Discover writing and book contests from literary magazines, independent publishers, university presses, creative writing programs, and more.
That’s right. You now have until July 15 to enter poetry manuscripts of at least 48 pages to the 2022 Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry from Lynx House Press. $28 fee to enter. Winner receives $2,000 and book publication. Stop by the NewPages Classifieds for more information.
Don’t forget that July 15 is the deadline to submit fiction and poetry to Nimrod‘s Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers. This contest is open internationally to writers with no more than two publication credits in their chosen genre. The winners in each genre receive $500 and publication. See their ad in the NewPages Classifieds to learn more.
That’s right! There’s only one week left to enter your full-length manuscripts to the 2022 New American Fiction Prize from New American Press. Manuscripts can be novels, novellas, collections of stories, etc. Weike Wang, author of Joan Is Okay (Random House 2022) is the final judge. Enter your manuscripts by June 15, 2022! See their ad in the NewPages Classifieds to learn more.
July 31 is the deadline to submit up to 3 original, unpublished poems to the 2022 Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize. First place receives $1,000, letterpress broadside from Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press, and publication in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine. Enter today! Learn more by stopping by the NewPages Classifieds.
There is only one month left to enter self-published books to the 8th annual North Street Book Prize from Winning Writers. Self-published books in seven categories can win up to $8,000 plus additional benefits. They are also offering free gifts from their co-sponsors to everyone who enters. Submit your own self-published title by June 30, 2022. See their ad in the NewPages Classifieds for full details.
Our contest this year will be judged by author and critic, Camille Acker. We’re looking for previously unpublished fiction of up to 8,000 words. The deadline is June 15, 2022. First place is $2,500 with an invitation to an awards dinner. Second place $750. Third place $500. The winning stories will be published in the Fall print issue of Philadelphia Stories, with all entrants receiving a complimentary copy. All authors currently residing in the United States are eligible. $15 fee. We can’t wait to read your stories! Visit website.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
Divot reads on a rolling basis and is currently reading poetry for our summer issues! Please send us your best work. We would love to read up to 6 poems. Also, check out our Divot Poetry Chapbook Contest ending June 15, 2022. See our submission and contest guidelines. We can’t wait to hear from you! Visit website.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
The MFA in Creative and Professional Writing at Western Connecticut State University is still accepting all books published in 2021 for the 2022 Housatonic Book Awards. Open to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult/middle grade. Winners receive $1,500 and an invitation to our summer or winter residency. See our website for past winners and submission details.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
The Off the Grid Poetry Prize recognizes the work of older poets, highlighting important contemporary voices in American poetry. Each year a winner is awarded $1,000 and publication. Contest runs from May 1 – August 31, 2022. Garrett Hongo will judge. Find full guidelines here.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
$2,000 in prizes. Until May 31, Flying South 2022 will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. The WSW President’s award winner will win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
Winning Writers will award a grand prize of $8,000 in its eighth annual North Street competition, and $16,750 in all. The top eight winners will enjoy additional benefits from our co-sponsors BookBaby and Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Gifts for everyone who enters. Submit books published in any year and on any self-publishing platform. $70 entry fee. Enter online or by mail by June 30. Learn more at our website.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
The annual BLR Prizes award outstanding writing related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. Winners are published in the spring issue of BLR. For each genre, first prize is $1000 and honorable mention is $250. Submit your best poetry, fiction, and nonfiction through July 1. Visit website.
View the full May 2022 eLitPak newsletter.
Conduit Books & Ephemera has announced their 5th annual Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize is accepting entries through July 7, 2022. This prize is open to poets writing in English who have not yet published a full-length collection and is dedicated to championing poets who dance to their own tune not to be different, but to be true. Stop by the NewPages Classifieds to learn more.
Literary magazine Philadelphia Stories is open to submissions from writers across the U.S. for its 2022 Marguerite McGlinn Fiction Contest through June 15. Top prize is $2,500, publication, and invitation to an awards dinner. Learn more about this year’s contest by stopping by the NewPages Classifieds.
