These are prizes for writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, screenplays, for translators, and journalists. Prizes range from $75 to $50,000. Writers may want to periodically check the organizers’ websites or social media accounts in these difficult and rapidly-changing times for any potential changes to dates or even terms (especially where entries have to be posted, or where a residency is involved).

The contests are broadly sorted geographically (although those which don’t specify any geographic restrictions are also under ‘global entry’). None of these charge an entry fee, and deadlines are approaching quickly. 

– S. Kalekar

PRIZES FOR ALL WRITERS/GLOBAL ENTRY

Waterston Desert Writing Prize

This prize is for a proposed book of literary non-fiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy – with the desert both as subject and setting. Writing samples about deserts and natural settings are more likely to be reviewed favorably.    

Value: $2,500 and a residency at Playa at Summer Lake, Oregon
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Saroyan Writing Contest 2020: A Good Life
This is an writing contest for students. The theme is ‘A Good Life’ – their guidelines say, “William Saroyan once said, “In the time of your life, live.” What is a good life? Write a story and explain what a good life means to you.” The judges are looking for stories of up to two pages; in no case should they exceed three pages. There are specific requirements if this contest is used as a class project. There are five categories of participants, in grades 1 through 12. It is unspecified whether the contest is for students of a particular country, or is open for global entries.
Value: $100, $75, $50 each, in each category
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: Students
Details here (download the entry form).

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
This prize is for humor poetry. Submit a poem of up to 250 lines. 
Value: $1,000and a subscription to Duotrope; $250; 10 prizes of $100 each
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: All poets (barring those in Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea due to US government restrictions).
Details here.

Alpine Fellowship Prizes: Two prizes for creative writers
Apart from themed Writing and Theatre prizes detailed below, they also have the Visual Arts Prize, and the Academic Writing Prize. For all prizes, they reserve the right to change the date of shortlist, longlist, and winner announcement – and ask that writers follow them on Instagram for latest news.

— Writing Prize

This international prize is awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of ‘Forgiveness and Retribution’ (up to 2,500 words in any genre), which is the theme of the 2020 Alpine Fellowship Annual Symposium. The winner and two runners-up are invited to attend the Fjällnäs (Sweden) symposium. The award will be presented by poet John Burnside, who is also the head judge.
Value: £10,000, £3,000, £2,000
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.

— Theatre Prize
This prize is awarded for the best play on the theme of ‘Forgiveness and Retribution’ Aimed at encouraging theatre writers at the start of their careers to explore and challenge philosophical ideas using the dramatic form. Apart from the cash prize, the winner also gets a rehearsed reading at the Fellowship’s annual Symposium to which they will be invited to attend. Runners up will be invited to attend the Fjällnäs symposium to exhibit their work. To apply, applicants must send: 1) A treatment of your idea in response to the theme; up to 500 words; 2) A sample of previous work of at least 10 pages; and 3) A 3-4 sample pages of your proposed script or a 1-2 detailed page synopsis of your story. The final piece must be 45 minutes in length and require no more than 4 actors.
Value: £3,000
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: All playwrights
Details here and here.

The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers
The three-month fellowships are to afford writers uninterrupted time to focus on their work at an apartment in Carson McCuller’s childhood home in Columbus, Georgia, free from the distractions of daily life and other professional responsibilities. A spouse or companion is welcome. The application includes a writing sample of up to 20 pages.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (scroll down)

Queer Sci Fi: Innovation

They want to see science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, or horror LGBTQIA stories of up to 300 words on the theme of Innovation – which could be a new idea, method, or device, or the introduction of something new, or the action or process of innovating. Their guidelines say, “We live in an age of innovation – new websites, apps, and disruption abound. Often this innovation has a dark side, destroying old industries, eroding privacy and enabling climate change.
But innovation can have a bright side – solving problems instead of creating them. Look at how medicine has helped extend life and cure ailments that were once deadly scourges. The same social media sites that are causing such chaos have also brought people together on groups like ours, creating new communities. And innovation might just hold the key to saving the planet.
Tell us about either side – how innovation will destroy us, or how it might save us. Whether your innovation is scientific, paranormal, horrific or magical, we want to see it.”
Value: $75, $50, $25
Deadline: 10 April 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.

24^th Annual Parsec Ink Short Story Contest: Forging
This is a contest for a science fiction, fantasy or horror short story (up to 3,500 words) on the theme ‘Forging’ – which can be used in the setting, plot, characters, or dialogue – the winning story will be one which uses the contest theme as a key element. Entrants must be non-professional writers (those who have not met eligibility requirements for Science Fiction Writers of America or equivalent: sale of a novel or sale of 3 stories to a large-circulation publication). Read the terms carefully – one of these is, “Submission to the contest implies consent for publication, but all rights revert immediately to the author upon publication.” A maximum of two submissions is allowed.
Value: $200, $100, $50
Deadline: 15 April 2020
Open for: Non-professional writers (see guidelines)
Details here.

