pub
Deadline: Postmark May 1, 2010
Fee: $40 (includes 1 year subscription)
The Southwest Review
David Nathan Meyerson Prize for Fiction
$1k+pub
Deadline: May 1 (annual)
Fee: $25
Ruminate
Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize
$500+pub
Deadline: May 15, 2010
Fee: $15
sub-TERRAIN
Lush Triumphant
Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
$750 / category + pub/$250
Deadline: Postmark May 15 (annual)
Fee: $25
New Letters
Annual Literary Awards Competition
Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, and Fiction
$1.5k / category +pub
Deadline: Postmark May 18 (annual)
Fee: $15
Calyx
Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize
$300+pub
Deadline: March 1 - May 31 (annual)
Fee: $15
Glimmer Train
Short Story Award for New Writers
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during May only
Fee: $15
Blue Collar Review. Poetry. Dealine 5/1 (annual)
Sow's Ear Poetry Review. Chapbook. 5/1 (annual)
Quiddity. Prose Poetry. 1/1 - 5/3/2010
Atlanta Review. Poetry. 5/8/2010
Dancing Poetry Contest. Poetry. 5/15 (annual)
H.O.W. Journal. Short Story. 5/15/2010
Vocabula Review. Prose. 5/30 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Photography. 5/30 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Short Story. 5/30 (annual)
The Antigonish Review. Fiction. 5/31 (annual)
The Broome Review. Chapbook. 1/1 - 5/31/2010
Pearl. Fiction. 4/1 - 5/31 (annual)
Perigee. Poetry. 5/31 (annual)
Runes: A Review of Poetry. Poetry. 5/31 (annual)
The Smoking Poet. Fiction. 5/31/2010
University of Georgia Press. Fiction. 5/31 (annual)
June Deadline
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The Bitter Oleander
Frances Lock Memorial Poetry Award
$1k+pub
Postmark deadline: June 15 (annual)
Fee: $10
Southern Poetry Review
Guy Owen Prize Contest
$1k+pub
Deadline: March 1 - June 15 (annual)
Fee: $15
New Millennium Writings
New Millennium Awards for Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction
$1k/category+pub
Deadline: June 17, 2010
Fee: $17
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
$2k+pub/1k/600
Deadline: Submit during June only
Fee: $20
Our Stories
Emerging Writers Story Contest
$400+pub
Deadline: April 1 - June 30 (annual)
Feedback provided for all entries
Fee: $18
Best New Poets. 4/15 - 6/1 (annual)
Boston Review. Poetry. 6/1 (annual)
Boulevard. Poetry. 6/1 (annual)
Burning Bush Publications. Poetry. 6/1 (annual)
Wordgathering. Poetry. 6/1 (annual)
The Writers' Workshop. Poetry. 6/1 (annual)
Chelsea. Fiction. 6/15 (annual)
Quarter After Eight. Short Prose. 6/15 (annual)
Room of One's Own. Fiction, Poetry. 6/15 (annual)
Toasted Cheese. Nonfiction. 6/21 (annual)
Gival Press. Poetry. 6/27 (annual)
Santa Barbara Summer Poetry Workshop. Poetry. 6/27/2010
The Antigonish Review. Poetry. 6/30 (annual)
ARC Poetry Magazine. Poetry. 6/30 (annual)
Hunger Mountain. Short Fiction. 6/30 (annual)
Hunger Mountain. Children's/YA fiction. 6/30 (annual)
The Litchfield Review. Poetry, Prose. 6/30 (semi-annual)
Literal Latte Magazine. Short Story. 6/30 (annual)
the new renaissance. Poetry, Fiction. 1/2 - 6/30 (annual)
Red Hen Press (under literary links). Fiction. 6/30 (annual)
Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Essay. 6/30 (annual)
July Deadline
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Comstock Review
The Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award
Annual Poetry Contest
$1k+pub/$250/$100
Deadline: Postmark July 1 (annual)
Fee: $25
Glimmer Train
Very Short Fiction Award
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during July only
Fee: $15
New Millennium Writings
New Millennium Awards for Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction
$1k+pub/category
Deadline: July 31 (annual)
Fee: $17
Alehouse Press. Poetry. 7/1 (annual)
The Baltimore Review. Poetry. 4/1 - 7/1 (annual)
Literal Latte Magazine. Poetry. 7/15 (annual)
Pearl. Poetry. 5/1 - 7/15 (annual)
Rosebud. Poetry. 6/1 - 7/15/2010 (biennial)
Writers' Journal. Fiction. 7/30 (annual)
Adirondack Review. Fiction. 7/31/2010
August Deadline
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The Malahat Review
Creative Non-Fiction Prize
$500 CAD+pub
Deadline: Postmark August 1 (annual)
Fee: $35 CAD, $40 USD, $45 USD for Mexico & International
The Aurorean
Haiku Contest
Entrants MUST be U.S. undergraduate/graduate in Creative Writing
Deadline: August 15 (annual)
No Fee
Memoir (and)
Memoir in Prose or Poetry
$500/$250/$100+pub
Graphic Memoir
$100+pub
All submissions eligible to win.
