12.27.24

Good evening, all, we have returned from our three-day Christmas vacation, but we have a few more days for New Years.

I promised more writing contests from Poets & Writers for January 2025. There are plenty of contests to choose from and register for. Just click on read more to find out more information.

Credit Source: Poets & Writers

Mississippi Review

Mississippi Review Prize

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $15

Application Deadline: 1/1/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of… read more

North Carolina Writers’ Network

Jacobs/Jones African American Literary Prize

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/2/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or an essay that “seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of Black North Carolinians.” The winning entry is… read more

North Carolina Writers’ Network

Jacobs/Jones African American Literary Prize

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/2/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or an essay that “seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of Black North Carolinians.” The winning entry is… read more

New Literary Project

Jack Hazard Fellowships

Cash Prize: $5,000

Entry Fee: $0

Application Deadline: 1/3/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Ten fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to creative writers who are high school teachers to support summer work on an ongoing fiction, creative nonfiction, or memoir… read more

San José State University

Steinbeck Fellowships in Creative Writing

Cash Prize: $15,000

Entry Fee: $0

Application Deadline: 1/5/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Six yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include stipends of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative… read more

Leon Levy Center for Biography

Leon Levy Biography Fellowships

Cash Prize: $72,000

Entry Fee: $0

Application Deadline: 1/6/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Four yearlong fellowships of $72,000, writing space at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, access to research facilities, and research assistance from a graduate student… read more

Florida Review

Jeanne Leiby Memorial Chapbook Award

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/7/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000, publication in Florida Review, and 50 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic… read more

French-American Foundation

Translation Prize

Cash Prize: $10,000

Entry Fee: $0

Application Deadline: 1/10/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation

Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for translations from French into English of a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published… read more

Winter Anthology

Writing Contest

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $11

Application Deadline: 1/10/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Winter Anthology is given annually for a group of poems, a short story, a novel excerpt, or an essay. Joyelle McSweeney will judge… read more

Colorado Review

Colorado Prize for Poetry

Cash Prize: $2,500

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/14/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,500 and publication by the Center for Literary Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. Craig Morgan Teicher will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to… read more

Longleaf Press

Book Contest

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $27

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Longleaf Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to give a virtual reading in early… read more

Georgia Review

Prose Prize

Cash Prize: $1,500

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review will be given annually for a short story or an essay. Allegra Hyde will judge. Submit a story or essay of up to 9,… read more

North Carolina Writers’ Network

Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $12

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for an essay “that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians.” The winning essay is also… read more

WOMR/WFMR Community Radio

Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $15

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Marge Piercy will judge. Submit up to five poems totaling no more than seven pages with a $15 entry fee by January 15…. read more

Asheville Poetry Review

William Matthews Poetry Prize

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Asheville Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Malaprop’s Bookstore… read more

Poetry Society of Virginia

North American Poetry Book Award

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $36

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the current year. The winner is also invited to read at the Poetry Society of Virginia’s annual… read more

Virginia Commonwealth University

Levis Reading Prize

Cash Prize: $5,000

Entry Fee: $0

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $5,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to give a reading at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond is given annually for a first or second book of poetry… read more

Red Hen Press

Cai Emmons Fiction Award

Cash Prize: $5,000

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Fiction

A prize of $5,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story collection, a novella, a novel, or other book-length work of fiction. E. P. Tuazon will judge…. read more

Ellen Meloy Fund

Desert Writers Award

Cash Prize: $5,000

Entry Fee: $15

Application Deadline: 1/15/25

Genre: Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $5,000 is given annually to enable a creative nonfiction writer “whose work reflects the spirit and passions for the desert embodied in Ellen Meloy’s writing” to… read more

National Endowment for the Arts

Translation Projects Fellowship

Cash Prize: $25,000

Entry Fee: $0

Application Deadline: 1/16/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation

Approximately 20 grants of up to $25,000 each are given annually to translators of poetry and prose. Writers who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States and… read more

Sixfold

Poetry and Short Story Awards

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $5

Application Deadline: 1/24/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to… read more

Australian Book Review

Calibre Essay Prize

Cash Prize: $3,236

Entry Fee: $19

Application Deadline: 1/28/25

Genre: Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $5,000 AUD (approximately $3,236) is given annually for an essay. A second-place prize of $3,000 AUD (approximately $1,942) and a third-place prize of $2,000 AUD (… read more

North Carolina Writers’ Network

Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/30/25

Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or a self-contained novel excerpt. The winning work of fiction is also considered for publication in Thomas Wolfe… read more

Arts Literature Laboratory

Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $30

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of fiction by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who has previously resided in Wisconsin for at least five years)… read more

swamp pink

Writing Prizes

Cash Prize: $2,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in swamp pink are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,… read more

PEN America

Emerging Voices Fellowship

Cash Prize: $1,500

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to… read more

Chautauqua Institution

Chautauqua Janus Prize

Cash Prize: $7,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and… read more

Schaffner Press

Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in… read more

Black Lawrence Press

Big Moose Prize

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $28

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre

A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novel. The contest is open to traditional novels as well as “novels-in-… read more

Iowa Review

Iowa Review Awards

Cash Prize: $1,500

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission… read more

Arts Literature Laboratory

Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $30

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who has previously resided in Wisconsin for at least five years)… read more

Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund

Individual Artist Grants for Women

Cash Prize: $2,000

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Grants of up to $2,000 each are given in alternating years to feminist poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. This year… read more

Nimrod International Journal

Nimrod Literary Awards

Cash Prize: $2,000

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $2,000 and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for a poem or group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each category… read more

Arts Literature Laboratory

Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $30

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of fiction by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who has previously resided in Wisconsin for at least five years)… read more

swamp pink

Writing Prizes

Cash Prize: $2,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in swamp pink are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,… read more

PEN America

Emerging Voices Fellowship

Cash Prize: $1,500

Entry Fee: $25

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to… read more

Chautauqua Institution

Chautauqua Janus Prize

Cash Prize: $7,000

Entry Fee: $20

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and… read more

Arts Literature Laboratory

Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $30

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Creative Nonfiction

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of nonfiction, including creative nonfiction, by a writer who is a resident of Wisconsin (or who has previously resided in… read more

Ghost Story

Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition

Cash Prize: $1,000

Entry Fee: $15

Application Deadline: 1/31/25

Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a work of flash fiction with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors… read more

That is all for January 2025. By this time in January, I will post more contests for February. More to come tomorrow for the final Weekend Update for 2024.

Enjoy the rest of your evening, be safe, happy, healthy, and blessed.

Featured Image: Arshad Sutar / Pexel