By S. Kalekar
These are contests as well as fellowships, grants, and residencies for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and journalism. A few are themed. The prizes range up to $100,000. They are, very loosely, divided geographically.
INTERNATIONAL CONTESTS
Tales to Terrify Flash Fiction Contest: Folk Myths & Fairytales
Tales to Terrify is a horror podcast. For this contest, they want themed short fiction of up to 1,000 words. “Unexplained noises from the house at the end of your street. Bizarre cryptids and forgotten places. Symbols that ward off evil. Places you dare not go. Words you dare not say. This year’s Tales to Terrify flash fiction contest takes us from the dawn of the spoken word to the darkest depths of modern day, with whispered tales of the terrors that have followed us down through the ages. … The story must have horror elements and relate to the theme of Folk Myth and Fairytales. How you choose to interpret that theme is up to you, but it must be central to the story.” And, “The top flash piece will be produced for audio narration on Tales to Terrify and receive $50 (USD). Up to four runners up may also be considered for production.”
Value: $50
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Baltimore Science Fiction Society Poetry Contest
For this contest, poets are required to submit poetry on science fiction/fantasy/horror/science themes. Send poems up to 60 lines. Winners will receive a cash prize, convention membership and be invited to read their winning entries at Balticon. Attendance at Balticon is not required to win. Their submission form also says, entries received after 1 March will be automatically entered in the following year’s contest.
Value: $100, $75, $50
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here.
Deep Wild Graduate Student Prose Contest: Waking to the Wild
This is an international contest from Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry magazine – they want students currently enrolled in graduate studies to submit work for their Graduate Student Contest and for this cycle, they are accepting work in prose (fiction or non-fiction, entries of up to 3,000 words), and poetry (up to 4 pages). “We seek work that conjures the experiences, observations, and insights of backcountry journeys. By “backcountry,” we mean away from roads, on journeys undertaken by foot, skis, snowshoes, kayak, canoe, horse, or any other non-motorized means of conveyance.” For 2025, the contest theme is “Waking to the Wild.” “We seek work in any genre that conveys the awe, the gratitude, the passion to protect, and/or any other feelings and thoughts that arise when you awaken to the wild world.”
Value: $200, $100, and $50
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: Students enrolled in graduate studies
Details here (scroll down) and here.
(Their Submittable is also open for other submissions; please be sure to submit in the correct category.)
2025 Artlab Editorial Fellowship
This is an international fellowship for art writers. “We are looking to support two art writers whose forward-thinking insights connect across boundaries, bridging cultural communities in ways both big and small. This Fellowship is open to art writers from anywhere in the world, and at any stage of their career. The two selected Fellows will be provided $10,000 each to produce three pieces of writing for Artlab Editorial in 2025. Additionally, each Fellow will be paired with one of this year’s Fellowship Advisors for regular one-on-one guidance and mentorship throughout the program.” Five finalists will be selected after the application period closes. “Finalists will be contacted in April after careful review of their Fellowship application by the Fellowship committee. Upon selection, finalists will be emailed and expected to complete a creative writing prompt with one week lead time as well as participate in a virtual interview with the Artlab Editor prior to the announcement of the chosen Fellows.”
Value: $10,000 each
Deadline: 3 March 2025
Open for: Published writers (“Must be a published author with (3) pieces of publicly published and credited work in English” – see eligibility here)
Details here.
ALTA Travel Fellowships
Each year, several fellowships are awarded to emerging translators (someone who does not yet have a book-length work of translation published or under contract) to help them pay for hotel and travel expenses to the annual American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) conference. Part of the application requirement is up to 10 pages of translated work (poetry or prose – see guidelines). “While the Travel Fellowships are open to all applicants, we especially encourage applications from translators of color, translators with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ translators.” Also see ALTA’s other awards for published works.
Value: $1,000 each
Deadline: 17 March 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (scroll down).
On the Premises Short Story Contest: Somewhere Else
Their guidelines say, “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which someone or something important to the story is not where it/they always have been, or where it/they would be expected to be located, or is in the process of changing their location from where it/they have always been. The distance someone or something has moved (or is moving) is not important, but the change in location must be important to the story. Whether this new location is an improvement or a problem is up to you.”
Value: $250, $200, $150, $75 (see here)
Deadline: 28 March 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here, here, and here.
