Legitimate writing and literary contests, competitions, awards and prizes of all kinds. Contests do NOT have to offer monetary rewards, but that is what most authors expect to find in this category.
Related categories 2
Sites 40
- Slipstream Press Poetry Contest An annual poetry chapbook contest, worth $1,000, seeking up to forty pages of poetry in any style, format or theme. Entry fee: $15. Deadline: December 1, each year.
- Lost Horse Press The Idaho Prize is open to U.S. authors only. It offers $1000 plus publication for a book-length poetry manuscript of 48 pages or more. Entry fee: $25. Deadline: May 15.
- Hollis Summers Poetry Prize Seeks manuscript collections of unpublished poems. Prize: $500 cash, plus publication. Reading fee: $15. Deadline: October 31.
- National Schools Project A site dedicated to the young poet. Submit poetry for the possibility of being published in the Young American Poetry Digest.
- Writers Forum magazine Leading UK creative writing magazine running a monthly poetry competition. £100 first prize plus publication. No deadline as competition is continuous. Free tick-box critiques, international entries welcomed.
- Poetry London One of Britain's leading poetry magazines, features original poems, and reviews, and sponsors a rewarding annual contest for unpublished poems, less than 80 lines in length.
- Voices Network Features quarterly poetry competitions, with no entry fees. Open to all, though entries from children are judged by less strict criteria. Cash prizes total $175.
- Juniper Prize for Poetry Contest Original manuscripts of at least fifty pages are sought by The University of Massachusetts Press which will publish the winning collection of original poetry. Entry fee: $20. Submissions accepted August1 through September 30.
- Winning Writers Offers several annual competitions, among them a contest on the specific theme of War and a parody competition. Includes link lists, recommendations for reading and an online guide to poetry contests for subscribers.
- Burning Bush Poetry Prize An annual prize for an original poem on a "people before profits" theme. $10 entry fee. $200 prize. Deadline: March 1.
- Bridport Prize An international creative writing competition for poetry (under 42 lines) and short stories (under 5,000 words). Prize money totals ten thousand pounds. Entry fee: Six pounds. Deadline: June 30, each year.
- First Writer Poetry Competition Annual contest offers first prize of £500 (over $750), with $150 for the best runner-up from the United States and £100 for the best runner-up from the United Kingdom for a poem in any style and on any subject. Length: under 30 lines. Minimum entry fee: 3 pounds. Deadline: October 1.
- Frances Locke Memorial Poetry Award Annual contest offers a $1,000 cash award, plus publication, for an imaginative work. Reading fee: $10. Deadline: June 15.
- Comstock Review Annual Poetry Contest Original, unpublished poems are sought. Maximum length: 40 lines. Entry fee: $3 per poem. Prize pool: $1,350. Deadline: July 1. Selected poems will be published.
- Tom Howard Poetry Contest Annual contest, closing September 30, seeks original poems in any style, on any theme, and of any length. Published verse and simultaneous submissions are okay. Prize money totals $2,000, including a First Prize of $1,000. All prizewinners also receive a free copy of the Anthology of winning entries. Entry fee is $5 for every 25 lines.
- The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Awards An annual award of $100,000 is offered for a published book of original poetry by a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien.
- Griffin Poetry Prize Griffin Poetry Prizes, worth C$40,000 each, are annual international and Canadian literary awards for poetry written or translated into English. Publishers only are invited to submit collections of poetry in traditional print format each calendar year.
- Ohio State University Press Poetry Contest A $2,000 poetry contest for book-length manuscripts (at least 48 pages), sponsored by the Ohio State University's literary magazine, "The Journal". Reading fee: $25. Entries must be postmarked during the month of September.
- Margaret Reid Poetry Prize for Traditional Verse Annual awards totaling $2,000 (including a $1,000 First Prize) are made for poems in traditional verse forms. Any variations on metrical, rhyming and/or formal poems are eligible. The judge's interpretation of "traditional" is loose rather than strict. No restriction on previous publication or previous awards. Minimum: 25 lines. Maximum: No limit. Minimum entry fee: $5. Closing date: June 30.
- Poetry Kit Directory of Competitions A listing of worldwide, English-language poetry contests, including those who do not maintain a web site.
- Utmost Christian Poetry Contest Annual Christian poetry contest, closing each February, offers $4000 in cash prizes with other poetry contests year round.
- Meridian Editors’ Prize Annual poetry contest for a single poem (up to 2 pages). 1st prize $1,000, entry fee $16. Deadline: 6th January.
- Cutthroat Poetry Award Annual poetry contest, submit three poems of up to 100 lines each. 1st prize $1,250, entry fee $15. Deadline: 10th October.
- Ruth Stone Prize in Poetry Annual poetry contest for a single poem. 1st prize $1,000, entry fee $20. Deadline: 10th December.
- MAG Poetry Competition Poetry competition judged by the entrants themselves. Single poem contest. Entry fee £6, prize fund accumulates at £2 per entry to £10,000. Deadline: April 30.
- Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize Publication plus $300 award. Postmarked March 1 through May 31. There is a $15 fee per entry. Women writers only.
- The Plough Prize Established international poetry competition. Open Poem, Short Poem and Poem for Children categories. £1700 prize fund, online or postal entry available.
- Reuben Rose Annual Poetry Competition Annual competition seeks poems on general themes, not more than forty lines in length. Three monetary prizes totalling $800, also honarary mentions. All poems judged anonymously. Entry fee: $5. per poem. Deadline each year-: October 7.
- Indiana Review's Poetry Prize Seeks previously unpublished poetry. No restrictions on length or form. Prize is a $1000 honorarium and publication in the magazine. All entries considered for publication. Reading Fee: $15. Deadline: March 31.
- Aquillrelle Organizes and hosts poetry and story contests, to be published online, in a contest anthology and magazine.
- May Swenson Poetry Award Seeks original manuscripts, 50-100 pages, on any theme. University Press of Colorado.
- Seven Hills Literary & Penumbra Poetry Contest Annual poetry contest offers prize money for poetry and haiku.
- Colorado Prize for Poetry An international poetry book manuscript contest. Winner receives an honorarium and publication by the Center for Literary Publishing. Sponsored by the University of Colorado.
- Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards Annual contest seeks original, unpublished poems, no more than two manuscript pages in length, on any themes, and in any genre. Sponsored by the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College.
- Georgia Poetry Society - Contests Offers a number of contests throughout the year, international in scope, for short poems.
- Tom Howard/ Margaret Reid Poetry Contest Published and unpublished poetry in any style. Or, traditional rhyming style for another prize.
- The Christopher Tower Poetry Competition An annual, themed poetry competition for 16-18yr olds, with cash prizes for both the winning students and their schools or colleges.
- Betjeman Poetry Prize A competition for young poets aged 10 -13, UK based.
- Hungry Hill Writing - Wild Atlantic Words Open poetry competition. Yearly.
- Wax Poetry and Art Free contests. Up to 3 poems may be submitted.