Here are 31 fee-free prizes, grants, and fellowships for writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They range from $50 to $65,000. They are, very loosely, divided by geography. – S. Kalekar
CONTESTS OPEN FOR INTERNATIONAL SUBMISSIONS
The Perito Prize
They want fiction of 1,000-2,000 words, centred around the theme of accessibility, inclusion, diversity & inclusive environments. Apart from the cash prize, the winner will also receive mentoring, as will the runners-up. Commended stories will be included in an anthology. Submission is via the Zealous platform.
Value: £500
Deadline: 1 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
NoTokens Young Writers’ Prize – Prose
This literary magazine wants stories, essays, and hybrid works from writers under 18 years.
Value: $300, $200, $100
Deadline: 1 October 2021
Open for: Writers under 18 years
Details here.
The Camargo Core Program
This residency at Cassis, France is for artists (including writers, playwrights and translators) and scholars/thinkers, to think, create and connect. Applicants should have a publication and/or grant track record. They welcome spouses/partners and dependent minor children. Fellowships span 6 to 11 weeks.
Value: $250 per week, basic coach class travel (see guidelines)
Deadline: 1 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Getty Scholar Grants
These are for researchers of all nationalities who are working in the arts, humanities, or social sciences, for established scholars and writers who have achieved distinction in their fields. Recipients can pursue their own projects free from academic obligations and make use of Getty collections. There are three-, six-, and nine-month residencies.
Value: $21,500-65,000, residency
Deadline: 1 October 2021
Open for: Established scholars and writers
Details here.
The Furious Gazelle’s 2021 Halloween Writing Contest
The Furious Gazelle literary magazine wants submissions of Halloween-themed poetry, fiction, short plays, and creative non-fiction. Each writer can submit either one short story (max 4,000 words) or up to three shorter pieces (any combination of flash pieces /poems is ok as long as they don’t exceed 3 submissions). Poems shouldn’t exceed one page; flash pieces should be capped at 1,500 words each.
Value: $50; $5
Deadline: 1 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
American Antiquarian Society: Fellowships for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers
These are fellowships for historical research by the American Antiquarian Society by those who wish to produce “imaginative, non-formulaic works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history.” Room fee will be charged if staying in the Society’s scholars’ housing. Fellowship projects may include (but are not limited to) historical novels, documentary films, TV programs, radio broadcasts, plays, screenplays, illustration and other graphic arts, magazine or newspaper articles, and non-fiction works of history for a general audience, either for adults or for children.
Value: $2,000 (less room fee in some cases – see above), residency
Deadline: 5 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Embracing Our Differences Quotation Contest
Embracing Our Differences is a not-for-profit organization based in Florida that uses art and education to expand consciousness and celebrate human diversity. They want original quotes, of 20 words or fewer, for their 2022 exhibit. Their guidelines say, “A critical part of the impact of the exhibit is the selected quotations from the general public that accompany each piece of artwork.” The theme is ‘enriching lives through diversity and inclusion.’ They have several ideas on their website to help stimulate your thoughts, including: What does embracing our differences mean to you? What does diversity and inclusion mean to you? Writers can send as many quotations as they like, but they ask that writers submit only up to five quotations at a time.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 6 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Dream Foundry Short Story Contest
They want a speculative fiction story of up to 10,000 words for this contest. It is for beginning professional writers (see guidelines). Also check out their contest for artists.
Value: $1,000, $500, $200
Deadline: 11 October 2021
Open for: Beginning professional writers
Details here (scroll down).
One Story: Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship
This fellowship is for an early-career writer of fiction who has not yet published a book and is not currently nor has ever been enrolled in an MFA program. They are seeking writers whose work speaks to issues and experiences related to inhabiting bodies of difference. This means writing that explores being in a body marked by difference, oppression, violence, or exclusion; often through categories of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion, illness, disability, trauma, migration, displacement, dispossession, or imprisonment. Apart from the stipend and tuition to attend One Story’s week-long summer writers’ conference in July 2022, it offers free tuition for all One Story online classes and programming; a full manuscript review & consultation with One Story Executive Editor Hannah Tinti (story collection or novel in progress up to 150 pages/35,000 words). A fiction writing sample of 3,000-5,000 words is part of the submission requirement.
