Poets & Writers Blogs

Deadline for Academy of American Poets First Book Award Nears

8.25.23

Debut poets, you’ve got a week left to submit to one of the nation’s most prestigious prizes: the First Book Award from the Academy of American Poets. The winner receives $5,000, publication by Graywolf Press, and a six-week all-expenses-paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy. The winning book will also be distributed to over 5,000 members of the Academy of American Poets.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $35 entry fee by September 1. Victoria Chang will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Founded in 1975, and known until 2020 as the Walt Whitman Award, the prize was created to support first-time poets and the publication of their books. Past winners of the prize include Threa Almontaser, Jenny Xie, Mai Der Vang, Sjohnna McCray, Matt Rasmussen, and Jan Heller Levi. The prize is supported by financial contributions from the members of the Academy of American Poets.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

8.18.23

Don’t let August slip past you: Submit to one or more of a dozen writing contests with a deadline of August 30 or August 31. Prizes include $3,000 and publication for a book of poetry; $1,000 and publication for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays; $1,000 and publication for a book of poetry by a writer over the age of 60; and more than $1,000, publication, and accommodations to give a reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival in Ireland for a poetry chapbook. All contests offer an award of $1,000 or more, and one has no entry fee. We wish you luck!

Aesthetica
Creative Writing Award
Two prizes of £2,500 (approximately $3,121) each and publication in Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. In addition, the winner in poetry receives a membership to the Poetry Society in London, a six-week writing course from Curtis Brown Creative (a writing school led by authors and literary agents), a course from the arts organization Poetry School, and a subscription to Poetry London. The winner in short fiction receives a six-week writing course from Curtis Brown Creative and a consultation with the literary agency Redhammer Management. Both winners receive subscriptions to literary magazines Granta and Mslexia, as well as a five-day course from the London-based creative writing nonprofit Arvon. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $15.

Anthology Magazine
Short Story Competition
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,099) and publication in, plus a subscription to, Anthology Magazine will be given annually for a short story. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $20.

Black Lawrence Press
St. Lawrence Book Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors and a panel of previous St. Lawrence Book Award winners will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $28.

Grid Books
Off the Grid Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in print and audio formats by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Marianne Boruch will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $25.

Gemini Magazine
Flash Fiction Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $7.

Gulf Coast
Barthelme Prize for Short Prose
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a short work of prose. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $26.

Gulf Coast
Prize in Translation
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given in alternating years for a group of poems or a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. The 2023 prize will be given for a work of prose. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $13.

Journal of Experimental Fiction
Kenneth Patchen Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Journal of Experimental Fiction and JEF Books is given annually for an innovative novel. Carla M. Wilson will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $25.

Munster Literature Centre
Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,099); publication by Southword Editions, Munster Literature Centre’s publishing imprint; and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive accommodations to give a reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival in 2024. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $27.

Omnidawn Publishing
Open Book Poetry Contest
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Maw Shein Win will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $35.

Talking Gourds
Fischer Prize
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also be invited to be a featured reader for a Bardic Trails online reading in 2024 and will receive a $100 honorarium for participating. Deborah Kay Kelly will judge. Deadline: August 30. Entry fee: $10.

Utica University
Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the current year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a master class at Utica University in April 2024. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: None.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Approaches for Gulf Coast Prize in Translation

G&A: The Contest Blog

8.11.23

The Gulf Coast Prize in Translation, whose submission cycle closes in just under three weeks, recognizes a prose excerpt translated into English from another language. Why not gather the required materials and share your rendering of someone else’s words for a chance to win a prize of $1,000 and publication?

