AWP members can view our full list of curated opportunities on our Contests & Calls web page.
The Helena Whitehill Book Award is a prestigious national poetry prize for adult writers. It includes a cash award of $1,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, a book launch, and more.
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $30
Deadline: October 31, 2025
The 2026 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards is accepting fiction, nonfiction, and poetry entries in a writing competition offering more than $5,000 in prize money.
Prize: $1,000 for first place in each genre
Entry fee: $20
Deadline: October 31, 2025
The Anthology Poetry Competition is open to original and previously unpublished poems in the English language. Entries are invited from poets of all nationalities, living anywhere in the world. There is no restriction on theme or style.
Prize: €1,000 cash prize and publication
Entry fee: €12 early-bird rate
Deadline: October 31, 2025
Established in 1998 by Red Hen Press, in honor of the poet Benjamin Saltman (1927–1999), this award is for a previously unpublished (including self-published works) original collection of poetry.
Prize: $3,000
Entry fee: $25
Deadline: October 31, 2025
In honor of C. D. Wright’s legacy, The Arkansas International seeks to award innovative poetry that “lives freely and variously and fully engaged with others and the world.”
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $20
Deadline: October 31, 2025
WOW! Women on Writing is seeking creative nonfiction on any topic (one thousand words or less) and in any style—from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hermit crab, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives.
Prize: $500 and publication
Entry fee: $12
Deadline: October 31, 2025
The FC2 Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize is open to writers of, from, or in the United States writing in English with at least three books published. Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a novel.
Prize: $15,000
Entry fee: $25
Deadline: November 1, 2025
The FC2 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Contest is open to writers of, from, or in the United States writing in English who have not previously published with FC2. Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a novel.
Prize: $3,000
Entry fee: $25
Deadline: November 1, 2025
A two-week residency from Write On, Door Country, along with a small stipend, will be awarded to a writer whose work focuses on equal protection under the law for all individuals.
Prize: $700 stipend plus limited travel and grocery allowances
Entry fee: $40
Deadline: November 1, 2025
Quill seeks to publish quality literature by queer writers. The Quill Prose Award is for a work of previously unpublished prose by a queer (LGBTQIA+) writer.
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $10
Deadline: December 1, 2025