NewPages Guide to Writing Contests
In the NewPages Guide to Submission Opportunities, find announcements of new and current writing contests, book contests, magazine contests, chapbook contests, broadside contests, and more.
Deadline Extended for TMR’s 2023 Perkoff Prize
Extended Deadline: April 2, 2023
The Missouri Review invites entries of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that engage evocatively with health and medicine for the third annual Perkoff Prize. Winners in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction each receive $1000 and publication. Every entrant receives a 1-year digital subscription to the Missouri Review, and all entries are considered for publication. Read the full guidelines here. Extended Deadline: April 2.
Sand Hills Literary Magazine Open for National Contest: $250 Prize per
Category
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Sand Hills Literary Magazine, published since 1973 out of Augusta University, is now open for its annual national writing contest in poetry and prose for the Fall 2023 print issue. Sand Hills is delighted to have two highly accomplished guest judges: Latria Graham (prose) and Ashley Jones (poetry). Winners in both categories will each receive $250, and the deadline to submit is March 31st. The contest fee is $12, and all entrants will receive a copy of the new issue. Please submit with up to 3 poems or a prose piece no longer than 5,000 words. The editors are excited to read your work! www.sandhillslitmag.com
Gemini Magazine 14th Annual Short Story Contest
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Winner receives $1,000 and publication for a story of any length, subject or writing style. Traditional or experimental. Second prize: $100. Three honorable mentions: $25 each. Entry fee: $8. All five winners will be published online in our June/July 2023 issue. Read previous winners and enter at gemini-magazine.com/short-story-contest/.
Cleaver’s Form & Form-Breaking Poetry Contest
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Judge: Diane Seuss. $500 First Prize; $250 Second Prize; $100 Third Prize. Deadline: March 31. Show us your poems that hold up the perfect iambic pentameter of a Shakespearean sonnet or crash it on the rocks of free verse. Show us a villanelle with textbook patterning or show us the villanelle who just crashed her car. The one requirement is that your work engages with a form of poetry; whether it gets married to that form or breaks up at the last couplet is up to you. Prizewinners will be published in Cleaver‘s Fall Issue, September 2023. Finalists may also be offered publication. Visit website for more information.
2023 Nervous Ghost Press Book Prizes for Poetry & Prose
Deadline: March 31, 2023
The 2023 Nervous Ghost Press Book Prizes (poetry & prose) are open for submissions. $0 reading fee. Recipients of the prize will receive $1000, publication by Nervous Ghost Press, author copies, and a CA reading tour. Open to residents of the USA. Guest judges: Poetry, Mike “the PoeT” Sonksen; Prose, Steven Juliano. Deadline: March 31, 2023. Work in translation not eligible. Submit via the online portal and view all guidelines before submitting at: www.nervousghostpress.org/2023prizes.
$2,500 Prize + Publication: Fiction, Poetry, Essay
Deadline: May 22, 2023
$2,500 Prize + Publication: Fiction, Poetry & Essay New Letters invites you to submit a short story, essay, or poems to the New Letters Literary Awards. Winners in each genre receive $2,500 and publication in New Letters. All entries are considered for publication and must be unpublished. Winners will be announced in September 2023. Essay and fiction entries may not exceed 8,000 words; poetry entries may contain one to six poems. Multiple entries are welcome. For complete guidelines, visit www.newletters.org/general-submissions/.
First Pages Prize Now Open!
Deadline: April 10, 2023 (April 24 extended)
First Pages Prize invites you to enter your first 5 pages of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. Prizes in both fiction & creative nonfiction. Open to un-agented writers worldwide, the prize supports emerging writers with cash awards, developmental mentoring, & an agent consultation. Prize closes April 10th (24th extended). Fee to submit. Visit www.firstpagesprize.com.
2023 Able Muse Contests :: Submit Now (Poetry / Fiction / Poetry Manuscripts)
Deadlines: March 20 (Write Prize) & March 31 (Book Award)
2023 Able Muse Contests :: Submit Now—Write Prize (poetry & fiction): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Chelsea Rathburn (poetry), Terese Svoboda (fiction); $15 entry; extended deadline: Midnight PDT on March 20, 2023. Book Award (poetry): $1000 + book publication. Final Judge: David Yezzi; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2023. Enter now—go to www.ablemusepress.com for details.
Prime Number Magazine Awards for Poetry and Short Fiction
Deadline: March 31, 2023
$1,000 first prize in each category plus publication in Prime Number Magazine. Two Runners-up in each category also published in Prime Number Magazine. Reading fee $15. Poetry judged by Felicia Mitchell, author of Waltzing with Horses. Short Fiction judged by Dennis McFadden, author of Jimtown Road: A Novel in Stories, winner of the 2016 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction. Open January 1 to March 31. Submit online through Submittable. Details at www.Press53.com/prime-number-magazine-awards.