International Women’s Media Foundation Grants
International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has several grants/awards/programs for women and non-binary journalists; some of them are open now; some have geographic restrictions, others are open internationally. The opportunities open now include, but are not limited to: 2025 Newsroom Safety Across America program; Safety in Numbers program; the international Courage in Journalism Awards (deadline 30th March 2025); the 2026 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, for women journalists committed to human rights and social justice reporting; the selected journalist will have the chance to complete research and coursework at MIT’s Center for International Studies and to participate in internships with The Boston Globe and The New York Times, (deadline 20th April 2025); Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine’s Unseen Frontlines, open to American, French, and German journalists (deadline 13 April 2025); and US-based Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, Transgender People (ongoing), as well as 2025 Newsroom Safety Across America (ongoing). See their Submittable for details on all currently open opportunities.
Value: Varies
Deadline: Varies
Open for: Women and non-binary journalists
Details here.
(Click on IWMF’s Opportunities and Awards tabs on this page for more.)
(And, the Uproot Project Fellowship for underrepresented, early-career climate journalists is also open for entries. You must be a member of The Uproot Project, which is a network for and by journalists of color, to avail of the fellowship; it is free to join. They’ll give awards to seven journalists, of up to $2,000 each, and the deadline to apply for the fellowship is 1 March 2025. Details here.)
Terrain.org Editor’s Prize
They welcome submissions on place, climate, and justice – fiction (short story, flash fiction series, novel excerpt, radio play, or other fiction piece), non-fiction, and poetry. They also accept translations, and art. Payment for general submissions is a minimum of $50. And, “All accepted submissions by writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and/or other marginalized communities whose contributions explore place particularly in the context of social, environmental, or climate justice are considered for our annual Editor’s Prize of $500 per genre.” There is no separate submission process or entry fee for this contest; they have other, fee-based contests too. Certain sections, like Letter to America and ArTerrain, are open year-round, and other sections have submission periods, or are open periodically.
Value: The Editor’s Prize for underrepresented writers is $500 per genre
Deadline: 31st March poetry, 30 April 2025 for fiction and nonfiction
Details here.
Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award
This international grant is for supporting the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. She or he may choose activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. This is for an emerging writer (see guidelines). The application process includes a writing sample – an unpublished piece of crime fiction, written with an adult audience in mind. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress, 2,500 to 5,000 words. Their website says, you do not have to be a member of Sisters in Crime to apply for this grant.
Value: $2,000; the winner can choose from a range of activities
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: Writers of color
Details here.
Robert B. Silvers Foundation: Silvers Grants for Works in Progress
English-language writers of any nationality may apply for their grants to support long-form essays (essay-length or book-length) in the fields of literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and/or social reportage. Grants may not be used to fund translation. Applicants should have an editorial agreement with a publication or publishing house for the work under consideration. Some of the submission requirements are a writing sample, project description, and a full responses to the financial questionnaire.
Value: Up to $10,000
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
Deborah Rogers Foundation: The DRF Writers Award
This is for writers of British Commonwealth countries, and Eire (see guidelines for the list of eligible countries). It is for a first-time prose writer whose submission demonstrates literary talent and who would benefit from financial support to complete their work. One of the submission requirements is 15,000 – 20,000 words of a work in progress, fiction or non-fiction, which is not under option or contract.
Value: £10,000, £1,000
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: Writers in the British Commonwealth and Eire
Details here and here.
Red Hen Press Ann Petry Award
This is for a work of previously unpublished prose, either a novel or a collection of short stories or novellas, with a minimum of 150 pages, by a Black writer.
Value: $3,000 and publication
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: Black writers
Details here (scroll down) and here.
(See all of the Red Hen Press awards here.)
Parsec Ink Short Story Competition: Roots
Parsec Ink also publishes the annual Triangulation anthology series. They are open now for a short speculative fiction contest by non-professional writers, who have not met the eligibility requirements for SFWA Full Membership. The theme is Roots. “Roots. The point of origin, the source of life. Buried in earth and history, they are links to the unseen. Roots can crack stone and carry messages; they can bind us to solid ground or trip us up and send us sprawling. The 2025 Parsec Short Story Contest welcomes science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories that include all types of roots: family legends, genetic inheritance, plant-like aliens, root directories, symbiotic mycorrhizal systems . . . you get the idea.