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Submit up to 10 pages of a story or essay in translation, a copy of the original text, a brief biography of the author, a synopsis of the work being translated, and proof that permission to translate the work has been granted with a $26 submission fee, which includes a subscription to Gulf Coast, or a $13 entry fee, which includes a half-year subscription, by August 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Started in 1982 by Donald Barthelme and Phillip Lopate as a 64-page student-run publication, Gulf Coast today counts on a readership of over 3,000 as the nationally distributed journal housed within the University of Houston’s English Department. The press’s annual translation prize alternates genres each year, awarding a group of poems and a prose excerpt. Anam Zafar won the 2021 prize for her translation of Najat Albed Alsamad’s story “My Friend’s Basement” and has said of Alsamad’s work that it “exposes conflict as an individual experience in which entire countries simply cannot be viewed through a single, zoomed-out lens.” One of four of Gulf Coast’s contests, the translation prize represents the journal’s enduring commitment “to providing a balanced combination of literary approaches and voices.”

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

8.4.23

What have you been working on? A short story or poem or essay that “tells a story that needs to be told”? A book-length, hybrid-genre work “that challenges conventions of genre and language, content and form”? Or simply a poetry collection? If any of the above, you still have a few days to submit to the following contests with deadlines between August 8 and August 15. Prizes range from $1,000 to $3,000 and include publication for a poem, a short story, or an essay, as well as a book-length work of prose or poetry. Go on, the clock is ticking!

Gival Press
Short Story Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Gival Press website is given annually for a short story. Deadline: August 8. Entry fee: $25.

TulipTree Publishing
Stories That Need to Be Told Contest
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “tells a story that needs to be told.” The winner will also receive a two-year subscription to the literary database Duotrope and publication in the annual Stories That Need to Be Told contest anthology. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: August 9. Entry fee: $20.

Grayson Books
Poetry Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grayson Books is given annually for a poetry collection. Brad Davis will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $26.

Futurepoem
Other Futures Award
A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of innovative poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work “that challenges conventions of genre and language, content and form.” The editors will judge. Work that incorporates other languages, or self-translated work, is eligible. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $28.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Nears for Howling Bird Press Poetry Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog

7.28.23

Looking to publish your poetry collection? Try sending it to Howling Bird Press for a shot at a prize of $2,500 and publication.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 72 pages with a $25 entry fee by August 21. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Howling Bird Press is the publishing house of the creative writing MFA program of Augsburg University in Minneapolis, where it is staffed by graduate students enrolled in the program’s publishing concentration. The press’s annual book prize alternates genres each year, awarding fiction and nonfiction manuscripts in addition to poetry. In 2019, Lisa Van Orman Hadley won the Howling Bird Press Fiction Prize for her novel, Irreversible Things, which “follows three decades in the life of author-qua-narrator Lisa and her charismatic Mormon family, from childhood to puberty to adulthood.” In 2018, KateLynn Hibbard won the Howling Bird Press Poetry Prize for her poetry collection Simples, which “transports us back in time to search out the remedies and inner strength necessary to survive a hardscrabble life on the frontier plains.”

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

7.21.23

It’s too hot to do much outdoors these last days of summer. So why not stay in and submit some of the sizzling writing you’ve completed this year to contests with a deadline of July 31 or August 1? Prizes include $5,000 for a fiction, poetry, or nonfiction manuscript-in-progress; $2,500 and publication for a short story; $2,000 and publication for a collection of lyric essays; and $1,000 and publication for a poetry book. All contests offer an award of $1,000 or more, and four have no entry fee. What have you got to lose?

Connecticut Poetry Society
Experimental Poetry Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Connecticut River Review is given annually for an innovative poem. Richard Deming will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Delaware Division of the Arts
Individual Artist Fellowships
Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each are given annually to five to eight poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year prior to application. Entry fee: None.

Granum Foundation
Granum Foundation Prizes
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support the completion of a manuscript-in-progress. Up to three finalists will be awarded at least $500. A Translation Prize of at least $1,500 is also given. Entry fee: None.

Leeway Foundation
Art and Change Grants
Project grants of up to $2,500 each are given annually to women and transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, Two-Spirit, or otherwise gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Greater Philadelphia area to fund art for social change projects. Entry fee: None.

