These contests/grants are for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They are, very loosely, divided geographically. A couple of the deadlines is in July. – S. Kalekar
INTERNATIONAL CONTESTS
Four Palaces Publishing: Solastalgia
This is a creative non-fiction contest; the essays will be published in an anthology. “Is change a sparkling jewel of fate or an unnecessary diversion in what was already a good thing? We’re interested in creative nonfiction essays on change over time with an environmental lens, particularly dealing with the concept of solastalgia—”the homesickness you have when you are still at home.” How has the environment progressed around you, and how is it causing existential distress to your community? What’s happened to your hometown that you only visit twice a year? Have you noticed how your body reacts to the pollen in the spring, when you’ve never noticed it at all? We love to see a rainbow at the end of the storm, but we’re also perfectly fine watching the gray skies from our window. Let’s see how your places have changed.
As opposed to nostalgia—the melancholia or homesickness experienced by individuals when separated from a loved home—solastalgia is the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment.” And, “We prefer mainstream literature, though don’t be afraid to send in something experimental—Leslie Jamison’s “The Empathy Exams” is a great reference.” The winning essay gets $1,000 and mentorship in either craft or professional development, and other writers selected for the anthology get $100.
Value: $1,000; $100 for other selected essays
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Details here and here.
Eucalyptus Lit Summer Contest
Their website says, “To celebrate Eucalyptus Lit’s one-year anniversary, we will be holding our first ever summer contest for poetry and prose! … All pieces submitted to the contest will be considered for publication, even if not shortlisted.” Length guidelines are up to three poems, and up to 3,500 words for prose. They have a couple of videos about the kind of work their judges are looking for on their social media.
Value: $75, $25
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants
This international grant is to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama that have not previously appeared in English in print or have appeared only in an outdated or otherwise flawed translation. Works should be translations-in-progress, as the grant aims to provide support for completion. The works must be translated into English. Projects may have up to two translators. There are various submission requirements, including a translation sample of 8-10 pages.
Value: $2,000-4,000
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
(Note: Translations from Italian will be considered for the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature.)
The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Grant for Children’s and Young Adult Novelists
This is for an author of children’s or young-adult fiction. The fellowship is for helping writers whose work is of high literary caliber and is designed to assist a writer at a crucial moment in his or her career to complete a book-length fiction work-in-progress. Applicants must have already published one work for children or young adults that was warmly received by literary critics, but whose work has not yet attracted a broad readership. Candidates must have published one or more novels for children or young adults that have been warmly received by literary critics, but have not generated significant sales. The writer’s previously published book(s) must be published by a U.S. trade publisher; self-published works are ineligible. The submitted work must be a novel-in-progress that will not be published prior to April 1, 2025.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Open for: Published YA/children’s writers (by a US trade publisher)
Details here and here.
PEN/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History
These grants are for literary works of nonfiction that use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement. They are to help maintain or complete ongoing projects. Oral history must be a significant portion of the work and its research. Writers have to send in writing samples and transcripts as part of the application.
Value: Two grants of $15,000 each
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
The PEN/Bare Life Review Grants
These are new grants, which recognize literary works by immigrant and refugee writers. Foreign-born writers based in the U.S., and writers living abroad who hold refugee/asylum seeker status, are eligible to apply. The project must be a work of a literary nature: fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry, and translated works (in case of translated works, the grant will be conferred to the original author). A writing sample is part of the submission requirements — up to 40 pages for poetry, and 75 pages for other genres. For the 2025 grant cycle, they will confer two grants. The project must be an unpublished work-in-progress that will not be published prior to April 1, 2025, as the grants are intended to support the completion of a manuscript.
Value: $5,000 each
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Open for: Foreign-born writers based in the U.S., and to writers living abroad who hold refugee/asylum seeker status
Details here and here.
MoonLit Gateway
MoonLit Gateway is a new literary journal, and for their inaugural contest, only writers in US, Canada, and UK are eligible to enter. The categories are visual art, flash fiction (up to 1,000 words), and poetry (up to 60 lines). Please note, submissions that do not win the contest will still be considered for publication on their website, as well as in an anthology.
Value: $100 in each category
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Open for: Writers in US, Canada, UK
Details here.
Unicorn Mech Suit Short Story Contest
Their website says, “Unicorn Mech Suit is now having our first short story contest. The winner will be published right here on UMS, and the top ten entries will receive personalized feedback. Authors will retain all rights. All entries should be between 500-1500 words and be broadly considered either science fiction or fantasy. (Horror will also be considered if it has speculative elements.)”
Value: $400
Deadline: 8 August 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Lucky Jefferson Poetry & Prose Summer Contest
Lucky Jefferson wants submissions for their poetry and prose summer contest. Send up to 5 poems or prose pieces. Also, 20 finalists will be published in their online magazine.