Convey the theme through setting, plot, characters, dialogue; the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing.” Send stories of up to 3,500 words. The youth story category is for ages up to 19 years, if you are still enrolled in and attending high school at the time of submission.
Value: $200, $100, and $50 for the general category, and $50 for the best youth story
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: Non-professional writers (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
America Media: The Foley Poetry Contest
For the contest, they want an unpublished poem of 45 lines or fewer. Apart from the contest, this Catholic magazine is also open for general submissions. Value: $1,000
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
The Loveliest Fellowship
The Loveliest Review invites work in various genres for their inaugural fellowship – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, photography, art, and reviews. The theme is Justice. One winner will be chosen. A writing sample is part of the submission requirement – see guidelines.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 1 April 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers
These 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. A spouse or companion is welcome. The application includes a writing sample of up to 20 pages.
Value: $5,000, residency
Deadline: 1 April 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (scroll down to Academic Opportunities and click on Fellowships).
Alpine Fellowship Prizes
They have a Poetry Prize, a Writing Prize, a Theatre Prize, as well as Music, Philosophy, Refugee Scholar, and Visual Arts prizes. Please read the guidelines for each genre carefully. The theme for this year is Fear, and all works must address the theme.
Value: £3,000, and two runner-up prizes of £1,000 each in creative writing categories – poetry, writing, theatre
Deadline: 1 April 2025
Open for: all writers
Details here – click on individual tabs for various genres.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
This prize is for humor poetry. Submit a poem of up to 250 lines.
Value: $2,000 and a two-year subscription to Duotrope; $500; $250; 10 prizes of $100 each
Deadline: 1 April 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here.
(A couple of contests with later deadlines:
— Whiting Foundation’s Creative Nonfiction Grants: They’ll award up to 10 grants of $40,000 each to writers of creative non-fiction books. They are for “writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership. … Whiting welcomes applications for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories.” Projects that are under contract with a publisher in the US, UK, or Canada. The deadline is 23 April 2025. Details here and here.
— The Black Orchid Novella Award: This is an international contest for novellas (15,000-20,000 words) that confirm to the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series (see guidelines). They should focus on the deductive skills of the sleuth. They are not looking for derivatives of the Nero Wolfe series, or the milieu. The prize is $1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and the deadline is 31 May 2025. Submission is via a form. Details here (also download the flyer from here.)
FOR US/CANADA WRITERS
Edward R. Murrow Press Fellowship
Applicants must have covered international news as a working journalist for print, broadcast, or online media widely available in the United States, and must be US citizens. They must have distinguished credentials in journalism; two of the selection criteria are, professional experience as a foreign correspondent or editor, and firm grounding in foreign policy. The Fellow spends 10 months full-time in residence at the Council for Foreign Relations’ headquarters in New York. The program enables the Fellow to engage in sustained analysis and writing, expand his or her intellectual and professional horizons, and extensively participate in CFR’s active program of meetings and events. For this cycle, “Strong preference is given to candidates whose proposed projects would contribute to the Council’s current strategic initiatives on China, U.S. economic leadership, climate change, technology, Ukraine/Russia, the Middle East, or grand strategy.”
Value:$100,000 and a modest travel grant
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: US citizens
Details here.
The U.S.-Japan Creative Artist Program
They will award 5 fellowships/residencies in Japan to US artists in various creative disciplines, including writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as playwrights. The award is from the Japan U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The award aims to engage artists who have been historically marginalized and who can bring a wider, more diverse range of creative inquiries and perspectives. “Artists participate as seekers, as cultural visionaries, and as living liaisons to the traditional and contemporary cultural life of Japan. They also serve as connectors who share knowledge and bring back knowledge. By living and working in Japan for at least 3-5 months, their interaction with the Japanese public and the outlook they bring home provide exceptional opportunities to promote cultural understanding between the United States and Japan. Artists should have compelling reasons for wanting to work in Japan, and they should do preliminary research to identify contacts there. JUSFC and NEA encourage artists to consider collaboration with Japanese colleagues, as appropriate for their artistic field.” Deadlines vary for various application stages, please see their guidelines.