Literary magazine Nimrod is open to submissions for their 2022 Francine Ringold Award for New Writers. This contest is open to writers with no more than two previous publication credits in their genre. Winners in poetry and fiction will receive $500 and publication. Deadline to enter is July 15, 2022. Learn more by stopping by the NewPages Classifieds.
That’s right! The deadline to enter Swan Scythe Press’ 2022 Poetry Chapbook Contest is only about a month away on June 15. This is a postmark deadline. The winner of the 2021 Poetry Chapbook Contest was Rae Gouirand for her manuscript Little Hour. The winner of this year’s contest will receive $200, publication, and 25 perfect-bound copies. Stop by the NewPages Classifieds for full details.
New American Press has announced the 2022 New American Fiction Prize with a deadline of June 15. Weike Wang, author of Joan is Okay, will act as final judge. All full-length fiction manuscripts are welcome. Winner receives publication contract including $1,500, 25 copies, and promotional support. View their ad in the NewPages Classifieds to learn more.
Juan Felipe Herrera, former US Poet Laureate and author of numerous poetry collections, is set to act as the judge for the 2022 Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize. Besides receiving a $1,000 cash prize and publication in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, the winner also receives a letterpress broadside printed by Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press. Stop by the NewPages Classifieds to learn more.
Deadline: May 31, 2022
The 2022 Autumn House Press Prizes in Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction are open! 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 closes on May 31 (Eastern Time). Please submit online, through our online submission manager. The reading fee is $30 (we will waive the submission fee for those undergoing financial hardship or living with limited means). Submission should be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions permitted. The judges for the 2022 prizes are Carl Phillips (poetry), Venita Blackburn (fiction), and Lia Purpura (nonfiction).
Deadline: May 31, 2022
$2,000 in prizes. Enter by May 31! Flying South 2022, a publication of Winston Salem Writers, is accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. One of the three winners will receive The WSW President’s Favorite award and win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website: www.wswriters.org/flying-south.
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Now in its eighth year, the North Street Book Prize is sponsored by Winning Writers. Self-published books in seven categories can win up to $8,000 plus additional benefits. Submit online or by mail. Winning Writers is a partner member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, and this contest is recommended by Reedsy. Entry fee: $70 per book. Free gifts from our co-sponsors for everyone who enters. winningwriters.com/northnp22
Deadline: June 15, 2022
Lynx House Press seeks submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts for the annual Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry. The winner will receive $2,000 and publication. Entries must be at least 48 pages in length. The fee for submitting is $28. Previous judges include James Tate, Yusef Komunyakaa, Dorianne Laux, Dara Wier, Melissa Kwasny, and Robert Wrigley.
Deadline: May 16, 2022
Carve Magazine’s 2022 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest is open through May 16. Accepting submissions from all over the world. Max 10,000 words. Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, + 2 Editor’s Choice $125 each. All 5 winners will be published in the Fall 2022 issue and reviewed by lit agencies. Entry fee $17 online. Guest judge Dariel Suarez. Guidelines and instructions: www.carvezine.com/raymond-carver-contest/.
Deadline: June 13, 2022
The MFA in Creative and Professional Writing at Western Connecticut State University is now accepting all books published in 2021 for the 2022 Housatonic Book Awards. Open to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult/middle grade. Winners receive $1,500 and an invitation to our summer or winter residency. See our website for past winners and submission details.
View the full April 2022 eLitPak Newsletter.
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Now in its ninth year, this $4,000 international prize has been instrumental in launching the careers of novelists such as The Girl With The Louding Voice author Abi Dare and new James Bond author Kim Sherwood. A $2,300 longlist prize is co-sponsored by Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and Professional Writing Academy. Open to unpublished and indie published novelists worldwide. Enter here.
View the full April 2022 eLitPak Newsletter.
Deadline: July 1, 2022
The annual Bellevue Literary Review Prizes award outstanding writing related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. Winners are published in the spring issue of BLR. For each genre, first prize is $1000 and honorable mention is $250. Submit your best poetry, fiction and nonfiction through July 1. View website.