Value: $100 each for poetry and prose
Deadline: 18 August 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
(Their Submittable page has various opportunities; please be sure to submit in the correct category.)
Pen & Quill: Longing & Dreamscapes
Pen & Quill is a magazine for and by young writers. They are open for a summer contest, and only writers between ages 12 and 21 years can enter. The theme is ‘Longing & Dreamscapes’. ““Longing and Dreamscapes” calls for works that intertwine the boundaries of fiction and reality. We invite you to explore the borders of past and present, old and new, desire and disgust. In the Northeast of the U.S., the summer heat can be so strong it makes everything feel like a dream. We invite you, too, to soak in your sweat and share with us the whispers of your dreams and the longings of your heart.” The categories are poetry, fiction, and other (which do not fit poetry or fiction, like nonfiction, experimental work, scripts). Submit works of up to 3,000 words. Submission is via a form.
Value: $200, $100, $50; $20 for a middle school standout
Deadline: 18 August 20234
Open for: Writers ages 12-21
Details here.
On the Premises: Expertise
They want a story based on a prompt on their website. “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which one or more characters with significant expertise in some area matter to the story. The expert(s) DO NOT have to be the story’s main character(s), though it’s fine if they are–the judges won’t care either way. We’re also open to the idea that your story’s character(s) with expertise might be either wrong, or frauds, or idiots. (Or they’re legitimate experts!) However, the idea of expertise, and at least one person who has it (or doesn’t?) has to matter to the story.” They do not want children’s fiction, exploitative sex, over-the-top grossout horror, or stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors.
Value: $250, $200, $150, $75
Deadline: 30 August 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here (general guidelines) and here (theme details)
Lunch Ticket: Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction
This award is for a creative non-fiction piece of up to 5,000 words on any subject. The contest is open in February and August.
Value: $250
Reading period: 1-31 August 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts
Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize. Writers should indicate whether the translation falls under poetry or prose, and include the original work along with your translation. Original, bilingual work qualifies for the Gabo Prize. The contest is open in February and August.
Value: $200
Reading period: 1-31 August 2024
Open for: All translators
Details here.
Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen Scholarship
These are for professionals various disciplines, including literature and art. Collectives can also apply.
Value: €1,500 per month (less rental and operational cost), residency at Schöppingen, Germany; up to €3,000 for collectives
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
The Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing
This year, they say, “We invite you to write “Letters to My Love”. Whether it’s a heartfelt letter to a significant other, an expression of unspoken feelings, or a unique voice”, and the entry should be in the form of a story or letter (poetry will not be accepted). They have detailed guidelines, including, the entry isn’t limited to just romance or love and any genre can be covered as long as it is not unnecessarily violent or gruesome and the subject of the competition is included. They want works of up to 1,500 words. The competition is open to anyone over 16 years of age.
Value: £100
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Preservation Foundation Contest: Biographical non-fiction
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (those who have never published extensively in any form and have never earned over $250.00 by their writing skills in any single year – see guidelines). Their upcoming deadline is for the biographical non-fictioncategory: “A biographical entry must be a true story of an individual(s) known to the author personally–not a fictional or historical character. Autobiography, of course, must be a true story about the author’s life, the whole or an episode. Biographical stories, especially those from older people, or about them by children and grandchildren, are especially appropriate for our mission–to “preserve the extraordinary stories of ‘ordinary’ people.” ”
Entries should be 1,000-5,000 words. They want all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, to be on their website as long as the Foundation exists (see guidelines). Also see contests in other genres, which will open for submissions later.
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
Gulf Coast: The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing
This prize is for critical art writing, of up to 1,500 words. Their guidelines say, “The Prize invites submissions of expository writing, scholarly essays, and exhibition reviews that have been written–or published–within the last year.”
Value: $3,000; two prizes of $1,000 each
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here. (Gulf Coast has other opportunities too, which have entry fees.)
Raw Earth Ink: The Northwind Writing Award
This is for writers in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia only. The contest seeks to “shine light on little-known exceptional writers. Overall we are looking for writing which stirs our emotions, paints vivid imagery, is high-caliber or underappreciated, and is memorable.” They will choose one winner in each of these four categories – Prose Poetry (up to 1,000 words), Poetry, Short Fiction (750 – 3,500 words), and Non-fiction/Essay/Memoir (up to 3,000 words). Please note, all winners and honorable mentions will be published in the annual Northwind Treasury.
Value: $100 in each category
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: Writers in US, Canada, UK, and Australia
Details here.
Amazon: Kindle Storyteller Award
This is an international award for those who publish their work through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing in English in any genre. Entrants must make the book available for sale in both digital and print versions through KDP between 1st May 2024 and 31st August 2024. The book must be at least 24 pages long, and can have a maximum of 2 co-authors. Please note, the books must be published through their KDP Select program (be only available on Amazon), and readers play a significant role in winner selection (see Terms & Conditions – which also lists ineligible countries/nationalities – and FAQ). The book can have up to two co-authors.