Value: $20,000 for a minimum of three months + $4,000 for each additional month up to five months + up to $2,500 for round-trip travel
Deadline: 1 March for application cover sheet, 21 March 2025 for work samples, letters of recommendation, and other things – see guidelines
Open for: US writers
Details here.
University of Colorado: Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism
Their website says, “Five Ted Scripps Fellowships are awarded each year. The fellowship is open to full-time journalists working in any medium who are interested in advancing their knowledge of environmental issues. It is aimed at outstanding journalists committed to a career in professional journalism. Applicants must have five years of full-time professional journalism experience and must also have a BA or BS college degree, at minimum. Applicants may include reporters, editors, producers, photojournalists, documentarians, and feature writers. Both salaried staff and full-time freelancers are welcome to apply. Prior experience in covering the environment is not required.” And, “We welcome applications from international journalists; however, please be advised that you must hold a current visa and be authorized to work in the United States at the time of application to be considered for this position.” Fellows audit classes, pursue an independent project, attend weekly seminars, and participate in field trips to world-renowned institutions to learn what’s new in the realm of environmental science and policy. Fellows pay for their own housing and make their own housing arrangements. They receive a stipend, and will travel (expenses paid) to the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference.
Value: $80,000
Deadline: 1 March 2025
Open for: Full-time journalists authorised to work in the US (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
Poetry Foundation: Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships
These grants are for US poets ages 21-31 years. Applicants have to register on their online portal. Poets can also apply for alternative formats to submit applications. One of the application requirements is a writing sample.
Value: $27,000
Deadline: 3 March 2025 (virtual information session, deadline to request alternative application formats, and cut off to submit application portal registration for first time applicants are earlier – see guidelines)
Open for: US writers
Details here.
(See all of Poetry Foundation’s grants and awards for individuals here.)
The Waterman Fund Essay Contest for Emerging Writers
This contest is run by Appalachia, the mountaineering and conservation journal published by the Appalachian Mountain Club, and The Waterman Fund. The contest is for emerging writers – those who have not published a book-length work of fiction or narrative nonfiction on topics of wilderness, wildness, or the ethics and ecology of environmental issues are eligible. Essays should be 2,000 to 3,000 words. The theme is,
“The clash of wilderness preservation versus use and enjoyment by thousands is inherently unresolvable. But that does not absolve any of us from striving to resolve it, from doing the best our generation can to preserve the spirit of wildness.” – Wilderness Ethics by Laura and Guy Waterman, 1993 (see the detailed prompt here.) They welcome personal, scientific, adventure, or memoir essays. The contest is run by the Waterman Fund – their tagline is, “Fostering the Spirit of Wildness and Conserving the Alpine Areas of Northeastern North America”.
Value: $3,000; $1,000
Deadline: 10 March 2025
Open for: Emerging writers (see guidelines) in the US or Canada (see eligibility here)
Details here.
National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Writing Fellowships
These fellowships, for US writers, alternate between poetry and prose – they are accepting applications for prose works this year. The fellowships are for published creative writers, to enable writers to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and career advancement.
Value: Up to $50,000
Deadline: 12 March 2025
Open for: US writers
Details here.
(And, writers of fiction and poetry from the states of North and South Dakota are invited to apply for the 2025 Poets & Writers’ Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. Winners receive $500, an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with top literary professionals, including editors, agents, publishers, and prominent writers, as well as a one-month residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Wyoming. The deadline is 1 March 2025, details here and here.)
Broadside Lotus Press: Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award
This is for a poetry manuscript by an African American poet. Submit a manuscript that is approximately 60 to 90 pages.
Value: $500
Deadline: 15 March 2025
Open for: African American poets
Details here.
Greater Good Science Centre: Spreading Love Through the Media
They have detailed guidelines, including, “The Greater Good Science Center’s “Spreading Love Through the Media” initiative … is a three-year effort aimed at harnessing the transformative power of love to tackle social challenges like polarization and loneliness. The initiative seeks to expand the concept of love beyond romantic relationships, emphasizing its role in fostering compassion, altruism, and social cohesion.
Drawing on current research, we will highlight the power of love to strengthen the social fabric, bridge divides, and contribute to a good, meaningful life. The project’s activities will promote research and stories about love, encouraging a cultural shift toward greater empathy and connection. In addition to content produced by the GGSC, we will work with other journalists and media creators to produce their own stories on love—from magazine articles to podcast episodes to videos for the web and social media—that will reach a broad and diverse audience.