Mason Jar Press
1729 Book Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Mason Jar Press will be given annually in alternating years for a book of poetry or a book of prose. The 2023 prize will be given in poetry. Semi-experimental works are encouraged, and hybrid works as well as translations (with written permission from the original author) are also eligible. Chen Chen will judge. Entry fee: None.

Munster Literature Centre
Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition
A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,198) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong residency at the Anam Cara Writer’s Retreat in West Cork and accommodations to give a reading at the Cork International Short Story Festival in November. Entry fee: €19 (approximately $21).

Narrative
Spring Story Contest
A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative nonfiction. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also awarded. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $27.

New Millennium Writings
New Millennium Writing Awards
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay that have not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. Entry fee: $20.

Press 53
Award for Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 53 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Tom Lombardo will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Radar Poetry
Coniston Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Radar Poetry is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who identifies as a woman. Ellen Bass will judge. Entry fee: $20.

Red Wheelbarrow
Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Red Wheelbarrow is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the winning poem, printed by Gary Young at Greenhouse Review Press. Ellen Bass will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Seneca Review Books
Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Book Prize
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Seneca Review Books is given biennially for a collection of lyric essays. The winner will also receive an invitation to give a reading with Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Wendy S. Walters will judge. Cross-genre, hybrid, and verse forms, as well as image and text works, and multilingual submissions in which English is the primary language are all eligible. Entry fee: $27.

Sewanee Review
Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction Contest
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, and a creative nonfiction essay. Major Jackson will judge in poetry, Megan Mayhew Bergman will judge in fiction, and Alexander Chee will judge in creative nonfiction. Entry fee: $30.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Approaches for Mason Jar Press 1729 Book Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog

7.14.23

If you are a poet looking to place a manuscript of experimental or hybrid work, including work in translation, consider submitting to Mason Jar Press’s 1729 Book Prize. Given annually in alternating years for a book of poetry or a book of prose, this year’s contest offers a prize of $1,000 and publication by Mason Jar Press for a poetry collection that is at once “challenging” and “engaging.” Chen Chen will judge.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 50 to 75 poems or pages by July 31 (submissions will be capped at 500 entrants). There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

This year, Mason Jar Press has released titles including the debut poetry collections Glazed With War by Pantea Amin Tofangchi and trans [re]incarnation by Elias Kerr, as well as its literary journal’s most recent issue, Jarnal Volume 3: Transitions (edited by Tara Campbell). Founded by Micheal B. Tager and Ian Anderson—classmates from the University of Baltimore MFA program—the independent press has published handmade, limited-run chapbooks and full-length books since 2014. The 2nd annual 1729 Book Prize, offered in partnership with The Ivy Bookshop, will run in line with the press’s mission of publishing work that “is meant to challenge status quos, both literary and culturally,” while also having “merit in both those realms.”

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

7.7.23

Are you feeling bogged down by your pile of unfinished drafts? Don’t fret—you can prepare just one polished piece of writing and submit to any of five awards requesting a single poem, work of flash fiction, short story, novel, or essay by July 15. These contests all have a cash prize of $1,000 or more, three of them consider all entries for publication, and one offers a Reader’s Choice Award of $5,000 alongside its $15,000 first-place prize. Why not seize the opportunity to bring a project to completion and send it out into the world?

Cincinnati Review
Robert and Adele Schiff Awards
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in poetry, Michael Griffith will judge in fiction, and Kristen Iversen will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee (includes a subscription to Cincinnati Review): $20.

Comstock Review
Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. Danusha Laméris will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $27.50 ($5 per poem via postal mail).

Ghost Story
Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition
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 supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Rattle
Poetry Prize
A prize of $15,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a single poem. A Reader’s Choice Award of $5,000 is also given to one of 10 finalists. Work written exclusively in English or primarily in English, with portions in other languages, is eligible. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee (includes a subscription to Rattle): $25.

Regal House Publishing
Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novel. Translations into English are eligible. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Nears for Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog

6.30.23

Are you looking for a home for your debut poetry collection? Try submitting to the Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize from Conduit Books & Ephemera, which offers a prize of $1,500, publication, and 30 author copies of the book for the winning author.