View the full April 2022 eLitPak Newsletter.
Deadline: May 1, 2022
december Magazine seeks submissions for our 2022 Curt Johnson Prose Awards in fiction and creative nonfiction. Prizes each genre — $1,500 & publication (winner); $500 & publication (honorable mention). All finalists will be listed in the 2022 Fall/Winter awards issue. $20 entry fee includes a copy of the awards issue. Submit 1 story or essay up to 8,000 words by May 1. Complete guidelines at our website.
View the full April 2022 eLitPak Newsletter.
$2,000 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying South 2022 will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. The WSW President’s award winner will win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website.
View the full April 2022 eLitPak Newsletter.
Deadline: May 16, 2022
Carve Magazine’s Raymond Carver Short Story Contest is open April 1 – May 16. Accepting submissions from all over the world. Max 10,000 words. Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, + 2 Editor’s Choice $125 each. All 5 winners published in Fall 2022 issue and reviewed by lit agencies. Entry fee $17 online. Guest judge Dariel Suarez. Guidelines and instructions: at our website.
View the full April 2022 eLitPak Newsletter.
Deadline: April 15, 2022
The Magpie Award for Poetry is for previously unpublished poems up to 100 lines in length. Poetry that relies on visual structure is eligible for prize money but may be excluded from publication if the formatting is difficult to reproduce. $500 prize. Entrants receive a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature. Fee: $25 1st poem, $10 each subsequent poem. Deadline: April 15, 2022. View website.
Deadline: May 15, 2022
The Cow Creek Chapbook Prize is a poetry chapbook contest brought to you by Pittsburg State University. We’re open to all styles and subjects. As long as the poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to see them. Submit a manuscript of 15 to 30 pages by May 15 at www.cowcreekchapbook.org. This year’s guest judge is Chen Chen.
Deadline: June 15, 2022 (postmark)
Don’t forget Swan Scythe Press’ 2022 poetry chapbook contest is currently accepting entries. $18 fee. We are accepting submissions of unpublished poetry collections through June 15 (postmark deadline). Winner receives $200, publication, and 25 perfect-bound chapbooks. The 2021 winner was Rae Gouirand for Little Hour. For full submission guidelines, visit www.swanscythepress.com.
Deadline: May 1, 2022
december seeks submissions for our 2022 Curt Johnson Prose Awards in fiction and creative nonfiction. Prizes each genre—$1,500 & publication (winner); $500 & publication (honorable mention). All finalists will be listed in the 2022 Fall/Winter awards issue. The $20 entry fee includes a copy of the awards issue. Submit one story or essay up to 8,000 words deadline May 1. Complete guidelines at our website.
Deadline: July 31, 2022
RED WHEELBARROW POETRY PRIZE 2022: Judged by Juan Felipe Herrera! $1,000 for first place and a letterpress broadside printed by Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press, $500 for second, $250 for third. Top five published in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine. Submit up to 3 original, unpublished poems. $15 entry fee. Deadline: July 31, 2022. For complete guidelines, see redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit.
Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Contest: $2,000 Prizes
$2,000 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying South 2022, a publication of Winston Salem Writers, will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. One of the three winners will receive The WSW President’s Favorite award and win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website: www.wswriters.org/flying-south.
Deadline: April 30, 2022
30th year, sponsored by Winning Writers, co-sponsored by Duotrope, and recommended by Reedsy. Submit published or unpublished work online to win $3,000 for the best story and $3,000 for the best essay. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each. Length limit: 6,000 words. Entry fee: $20. Top 12 entries published online. Judge: Mina Manchester. Learn more at winningwriters.com/tomstorynp22.
december seeks submissions for our 2022 Curt Johnson Prose Awards in fiction and creative nonfiction. Prizes each genre — $1,500 & publication (winner); $500 & publication (honorable mention). All finalists will be listed in the 2022 Fall/Winter awards issue. $20 entry fee includes a copy of the awards issue. Submit 1 story or essay up to 8,000 words deadline May 1. Complete guidelines at our website.