We are offering two dozen grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to report and produce stories on love.”
Value: $5,000 to $50,000
Deadline: 24 March 2025
Open for: Journalist or other nonfiction media producers located in North America (see ‘Who should apply?’ here.)
Details here.
Walt Whitman Birthplace Association: Gwenn A. Nusbaum Scholarship
This is for a US poet at the early stages of their career, ages 25-35, who “demonstrates a scholastic or pre-professional track of outstanding poetic writing”. The award is to be used for activities to further the winner’s writing career (e.g. writing courses, workshops, conferences, retreats). A poetry sample is part of the submission requirement (see guidelines).
Value: $1,800; $150
Deadline: 31 March 2025
Open for: US writers ages 25-35
Details here and here.
PEN America: US Writers Aid Initiative
This is intended for fiction and non-fiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists. To be eligible, applicants must be based in the United States, be professional writers, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation. Various deadlines are listed for 2025, and the next one is 1st April. Writers do not have to be PEN members to apply. Grants will open for application on 1st March.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline:1 April 2025
Open for: US writers
Details here.
(PEN America also has a 2025 Los Angeles Wildfire Emergency Grant for writers; grants are $500-1,000, see here.)
Maya Angelou Book Award
This award is for a work has demonstrated a commitment to social justice. It is for books published in 2024, or scheduled to be published until November 2025. The award alternates between poetry and fiction, and for this cycle, books of poetry are eligible. Entrants must be available for a two-week reading tour at partnering educational institutions in Missouri (see guidelines). Entries have to be made by publishers only, not writers. See the social media announcement here.
Value: $10,000
Deadline: 1 April 2025
Open for: US writers
Details here, here, and here.
Creative Capital Awards
Their website says, “The Creative Capital Awardprovides unrestricted project grants of up to $50,000 to individual artists to create new work. For the 2026 Creative Capital Open Call, Creative Capital invites professional artists to propose experimental, original, bold new works in Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Film, and Literature from March 3–April 3, 2025.Multidisciplinary, technology, and/or socially engaged projects are welcome in all disciplinary categories. Marking 25 years of groundbreaking artist support, Creative Capital is expanding our support of individual artists across the U.S. and its territories with the launch of a new two-year initiative—the State of the Art Prize—which aims to recognize one artist from each U.S. state and inhabited territory, with an unrestricted artist grant of $10,000.”
Value: Up to $50,000
Application period: 3 March to 3 April 2025; information session via Zoom on 28 February
Open for: US creators
Details here.
FOR UK/IRELAND WRITERS
(Also see the Deborah Rogers Foundation: The DRF Writers Award in the international section above.) BBC Radio 4: BBC National Short Story Award
This prestigious award, by BBC and the Cambridge University, is for UK writers, for a short story of up to 8,000 words. Writers must have a prior record of publication in the UK.
Value: £15,000, four awards of £600 each
Deadline: 17 March 2025
Open for: Published UK writers
Details here, here, and here.
(They also have the Young Writers’ Award, a short fiction contest for UK-based writers ages 14-18.)
Fitzcarraldo Editions/Mahler & Lewitt Studios Essay Prize
This is a prize for unpublished writers in the UK. “The judges will be looking for essays that explore and expand the possibilities of the essay form, with no restrictions on theme or subject matter. Initially made possible by an Arts Council Grant in 2015, the prize awards £4,000 to the best proposal for a book-length essay (minimum 25,000 words) by a writer resident in the UK & Ireland who has yet to secure a publishing deal. In addition to the £4,000 prize the winner will have the opportunity to spend up to two months in residency at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios in Spoleto, Italy, to work on their book. The book will then be published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.”
Value: £4,000, residency
Deadline: 17 March 2025
Open for: Unpublished UK/Ireland writers (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
Cymera-Shoreline of Infinity Prize for Speculative Short Fiction
This is a speculative fiction contest for writers who are Scottish by birth or inclination (see guidelines), ages 14+ years. Send a story of up to 2,500 words.
Value: £150
Deadline: 30 March 2025
Open for: Scottish writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.