Value: £20,000
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: All writers who publish through KDP
Details here.
American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Awards
The American-Scandinavian Foundation annually awards translation prizes for outstanding translations of poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose written by a Scandinavian author born after 1900. The Leif and Inger Sjöberg Award is for those whose translations from a Nordic language have not been previously published. There is also the Nadia Christensen Prize, the Wigeland Prize (this is for the best translation by a Norwegian), and the Inger and Jens Bruun Translation Prize, which recognizes the best Danish translation. The application includes 25-50 pages of prose or 15-25 pages of poetry.
Value: $2,500 (Nadia Christensen Prize); $2,000 (Leif and Inger Sjöberg Award); $2,000 (Wigeland Prize), $2,000 (The Inger and Jens Bruun Translation Prize)
Deadline: 1 September 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
The Academy for Teachers – Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest
They want honest, unsentimental stories, of 6-499 words, about teachers and schools. The contest is open to all writers, whether or not they are a teacher. The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher. Sentimentality is discouraged and education jargon is forbidden.
Value: $1,000, and publication in A Public Space
Deadline: 1 September 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
(A couple of other contests with later deadlines are:
— Yale Drama Series – David Charles Horn Prize: This international contest is for an full-length play in English, of at least 65 pages, and is meant for emerging playwrights. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays are not accepted. Apart from a cash prize, there will be publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. The prize is $10,000, and the deadline is 8 September 2024. Details here and here.
— Academy of American Poets’ Ambroggio Prize: This is an opportunity for US poets. They want a book-length poetry manuscript originally written in Spanish and with an English translation. Poets may translate their own work or collaborate with a translator who may or may not be a poet; the poet and translator must share the prize. The original manuscript in Spanish must be between 48 and 100 pages. Their website also says, established in 2017, the Ambroggio Prize is the only annual award of its kind in the United States that honors American poets whose first language is Spanish. The prize is $1,000 and publication; the deadline is 15 September 2024. Details here and here. The Academy of American Poets has other awards as well, both fee-free and fee-based – see their Submittable for all open calls.
— The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award: These awards offer publication for two short story collections. Manuscripts must be at least 150 pages. They offer a standard publishing contract. Submissions are open between 1 August and 30 September 2024. Both winning manuscripts get publication under a standard University of Iowa Press contract. The prize is open for writers who have not published a volume of prose fiction. Details here.)
WRITERS IN THE US AND CANADA
Granum Foundation Prizes Submissions are open for the Granum Foundation Prize and the Granum Foundation Translation Prize. These are for works in progress, to help US-based writers complete substantive literary projects, including novels, memoirs, books of poetry, short story collections, and works in translation.
Value: The Granum Foundation Prize is $5,000, with up to three finalist prizes of with $500 or more each; and the Translation Prize is $1,500 or more
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Open for: US-based writers
Details here.
The Lincoln Forum: Platt Family Scholarship Prize Essay Contest
This essay contest is for full-time undergraduates at an American college or university in Spring 2024. The topic for this year’s essay is: “In this current presidential election year, which some have described as the most important in history, what arguments can be made that the 1864 Lincoln-McClellan race was indeed the most crucial of American history”. Entries must be 1,500- 5,000 words.
Value: $1,000, $500, $250
Deadline: 31 August 2024
Open for: Students in a US college or university
Details here.
WRITERS IN THE UK AND IRELAND
Waterford Poetry Prize
This is for a poem of up to 40 lines, by a resident of Ireland. The winner and runner-up will also be invited to participate in a writing course at the Molly Keane Writers Retreat, Ardmore. There is no age limit; minors have to get a parent or guardian’s consent.
Value: €400, €300, €200
Deadline: 12 August 2024
Open for: Ireland writers
Details here.
Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour
This is an annual prize, awarded to a previously unpublished and unagented aspiring author of colour in the UK. For 2024, they want works of narrative fiction. Apart from cash, the winner and shortlisted writers get editorial consultation with an agent. Submission requirements include a writing sample from the manuscript, and summary.
Value: £200
Deadline: 19 August 2024
Open for: Unpublished writers of colour in the UK/Ireland (see guidelines)
Details here.
Royal Society of Literature: Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction
This is for UK/Ireland-based writers of non-fiction, to buy them time for completing their first commissioned work (see guidelines). Only works to be published in the UK or Republic of Ireland, or by UK/Ireland-based publishers, are eligible. The award will also take into consideration the author’s financial need.
Value: £10,000, £5,000, £2,500
Deadline: 30 August 2024
Open for: UK/Ireland-based writers
Details here and here.
(See all the Royal Society of Literature’s awards/prizes here; some are open now, including those with entry fees.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