Everything Change Climate Fiction Contest 2020
This is an international short fiction contest. Their guidelines say, “The beating drum of the climate crisis is a constant reminder that our planet is a closed, limited system, and that we’re currently living far beyond its boundaries. We are looking for short stories that help us imagine how humans can live within Earth’s planetary boundaries—at the individual level, yes, but more importantly at the level of organizations, communities, and societies, and at the level of a global human civilization. What would our world look like if we actually respected and lived within planetary boundaries? How would we organize our homes, communities, cities, and nations? How would we live with and relate to each other at the global level? How might politics, culture, relationships, and identities—all of the messiness of human lives—change in a world where we’re grappling seriously with the climate crisis, and perhaps even trying to restore some of the damage we’ve already done to the planet and its ecosystems? What kinds of obstacles, conflicts, and transformations will arise during these humongous shifts? How can we ensure that a sustainable or even climate-positive future is also a just and equitable one?” Submissions (5,000 words) can be in all fiction genres. 
Value: $1,000; nine prizes of $100 each
Deadline: 15 April 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Green Stories Writing Competitions: Screenplay
This full-length film screenplay contest is open to all. All submissions (19-120 pages) must conform to the green stories criteria of showing a positive vision of what a sustainable society might look like or in some way smuggling in green solutions/policies/characters in the context of an otherwise mainstream story. BBC Writers room have agreed to read the top five scripts and follow up with any writers they think have promise. The scripts that are written in standard format (see guidelines) will get a better reception. Also see details of their upcoming contests in other genres, with later deadlines. 
Value: £500, £100, £50; best student submission prize of £50
Deadline: 18 April 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.

2020 ALTA Travel Fellowship
Each year, between four and six fellowships are awarded to emerging (unpublished or minimally published) translators to help them pay for hotel and travel expenses to the annual American Literary Translators Association conference (November 11-14 , 2020 in Tucson, AZ). Among the fellowships is the Peter K. Jansen Memorial Travel Fellowship, which is preferentially awarded to an emerging translator of color or a translator working from an underrepresented Diaspora or stateless language. Also see their other awards for published works, some of which do not charge a submission fee.
Value: $1,000 each
Deadline: 20 April 2020
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.

Holland Park Press: Is Royalty Relevant? A Poetry Competition
This is an international poetry contest on the theme, ‘Is Royalty Relevant?’ Their guidelines say, “We invite you to write a poem about a member or members of royal families from countries around the world.
This is the theme but first and foremost we are looking for outstanding poems, literary and subject wise, we don’t need to agree with your views, but we want to feel your poem comes from the heart and adds something new to our poetic legacy.
You can write about any aspect of royalty: their role, actions, dress sense, sense of duty, scandals, economic relevance, artistic or sporting interests, their dogs and other pets or even their handbag (what’s in it?). You can be a royalist or staunch republican, that’s all fine, as long as, we are moved, excited, amused, annoyed or inspired by your poem.” Poems must not exceed 50 lines.
Value: £200
Deadline: 27 April 2020
Open for: All poets
Details here.

Preservation Foundation Contest
This is an international contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). For the upcoming deadline, the prizes will be in the general non-fiction category, for which their guidelines say “So-called “creative nonfiction” will not be considered”. Entries should be 1,000-10,000 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 with later deadlines. 
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 30 April 2020
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here.

New England Crime Bake: Al Blanchard Award
This is a short story award. Their guidelines say it must be a crime story (up to 5,000 words) by a New England author or have a New England setting if the author is not from New England. The story may include the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror. (No torture/killing of children or animals.) Apart from the cash award, the winner also gets publication in Level Best Books’ Crime Fiction anthology, and admission to the Crime Bake Conference (though conference attendance is not a requirement).
Value: $100
Deadline: 30 April 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contests
These are international essay contests for students centred around Ayn Rand’s works: Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged. All runner-up prizes have more than one winner in each contest and category. One of the contests has a whopping $25,000 prize – the deadline for that is a few months away yet. The guidelines also say, “All entries become the property of the Ayn Rand Institute and will not be returned. Essays may be reproduced on our website and/or shared with third parties for purposes of marketing the contest.” The deadline for the contest around Anthem is in April 2020. For this book, there are contests for two sets of grade levels: one for 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th, and another for those in 11^th and 12^th grade. Submit an essay of 600-1,200 words on one of three specific topics centred around Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem. See contests with later deadlines around other works: The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged.
Value: $2,000, $250, $100, and $25 in each category
Deadline: 30^th April 2020
Open for: All students
Details here.

Remastered Words Contest
This organization creates audio dramatizations of short story submissions and an audio recording. Submit a story of up to 5,000 words in any fantasy sub-genre. The title of the anthology will be ‘One Last Chance’ and writers must use this image in the story.
Value: £75, £50, £25, and royalties
Deadline: 1 May 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation: Author of Tomorrow Award
This international contest is designed to find the adventure writers of the future. Writers must enter a piece of short fiction. The work must fall within what can be defined as adventure writing (see guidelines).  There are three categories: for writers ages 16-21, 12-15, and under 11.
Value: £1,500 in the 15-21 group, £1,000 in the 12-15 group, £100 in the under-11 group
Deadline: 5 May 2020
Open for: All writers ages 21 and under
Details here. 