Value: Travel stipend ($2,000) and tuition to attend writers’ conference, other benefits (see above)
Deadline: 11 October 2021
Open for: Early-career fiction writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
Welter 55 Micro Fiction Contest
Welter is the literary journal of the University of Baltimore. They want fiction, nonfiction, and prose poetry of 100 words or fewer for this contest. Their guidelines say, “We are particularly looking for pieces related to the theme of “Home,” but we will consider other pieces. One micro piece will be selected by the editors to be awarded a prize of $100.” They are also accepting unthemed fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art for the online magazine.
Value: $100
Deadline: 19 October 2021
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
The Open Notebook/Burroughs Wellcome Fund fellowship
This is a global opportunity for early-career science writers. The fellowship is remote and part-time. Fellows will report and write five articles for publication at The Open Notebook with the guidance of a mentor who will help shape story ideas, provide reporting and writing guidance, edit final copy, and offer career-development mentoring. Each fellow will receive a stipend. The fellowship is open to early-career science writers with less than two years of regular professional science writing experience. (Internships and student work do not count toward this requirement). Graduate students in the sciences who are interested in science writing are eligible.
Value: $4,000
Deadline: 21 October 2021
Open for: Early-career science writers
Details here.
The LoveReading Very Short Story Award
LoveReading is a UK-based book recommendation website. They are reading submissions of stories, in any genre, of 600-1,000 words for the award. “We are looking for exciting, stimulating, original and beautifully written stories that leave a powerful impression on the reader.” They have two awards, a Judges’ Choice and a People’s Choice award.
Value: £300; £200
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
The Society of Authors: McKitterick Prize
This prize is for an author over the age of 40 for a fiction novel, published in the UK, or unpublished. The author must not have had a novel published before, barring works for children. For unpublished manuscripts, submit the first 30 pages.
Value: £4,000, £1,000
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: Debut novelists over 40
Details here.
Otherwise Fellowship (formerly the James Tiptree, Jr Literary Award)
The Otherwise Fellowship was previously called the James Tiptree, Jr Literary Award. It is for a range of disciplines – writers, artists, scholars, media makers, remix artists, performers, musicians, or something else entirely. If the applicant’s work is changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative – maybe in a form recognizable as the science fiction and fantasy genre, maybe in some other way – they are eligible. Writers do not have to be a professional or have an institutional affiliation, as they hope to support emerging creators who do not already have institutional support for their work.
Value: $500
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Preservation Foundation Essay Contest: Travel Nonfiction
They want essays, 1,000-10,000 words, by unpublished writers (see guidelines). They are currently reading for the Travel Nonfiction category – “Stories should be factual and true accounts of a trip taken by the author or a person or persons known by the author.” Please read the guidelines carefully; “contest runners-up and winners are expected to remain on the site for as long as the Preservation Foundation exists.”
Value: $200; $100
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: All unpublished writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
Defenestrationism: 2021 Flash Suite Contest
This is a contest for at least three flash fiction pieces (up to 1,000 words each) that co-relate in some way. A single piece of the suite may have been published before, otherwise, no previously published material. Finalists will be published daily on the site, followed by at least two weeks of Fan Voting – winners will be selected by a judging panel, with Fan Voting counting as an additional judge vote.
Value: $75, $60
Deadline: 1 November 2021
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Malice Domestic Grants for Unpublished Writers
This is given to an unpublished writer (see guidelines) in the Malice Domestic genre at each year’s Malice Domestic convention. The grant may be used to offset registration, travel, or other expenses related to attendance at a writers’ conference or workshop within a year of the date of the award. In the case of non-fiction, the grant may be used to offset research expenses. The Malice Domestic genre is loosely described as mystery stories of the Agatha Christie type—i.e. “traditional mysteries.” These works usually feature no excessive gore, gratuitous violence, or explicit sex. See guidelines for additional details and submission requirements. Apart from the cash award, the prize covers a comprehensive registration for the upcoming convention and two nights’ lodging at the convention hotel, but does not include travel to the convention or meals.