$2,000 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying South 2022 will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. The WSW President’s award winner will win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website.
Deadline: June 1, 2022
Midway Journal‘s -1000 Below: Flash Prose and Poetry Contest is open! $500 first prize and publication in Midway, $250 second prize and publication in Midway; $50 third prize and publication in Midway. $10 entry. Unlimited entries. Judge: Kim Chinquee. For complete guidelines visit website.
The 16th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors. NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. Visit website.
Deadline: April 30, 2022
30th year. Submit stories and essays to Winning Writers’ 2022 contest to win $3,000 and online publication. Accepts published and unpublished work. Co-sponsored by Duotrope. Recommended by Reedsy. Judged by Mina Manchester. Winners announced on October 15. View flyer and visit their website.
Deadline: June 15, 2022
Swan Scythe Press announces its 2022 poetry chapbook contest. Entry fee: $18. We are accepting submissions from March 1 to June 15 (postmark deadline). Winner receives $200 and 25 perfect-bound chapbooks. The 2021 winner is Rae Gouirand for Little Hour. For full submission guidelines, visit www.swanscythepress.com.
Deadlines: March 15, 2022; March 31, 2022
2022 Able Muse Contests :: Submit now! Write Prize (poetry & fiction): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Aaron Poochigian (poetry), Dennis Must (fiction); $15 entry; deadline: March 15, 2022. Book Award (poetry): $1,000 + book publication. Final Judge: Rachel Hadas; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2022. Enter now—go to www.ablemusepress.com for full details.
Deadline: April 1, 2022
Submit one humor poem up to 250 lines to win $2,000. Second prize: $500. 10 Honorable Mentions: $100 each. Top 12 poems published online. 21st annual contest sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope. No fee to enter. Accepts published and unpublished work. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. This contest is recommended by Reedsy. Learn more and submit at winningwriters.com/werglenp22.
It’s a new month and if you are interested in submitting your work to writing contests in March, NewPages has you covered.
Besides the contests featured in our Classifieds, you can find even more opportunities by checking out our Big List of Writing Contests where we feature more than 60 contests with deadlines this month alone. All contests are arranged by deadline date. You’ll also be able to see what genres they are accepting and if they charge a fee.
Enjoy magazine contests, contests for published works, and book manuscript contests.
So what are you waiting for? Time to jump in.
Deadline: March 14, 2022
$2,500 honorarium and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of Colorado Review: Submit an unpublished story between 2,500 and 12,500 words by March 14, 2022 (we will observe a 5-day grace period). $15 reading fee (add $2 to submit online). Final judge is Ramona Ausubel; friends and students (current or former) of the judge are not eligible to compete, nor are Colorado State University employees, students, or alumni. Complete guidelines at nelliganprize.colostate.edu or Nelligan Prize, Colorado Review, 9105 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-9105.
February is officially over with after Monday. It doesn’t seem possible. Don’t let the shortest month of the year deter your writing goals! Check out all the submission opportunities featured on NewPages this past week while enjoying our new virtual duds. Don’t forget newsletter subscribers get early access to these opportunities and to our monthly eLitPak, so subscribe today if you haven’t already.
Continue reading “Weekly Round-up of Calls & Contests :: February 26, 2022”
Deadline: March 31, 2022
$5,000 New American Voices Award: a post-publication book prize for immigrant writers, from Fall for the Book and the Institute for Immigration Research. Submissions open for fiction and creative nonfiction. Two finalists receive $1,000 each. Previous winners include Patricia Engel, Lysley Tenorio, Melissa Rivero, and Hernán Díaz. Submission Deadline: March 31. View the full guidelines: fallforthebook.org/newamericanvoices/.
Deadline: March 31, 2022
American Writers Review announces its 2022 Writing Contest. We welcome fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and photography $250 prize. Please see our submission site for details.
Deadline: March 31, 2022
The 16th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors. NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. Visit website