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Submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee by July 7. Bob Hicok will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Conduit Books & Ephemera was founded in 2018 in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Conduit, a biannual literary journal of poetry and prose. Hicok sponsored the inaugural Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize, named after his grandmother-in-law, “a great supporter of young poets.” The annual prize goes to a poet writing in English who has yet to publish a full-length poetry collection. Those who submit are advised to familiarize themselves with Conduit, a magazine “which champions originality, intelligence, irreverence, and humanity.” The press also offers the Minds on Fire Open Book Prize, open to any poet writing in English and judged by Conduit’s editorial board. Submissions for the Minds on Fire prize open August 1.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

6.23.23

Now that summer has officially begun, the heat is on: Get your entries ready for contests with a deadline of June 30! Prizes include $130,000 Canadian (approximately $96,732) for a published poetry collection, $15,000 and publication for a story collection, €3,000 (approximately $3,217) for a short story, and other generous awards. All contests have a cash prize of $1,000 or more, and two have no entry fee. Why not throw your hat in the ring?

Anthology Magazine
Poetry Competition
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) and publication in, plus a subscription to, Anthology Magazine will be given annually for a single poem. Rachael Hegarty will judge. Entry fee: €12 (approximately $13) by June 30, or €18 (approximately $19) thereafter, until October 31.

Barrow Street Press
Book Prize
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Nathalie Handal will judge. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).

Bauhan Publishing
May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Brad Crenshaw will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Cider Press Review
Editors’ Prize Book Award
A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $26.

Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Griffin Poetry Prize
A prize of $130,000 Canadian (approximately $96,732) is given annually for a poetry collection written or translated into English by a living poet or translator from anywhere in the world and published during the previous year. Finalists receive $10,000 Canadian (approximately $7,441) each for their participation in the shortlisted authors event to be held in Toronto in June. Publishers may submit four copies of a book published between January 1 and June 30 by June 30. Entry fee: None.

Lascaux Review
Prize in Flash Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review online and in print is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published stories are eligible. Entry fee: $15.

Los Angeles Review
Literary Awards
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay. M. Soledad Caballero will judge in poetry, Carlos Allende will judge in fiction, John Weir will judge in flash fiction, and Chelsey Clammer will judge in creative nonfiction. Entry fee: $20.

Omnidawn Publishing
Chapbook Contest
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Brody Parrish Craig will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Poetry London
Poetry London Prize
A first-place prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,044), a second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,417), and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,209) are given annually for a single poem. The winners will also receive publication in the Autumn Issue of Poetry London and an invitation to read at the issue’s launch, held at the Southbank Centre in London. Rachel Long will judge. Entry fee: $12.

The Moth
International Short Story Prize
A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,217) is given annually for a short story. A prize of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with an open-ended travel stipend, and a prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) are also given. The winners will be published in the Irish Times. Ottessa Moshfegh will judge. Entry fee: €15 (approximately $16).

University of Pittsburgh Press
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in nationally distributed magazines or literary journals are eligible. Entry fee: None.

University of North Texas Press
Katherine Anne Porter Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Entry fee: $25.

Winning Writers
North Street Book Prize
A grand prize of $10,000 and eight additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published and hybrid-published books (works published by presses that coordinate all aspects of book publication in exchange for a fee) of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s literature, middle grade books, graphic narrative, and art books. Each of the winners will also receive publication of an excerpt on the Winning Writers website; a marketing consultation with author and publishing consultant Carolyn Howard-Johnson; $300 in credit at BookBaby, a distributor for self-published authors; three months of Plus service from Book Award Pro (plus $500 in account credit for the grand prize winner), a literary award database and submission platform; and free advertising in the Winning Writers e-mail newsletter. Ellen LaFleche and Jendi Reiter will judge. Entry fee: $75.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Approaches for the Moth International Short Story Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog

6.9.23

Submissions are open for the Moth International Short Story Prize. Organized by the editors of the celebrated Irish literary magazine the Moth, the annual contest fetes its winner with publication in the Irish Times and a prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,217). Additional prizes of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with an open-ended travel stipend, and a prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) are also given. This year’s contest will be judged by Ottessa Moshfegh.