The Black Orchid Novella Award
They want novellas (15,000-20,000 words) that confirm to the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series. They should focus on the deductive skills of the sleuth. Their guidelines also say, “We need to stress that a novella is not a padded short story. A novella needs to be as tight and fast-paced as a short story or a novel. Authors need to ensure that the story they want to tell is properly sized for whatever format they choose.” They are not looking for derivatives of the Nero Wolfe series, or the milieu. They accept mailed submissions only.
Value: $1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
Deadline: 31 May 2019 (postmarked)
Open for: All writers
Details here.

PRIZES FOR WRITERS IN THE U.S. (AND CANADA)

Elizabeth So Fellowship
This fellowship offers Native American writers the time and solitude to help finish a book that is already in progress. Writers must have a novel, collection of stories or poems, a memoir, or other prose work (fiction, non-fiction, or hybrid) in progress (30 pages minimum). The fellowship includes a month’s stay at Missoula, Montana.
Value: $1,000 for food and travel
Deadline: 5 April 2020
Open for: Native American writers
Details here.

Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships
These fellowships are for young poets who are US residents or citizens. Application includes up to 10 pages of poetry.
Deadline: 30 April 2020
Value: Fellowships of $25,800 each
Open for: US poets aged 21-31 years
Details here.

The Irene Adler Prize
The scholarship is for a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution in the US or Canada. Applications include a 500-word essay on one of these three topics:
— “What personal story of yours encapsulates why you want to write?”
–“Writers like J.K. Rowling, Maya Angelou, and Margaret Atwood are world-famous. Who is a less widely known female writer who has inspired you?”
–“How do you plan to push boundaries with your writing in the months and years to come?”
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 30 April 2020
Open for: US or Canadian citizens
Details here.

The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture: Hiett Prize in the Humanities
This prize is aimed at identifying candidates in the early stages of their careers devoted to the humanities and whose work shows extraordinary promise to have a significant impact on contemporary culture. Applications include a Narrative Profile of Accomplishments and Published Work, and a plan for Future Scholarship and/or Project in the Humanities. Applicants must be active and continuing in their work. Age and length of experience are not necessarily limiting factors. Past winners have included writers of columns, non-fiction, poetry and memoir, and journalists.
Value: $50,000
Deadline: 1 May 2020
Open for: Those resident in the US
Details here.

Whiting Foundation: Creative Nonfiction Grant
Up to eight grants will be awarded to US writers of creative non-fiction, for books under contract by US publishers – the subjects are history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences, philosophy, criticism, food or travel writing, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. It is intended for multiyear book projects requiring large amounts of deep and focused research, thinking, and writing, after significant work has been accomplished. The work should be intended for general, not academic, audiences. One of the application requirements is three sample chapters, or up to 25,000 words.
Value: $40,000
Deadline: 4 May 2020 (extended)
Open for: US writers with a contracted book
Details here.

PRIZES FOR WRITERS IN UK & IRELAND (AND EUROPE)

Papatango: Isolated but Open – Voices from Across the Shutdown
This is a monologue contest for UK writers, in response to the Coronavirus crisis. Their guidelines say, “On 16 March 2020, at a critical point in the coronavirus outbreak, theatres across the country began to close their doors. An entire industry was slammed shut to artists and audiences alike.
On 17 March 2020, Papatango launched Isolated But Open: Voices from Across The Shutdown, to inspire creativity and share brilliant new stories at a time when people need them most. 
The result is 10 new monologues, chosen from hundreds of submissions, representing the freshest, most vital and most exciting voices from across the country at this unprecedented time. … All 12 monologues will be filmed by hand-picked actors working in self-isolation, and the films will be shared online, free to view. They will also be made available to readers by Nick Hern Books, in a free playtext format.” Writers can pen a monologue of up to 5 minutes (2 – 4 pages) on any topic.
Value: £100 each for 10 writers
Deadline: 31 March 2020
Open for: UK writers
Details here.

The Authors’ Foundation: K. Blundell Trust Award
This is a work-in-progress award for young British writers of fiction or non-fiction. The work must contribute to the greater understanding of existing social and economic organisation.
Value: Up to £6,000
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: British writers under 40 who have had at least one book published (see guidelines)
Details here. 

Society of Authors’ Grants for Works-in-Progress
This is for British authors of fiction, non-fiction or poetry who are contracted, or who are published and working on a project that is likely to have interest from a British publisher.
Value: Up to £6,000
Deadline: 1 April 2020
Open for: British writers (see guidelines)
Details here.  

The Nick Darke Award
This is an award for UK and Europe-based playwrights. The application includes one full-length stage play script of minimum 45 minutes (no maximum), and a synopsis.
Value: £6,000
Deadline: 4 May 2020
Open for: Playwrights in UK and Europe
Details here.

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Author Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.