Deadline: August 15 (annual)
No entry fee
Glimmer Train
Short Story Award for New Writers
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during August only
Fee: $15
Opium Magazine. Prose Poetry, Fiction. 8/2/2010
Gival Press. Short Story. 8/8 (annual)
Smartish Pace. Poetry. 8/15 (annual)
The SubtleTea. Poetry, Fiction, Essay. 8/15 (annual)
The SubtleTea. Visual Art. 8/15 (annual)
The Writers' Workshop. nonfiction. 8/15 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Poetry. 8/30 (annual)
The Writers' Workshop. Short Fiction. 8/30 (annual)
Southern California Review. Fiction. 8/31 (annual)
Whidbey Island Writers Association. Prose, Poetry. Monthly
September Deadline
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Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
$2k+pub/1k/600
Deadline: Submit during September only
Fee: $20
The Southwest Review
Morton Marr Poetry Prize
$1k+pub/$500
Deadline: Postmark September 30 (annual)
Fee: $5
American Literary Review.
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry.
6/1 - 9/1 (annual)
Newport Review. Flash Fiction. 9/1 (annual)
American Zoetrope. Screenplay. 5/1 - 9/7/2010
Hunger Mountain. Nonfiction. 9/10 (annual)
Literal Latte Magazine. Essay. 9/15 (annual)
Other Voices. Poetry. 9/21 (annual)
Toasted Cheese. Fiction. 9/21 +/- (annual)
The Chariton Review. Short Fiction. 9/30 (annual)
October Deadline
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Black Warrior Review
Fiction and Poetry Contests
$1000 / category + pub
Judges: TBA
Deadline: October 1 (annual)
Fee: $15
Indiana Review
Fiction Prize
$1k+pub
Final Judge:TBA
Deadline: October 15 (annual)
Fee: $15 (includes 1 year subscription)
Glimmer Train
Family Matters Contest
Standard Short Story Contest
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during October only
Fee: $15
Boston Review. Fiction. 10/1 (annual)
The Missouri Review. Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction. 10/1 (annual)
Open City. Short Story. 10/15 (annual)
So to Speak. Poetry, Nonfiction. 10/15 (annual)
North American Review. Poetry. 10/31 (annual)
the new renaissance. Fiction. 9/1 - 10/31 (semi-annual)
November Deadline
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The Briar Cliff Review
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction Contest
$1k / category + pub
Deadline: November 1 (annual)
Fee: $20
Harpur Palate
The Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry
$500+pub
Deadline: July 1 - November 1 (annual)
Fee: $15
The Malahat Review
Open Season Awards
Poetry, Short Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
$1k CAD/category
Deadline: Postmark November 1 (annual)
Fee: $35 CAD, $40 USD, $45 USD for Mexico & International
The Tampa Review
Danahy Fiction Prize
$1k+pub
Deadline: November 1 (annual)
Fee: $15
Glimmer Train
Short Story Award for New Writers
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit during February, May, August, November only
Fee: $15
Smartish Pace. Poetry. 11/1 (annual)
Sow's Ear Poetry Review. Poetry. 9/1 - 11/1 (annual)
Chautauqua Writers' Center. Fiction. 8/1 - 11/15/2010
Compass Rose. Poetry. 8/1 - 11/15 (annual)
Hollins University. Poetry. 11/15 (annual)
Lumina. Fiction. 11/15 (annual)