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Cover of the Moth magazine's Spring 2023 issue

Submit a story of up to 3,000 words with a €15 (approximately $16) entry fee by June 30. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Established in 2010 by Rebecca O’Connor and Will Govan, the Moth is a quarterly print literary magazine of poetry, fiction, and visual art, publishing established luminaries alongside emerging writers from around the world. Last fall, the editors announced that the Moth would cease publication in June 2023 as they moved on to new projects but that the journal’s several literary contests would continue, with increased monetary prizes for winners. Previous recipients of the short story prize include Owen Booth, Colin Crummey, and Caoilinn Hughes, who said of winning: “This seal of approval is superglue for the sanity!” Good luck, writers, and may any victories to come be similarly affirming—and as bolstering as the Moth has been to its community.

Image: The cover of the final issue of the Moth.

Firecracker Awards Finalists Announced

G&A: The Contest Blog

6.2.23

Congratulations to the finalists of the ninth annual Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). The awards celebrate the best independently published books of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry as well as the best literary magazines in the categories of debut and general excellence.

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CLMP will announce the winners during a virtual awards ceremony on June 22 at 6:00 PM EST. Each winner in the books category will receive $1,000 to $2,000 for the press and $1,000 for the author or translator. The magazine winners will each receive $1,000. The publishers of winning books receive a free one-year membership to CLMP, and magazine winners receive a one-year CLMP member subscription to Submittable. All winners are included in a national publicity campaign. Good luck, everyone!

FICTION

Brother Alive by Zain Khalid
Grove Atlantic, July 2022

God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu
A Public Space Books, June 2022

Stories of a Life by Nataliya Meshchaninova, translated by Fiona Bell
Deep Vellum, February 2022

Violets by Kyung-sook Shin, translated by Anton Hur
Feminist Press, April 2022

When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà, translated by Mara Faye Lethem
Graywolf Press, March 2022

CREATIVE NONFICTION

Brown Neon by Raquel Gutiérrez
Coffee House Press, June 2022

Conversations with Birds by Priyanka Kumar
Milkweed Editions, November 2022

Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene by Alessandra Naccarato
Book*hug Press, October 2022

O by Tammy Nguyen
Ugly Duckling Presse, April 2022

Optic Subwoof by Douglas Kearney
Wave Books, November 2022

POETRY

Customs by Solmaz Sharif
Graywolf Press, March 2022

Look at This Blue by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
Coffee House Press, March 2022

Maafa by Harmony Holiday
Fence Books, April 2022

The Rupture Tense by Jenny Xie
Graywolf Press, September 2022

Togetherness by Wo Chan
Nightboat Books, September 2022

MAGAZINES/BEST DEBUT

128 Lit

The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing

Lampblack

LIBER: A Feminist Review

Lines & Breaks

MAGAZINES/GENERAL EXCELLENCE

The Arkansas International

Ecotone

Ninth Letter

Orion

Oxford American

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

5.26.23

If you’re not at the beach this Memorial Day, why not apply to some writing contests with a June 1 deadline? There is no entry fee for three generous awards: the Bard Fiction prize, which comes with $30,000 and a one-semester appointment as a writer-in-residence at Bard College; PEN America’s PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, which offer awards of up to $4,000 to support the translation of book-length works; PEN America’s PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History, which offer awards of $15,000 to two nonfiction works-in-progress that “use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement.” All other contests offer a cash award of $1,000 or more and publication. Good luck, writers!

American Short Fiction
Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize
A prize of $2,500 and publication in American Short Fiction is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong, all-expenses-paid writing retreat at the Tasajillo Residency in Kyle, Texas. Entry fee: $20.