Value: $2,500, and other expenses – see above
Deadline: 1 November 2021
Open for: Unpublished writers in the Malice Domestic genre
Details here.
Black Mountain Institute: Shearing Fellowship
This is a residential fellowship for emerging and distinguished writers who have published at least one book with a trade or literary press. Apart from the cash stipend, this fellowship includes: a semester-long letter of appointment; eligibility for health coverage; office space in the BMI offices on the campus of UNLV; free housing (fellows cover some utilities) in a unique and vibrant arts complex in the bustling district of downtown Las Vegas. While there are no formal teaching requirements, this is a “working fellowship” (see guidelines). The Believer magazine is associated with this institute.
(The page also has details of City of Asylum fellowships, now closed, which provides safe haven for writers whose voices are muffled by censorship, or who are living with the threat of imprisonment or assassination; these are associated with the International Cities of Refuge network, which serves as an umbrella organization and information clearinghouse for local asylum programs worldwide – also see their Residencies, Scholarships, and Grants list; some information is dated, but it is a great resource for artists at risk.)
Value: $20,000 over 4 months, residency
Deadline: 1 November 2021
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
A couple of contests with later deadlines are: the One Teen Short Story Contest, which is open for short fiction of 2,000-4,500 words by writers ages 13-19 – prize is $500, and the deadline is 19 November 2021; and St. Martin’s Minotaur/ Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition, an international contest for crime novel manuscripts of approximately 60,000 words, for writers who have never been the author of any published novel in any genre; the prize is an advance of $10,000 against royalties, and the deadline is 17 December 2021.
Also, the deadline for César Egido Serrano Foundation VI International Short Tales Contest, which was earlier 30th September 2021, has been postponed. At the time of writing, the new deadline was not yet fixed; see the announcement dated 21st September on their Facebook page. This prize pays $20,000 for a microfiction entry of up to 100 words, and writers over 14 years can participate.
CONTESTS OPEN TO WRITERS IN THE US AND CANADA
(Also see ‘Commonwealth’ category for Canadian writers)
PEN America: US Writers Aid Initiative
This is an emergency fund for US-based professional writers with publication history (see guidelines) – fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation. They have various deadlines, through 2021 and 2022; the upcoming one is on 1 October 2021.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: 1 October 2021
Open for: US-based professional writers
Details here and here.
Canada Council for the Arts’ Explore and Create Grants
These are for Canadian artists, curators and writers (literature includes fiction, poetry, drama, graphic novel, young people’s literature, literary non-fiction, exploratory literary works using new technologies, spoken word creation, storytelling and literary performance). Grants provide support for creative research, creation and project development. Individuals who are Deaf or who have disabilities, including those living with mental illness, and require accommodation at any stage of the application process may be eligible for additional assistance.
Value: Up to CAD25,000
Deadline: 6 October 2021
Open for: Canadian writers
Details here and here.
Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship
This is for a poet born in the US, who is willing to spend a year outside the continent of North America. While many recent winners have been published poets, there is no requirement that applicants have previously published their work. Applications have to be mailed.
Value: Approximately $62,500, adjusted for inflation
Deadline: 15 October 2021
Open for: American-born poets
Details here (application instructions), here (FAQ – includes link to application form), and here (home page).
The Haven Foundation Grants
These grants were instituted by Stephen King after he suffered a debilitating accident. They give financial assistance to help freelance artists and writers who have suffered disabilities or a career-threatening illness, accident, natural disaster or personal catastrophe. They do not give emergency grants or COVID-19 grants.
Value: Varying
Deadline: 22 October 2021
Open for: Legal US residents
Details here.
ECW Press Best New Speculative Novel Contest
This is for a speculative fiction novel (YA or adult) of 40,000-150,000 words by a Canadian writer. They have extensive guidelines, including “Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for fiction that includes elements of the unreal, surreal, and imagined or elements that do not exist in nature or the universe. The speculative fiction category includes fantasy, science fiction, horror, supernatural, superhero, apocalyptic, myth and folklore, magical realism and fabulism, alternate realities/histories, and more.