Measure/The Formalist. Poetry. 11/15 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Photography. 11/30 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Fiction. 11/30 (annual)
December Deadline
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Phoebe
Winter Fiction Contest
Judge: Peter Orner
Greg Grummer Poetry Award
Judge: Peter Gizzi
$1k+pub
Deadline: Postmark December 1 (annual)
Fee: $15
Glimmer Train
Fiction Open
$2k+pub/1k/600
Deadline: Submit during December only
Fee: $20
Alligator Juniper. Photography. 12/1 (annual)
The Atlantic. Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction. 12/1 (annual)
The Baltimore Review. Fiction. 8/1 - 12/1 (annual)
Blue Earth Review. Flash Fiction. 9/1 - 12/1 (annual)
The Cream City Review. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry. 12/1 (annual)
New Delta Review. Nonfiction. 12/7/09 (extended deadline)
Hunger Mountain. Poetry. 12/10 (annual)
Chelsea. Poetry. 12/15 (annual)
Transitions Abroad. Nonfiction. 4/1 - 12/15/2010
Toasted Cheese. Fiction. 12/21 (annual)
Writers' Journal. Poetry. 12/30 (annual)
Adirondack Review. Poetry. 12/31 (annual)
The Litchfield Review. Poetry, Prose. 12/31 (semi-annual)
River Styx. Micro-fiction. 12/31 (annual)
January Deadline
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The Journal
William Allen Creative Nonfiction contest
$500+pub
Postmark: September 1 - January 15 (annual)
Fee: $10
Our Stories
Richard Bausch Short Fiction Contest
$400+pub
Postmark: October 1 - January 15 (annual)
Fee: $18
St. Petersburg Review
Poetry Contest
$1k+pub
Postmark: September 1 - January 15 (annual)
Fee: $15
Chattahoochee Review
Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction
$1k+pub
Deadline: October 1 - January 31 (annual)
Fee: $12
Glimmer Train
Very Short Fiction Award
$1200+pub/500/300
Deadline: Submit January only
Fee: $15
Boston Review. Poetry. 1/15 (annual)
Literal Latte Magazine. Fiction. 1/15 (annual)
Rosebud. Creative Nonfiction. 1/15/2011 (biennial)
Writers' Journal. Fiction. 1/30 (annual)
Adirondack Review. Photography. 1/31 (annual)
Literal Latte Magazine. Poetry. 1/31 (annual)
Whidbey Island Writers Association. Prose, Poetry. Monthly
No Deadline
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Zone 3
Annual Fiction Award
Publication
No deadlines winners announced in fall issue
Fee: $10
Awards for Published Works
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American Poetry Review
The Jerome J. Shestack Poetry Prizes
Two annual prizes for poetry published in APR during the calendar year.
The Aurorean
Best-of-Last-Issue Poetry Award
For each issue, an independent judge chooses the “Best Poem” from the previous issue.
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."
Michigan Quarterly Review
Lawrence Foundation Prize
"This is not a contest."
Best short story published in MQR the previous year.
Narrative Magazine
The $4,000 Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, 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.
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 2010 Prize: all writers of POETRY with only one published book in that genre.
Deadline: March 15 to March 31
Flannery O'Connor
$1000 for Best O'Connor-related work published in the Fall 2010 issue of Shenandoah.
Deadline: October 1, 2009
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.
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