Bard College
Bard Fiction Prize
A prize of $30,000 and a one-semester appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College is given annually to a U.S. fiction writer under the age of 40. The recipient must give at least one public lecture and meet informally with students but is not expected to teach traditional courses. Entry fee: None.

Boulevard
Emerging Poets Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $18.

PEN America
PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants
Ten grants between $3,000 and $4,000 each are given annually to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that have not previously appeared in English or have appeared only in an “outdated or otherwise flawed translation.” An additional $5,000 grant, the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature, is given to support the translation of a book of fiction or nonfiction from Italian into English. Manuscripts with up to two translators are eligible. Entry fee: None.

PEN America
PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History
Two grants of $15,000 are given annually for nonfiction works-in-progress that “use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement.” Entry fee: None.

Salamander
Fiction Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Salamander is given annually for a short story. Kirstin Valdez Quade will judge. Entry fee: $15

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Nears for Max Ritvo Poetry Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog

5.19.23

Calling all emerging poets: Don’t forget to send your poetry manuscripts to Milkweed Editions’ Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, which offers an award of $10,000 and publication for a debut poetry collection.

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Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $25 entry fee by May 31. Nobel Prize–winning poet Louise Glück will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Max Ritvo Poetry Prize celebrates the life of the acclaimed author of the poetry collections Four Reincarnations (2016) and The Final Voicemails (2018), both published by Milkweed Editions, an independent publisher based in Minneapolis. Ritvo, who died in 2016, “came into the Milkweed family like a ball of fire,” Daniel Slager, the press’s publisher, said when the prize was established in 2017. “I can think of no better way to honor Max and his legacy than a first-book poetry prize, which will honor outstanding accomplishment in the art form he excelled in, enriching American letters for years to come.”

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog

5.12.23

Though the dog days of summer may be, thankfully, weeks away, now is the perfect time to submit to contests with a May 31 deadline! Don’t miss the opportunity to win over $6,000 and publication in poetry and short story categories; an emerging writer fellowship offering $5,000, plus the chance to meet editors and agents; or a $10,000 cash prize for a debut poetry collection, among other awards. These contests have renowned judges such as Toi Derricotte, Louise Glück, Lori Ostlund, and Kirk Wilson. All awards and fellowships offer a prize of $1,000 or more. Best of luck, writers!

Anhinga Press
Anhinga Prize for Poetry
A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).

Autumn House Press
Literary Prizes
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Toi Derricotte will judge in poetry, Pam Houston will judge in fiction, and Jenny Boully will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30.

BOA Editions
Short Fiction Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a story collection. BOA publisher Peter Conners will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Bridport Arts Centre
Bridport Prizes
Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,034) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,207) and publication is also given in each category. Additionally, a prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,207) and publication is given for a work of flash fiction. Roger Robinson will judge in poetry, Colin Barrett will judge in short story, and Christopher Allen will judge in flash fiction. Entry fee: £12 (approximately $14) for poetry, £14 (approximately $17) for fiction, and £11 (approximately $13) for flash fiction.

The Center for Fiction
Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships
Nine fellowships of $5,000 each, a one-year membership to the Center for Fiction in New York City, and a year of access to the Writers Studio writing space at the center are given annually to fiction writers living in New York City who have not yet published a book of fiction. Winners also have the opportunity to meet with editors and agents who represent new writers, and to receive critical feedback on their work from an editor. Applicants who on June 1, 2023, will be enrolled in a degree-granting program or are currently under contract with a publisher for a work of fiction are ineligible. Entry fee: none.

Elixir Press
Fiction Award
A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a story collection or a novel. Kirk Wilson will judge. Entry fee: $40.

Milkweed Editions
Max Ritvo Poetry Prize
A prize of $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Louise Glück will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Southern Poetry Review
Guy Owen Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Entry fee: $20, which includes a subscription to Southern Poetry Review.

University of Georgia Press
Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Georgia Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Lori Ostlund will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.