This contest places no limits on the strength of the speculative elements present within the manuscript. We also invite genre-bending, genre liminality, and slipstream. This means that speculative elements can interplay with non-speculative themes and genres (e.g. literary speculative, fantasy romance).” Simultaneous submissions to agents are allowed.
Value: CAD3,000, publishing contract
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: Canadian writers
Details here.
CONTESTS OPEN TO WRITERS IN THE UK & IRELAND, AND THE COMMONWEALTH
Canongate Books: The Nan Shepherd Prize for Nature Writing
This is for unpublished UK and Ireland based writers who consider themselves underrepresented in nature writing. Writers need to send a sample chapter of up to 7,000 words as part of the submission.
Value: A publishing contract with £10,000 advance, editorial mentoring, literary representation
Deadline: 6 October 2021
Open for: Underrepresented UK and Ireland based writers (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
BBC Writers Room: NHS Heroes Casualty Writing Contest
This scheme is aimed at finding and developing writers with medical experience who are interested in writing for the medical drama, Casualty. As part of Casualty’s 35th anniversary celebrations they are launching an opportunity for frontline medical professionals to have a chance to write their own shadow episode of Casualty. At least one successful writer will have full access to a BBC script editor and input from the Casualty team into their paid shadow script. See their extensive guidelines for character breakdowns, how the submissions will be assessed, and more. Applicants must submit the first scene of the episode (up to 3 pages), the last scene of the episode (up to 3 pages), a prose account of the story of the episode keeping tightly to the brief above and showing story progression, medical detail and character (up to 2 pages, or 1,000 words). Writers who are short-listed will be required to submit further scenes at that stage. For writing partnerships, the scenes and story outline must be the work of both writers.
Value: Fees will be based on the standard shadow script fee for Casualty
Deadline: 20 October 2021
Open for: UK/Ireland residents who are working or have worked in any kind of frontline medical role
Details here.
The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction
This contest is organised by the University of Central Lancashire and Comma Press. They want a short story, of 2,000-6,000 words, and this year the theme is Crime Stories.
Value: £500
Deadline: 29 October 2021
Open for: UK residents
Details here.
The Society of Authors: The Eric Gregory Awards
These are for young UK poets, for a collection of poems – send up to 30 poems to be considered, published or unpublished. The prize purse for these awards is unspecified.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: Poets who are British nationals or living in the UK/North Ireland aged 30 or under
Details here.
The Society of Authors: The ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Awards
This award is for a short story of up to 5,000 words, published or unpublished. Applicants must have had at least one short story published or accepted for publication.
Value: £1,000
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: UK, Commonwealth, or Ireland based authors
Details here.
Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize
This prize is for young UK-based writers. They want fiction or non-fiction of 1,000-1,500 words on the relevance of Benjamin Franklin’s relevance in our time. The quote for this year’s competition is ‘‘Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech.’ — Silence Dogood, No.8, The New-England Courant (1722). Writers are asked to interpret this quote for its significance today.
Value: £750, £500
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Open for: UK writers aged 18-35
Details here (scroll down).
The Young Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
This is a prize for young UK writers for two categories, ages 11-15 and 16-19. They want historical fiction of 800-2,000 words. The fiction can be in any form – a story or an extract from a longer work, a poem or drama script, a fictional diary, letters, or reportage. The story can be set at any time in history, as long as it is an identifiable period before the author was born, in a world recognisably different from the present. They want mailed entries only. The prestigious Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (for books published in the UK, Ireland, or the Commonwealth) is also open for submissions, with a later deadline.
Value: £500 travel and research grant for two category winners, an invitation to the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, in June 2022 (Covid permitting)
Deadline: 1 November 2021
Open for: UK residents aged 11-19
Details here.
Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize
This is for writers in the Commonwealth regions of Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean, and Pacific. Entries can be in the Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Kiswahili, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil and Turkish languages. Translated entries from any language into English are also eligible.
Value: £5,000; £2,500 for regional winners
Deadline: 1 November 2021
Open for: Writers in the Commonwealth (see guidelines for the list of countries)
Details here.
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.