The Nimrod Literary Awards in Fiction and Poetry
Deadline: April 1, 2023
Submissions are open for the Nimrod Literary Awards, the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry and the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, with prizes of $2,000 and $1,000 and publication, as well as Awards Ceremony readings. Finalists and selected semi-finalists will be published and paid $10/page. For poetry, submit 3-10 pages; for fiction, one story, 7,500 words maximum. Manuscripts may be mailed or submitted online: nimrodjournal.submittable.com/submit. Each entry must be accompanied by a $20 entry fee (additional $3 for online submissions), which includes a one-year subscription. Open internationally. Email [email protected] or visit our website for complete rules.
The Anthony Grooms Prize in Short Fiction
Deadline: April 1, 2023
The Headlight Review Presents: The Anthony Grooms Prize in Short Fiction, a literary award honoring the work and literary contributions by former Kennesaw State MAPW Director, Anthony Grooms. Winning Entry will receive $250 and 25 free copies of their story (5.5” x 7.5”, saddle-stitch binding). Runners Up will be offered publication in The Headlight Review. The winner and runners-up will also receive a signed copy of Grooms’ book, The Vain Conversation. Entry fee $12 (via Submittable, payable by debit/credit card). Submission period: February 1 to April 1. For more details, go to www.theheadlightreview.com.
Autumn House Press Prizes (Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction)
Deadline: May 31, 2023
Winners of each prize receive publication of their full-length manuscripts. Each winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote the book. The submission period opens on January 1 and closes on May 31 (Midnight, Eastern Time). To submit online, please visit our online submission manager. The judges for the 2023 full-length prizes are Toi Derricotte (poetry), Pam Houston (fiction), and Jenny Boully (nonfiction). www.autumnhouse.org
New American Voices Award for Immigrant Writers
Deadline: March 31, 2023
The $5,000 post-publication book prize from Fall for the Book and the Institute for Immigration Research recognizes prose works that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants. Two finalists each will receive $1,000. All finalists will appear at the Fall for the Book Festival in October 2023. Past winners are Sindya Bhanoo, Patricia Engel, Lysley Tenorio, Melissa Rivero, and Hernán Díaz. $20 entry fee. Website: www.fallforthebook.org/newamericanvoices.
Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Authors & Artists Eligible. Sunspot Lit’s Geminga contest honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction; micropoetry limit is 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less. Visual art should be no larger than 25 inches square. Sculptural forms should be no larger than 25 inches in any dimension. Prize: $500 cash, publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists. Enter as many times as you like. Contest closes March 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm EST. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope.
Barrow Street Press: 2023 Prose Book Contest
Extended Deadline: April 30, 2023
Barrow Street Press is proud to announce the 2023 Inaugural Barrow Street Prose Contest. Entry deadline extended to April 30, 2023. The 2023 Prose Contest will be judged by Mary Cappello. Our winner will receive $1,500 and the prizewinning book will be published by Barrow Street Press in 2024. This year’s contest welcomes submissions of creative nonfiction. The competition is open to all original works of creative nonfiction in English. All nonfiction subgenres are eligible: this includes personal essay; lyric essay; memoir; hybrid or experimental nonfiction; poetry in prose. (Please do not submit novels or stories, fiction manuscripts will not be read this year.) Select finalists will be considered for future publication, as funds allow. For contest queries, contact Rachel Rothenberg, Associate Editor: [email protected].
The 2023 Orison Prizes in Poetry & Fiction
Deadline: 2023-04-01
The 2023 Orison Prizes in Poetry & Fiction offer $1,500 and publication by Orison Books for a full-length manuscript in each genre. Judges: Pádraig Ó Tuama (poetry) & David Heska Wanbli Weiden (fiction). Entry fee: $25. Entry period: December 1, 2022–April 1, 2023. For guidelines visit orisonbooks.com/submissions.
New Due Date for Cloudbank Contest and More
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Cloudbank awards a $200 prize for one poem or piece of flash fiction in each issue. The new contest submission deadline is March 15. Regular submissions accepted through April 30. Full guidelines—and more—at www.cloudbankbooks.com. Revive us with your fire!
George Drew Sophomore Chapbook Contest
Deadline: May 15, 2023
Winner receives $500 + 12 copies. The selected manuscript will be produced with a hardback cover. BCB hopes to choose one poem from each entrant for an anthology. For more information, visit www.bassclefbooks.org/chapbook-contest.