Black River Chapbook Competition
Sponsor – Black Lawrence Press
Deadline Date – Oct 31, 2024
Funding – $500.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Twice each year Black Lawrence Press will run the Black River Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook of poems or prose between 16-36 pages in length. The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner will receive book publication, a $500 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes are awarded on publication.
The competition is for an unpublished chapbook of poems or prose. The prose category includes fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid manuscripts. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose.)
The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers.
Chapbooks containing individual stories or poems that have been previously published online or in print are absolutely eligible for the BRCC–please simply note previously published work on an acknowledgments page. On the other hand, if your chapbook–or a significant portion of the work included in your chapbook–has been previously published as a book or chapbook-length collection (including publication with a press, self-publication, online/digital publication, and publication in a small, limited-edition print run), then the manuscript is not eligible for the BRCC.
There is an entry fee of $18.00.
The winner will receive book publication, a $500 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes are awarded on publication.
Prize Americana for Prose (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Short Story Collections, Novel)
Sponsor – Americana–The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture
Deadline Date – Oct 1, 2024
Program Information – View Details
Americana: The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture invites submission of fiction and creative nonfiction/memoir for PRIZE AMERICANA. Writers may submit a 150-250 page manuscript. Manuscripts must be previously unpublished. Individual stories may have been published in literary reviews etc., but the work as a whole should be available for publication.
American citizenship is not a requirement; the only requirement is that the work hold some appeal for an American readership and bear some relationship with American culture. A contest fee of $25 is required.
Winners may be published by Press Americana and our imprints The Poetry Press and Hollywood Books International.
Benjamin Franklin Book Awards
Sponsor – Independent Book Publishers Association
Deadline Date – Sep 30, 2024
Program Information – View Details
The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award program, which include over fifty categories recognizing excellence in book editorial and design, are regarded as one of the highest national honors for independent publishers.
The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards are regarded as one of the highest national honors in independent publishing. The awards are unique in that the verbatim judging forms are returned to all participating publishers, providing entrants with direct feedback on each submission. Each year, a gala award ceremony is held in conjunction with the IBPA Publishing University conference where one Gold and two or three Silver award winners are announced in each category. During the ceremony, all Gold winners receive an engraved trophy marking their achievement. Following the ceremony, winners are announced to major trade journals, select libraries, all IBPA social media channels (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the IBPA news feed), and more.
Publishers of print and audiobooks with a copyright date of 2024 may enter the current competition. Qualifying publishers include:
- independent publishers
- hybrid publishers
- self-published authors
- university presses
- association presses
Books with a copyright date other than 2024 will not be considered without proof that the book first became available for sale in 2024.
IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award entrants must be current members of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). To accommodate this, there are two fees for entry:
Fee for non-members of IBPA: $234 for the initial entry; $99 for additional entries; $99 per title/per category, plus $135 to cover the annual IBPA membership fee (an annual membership fee savings of $20).
Fee for current members of IBPA: $99 for the initial entry; $99 for additional entries.
Each year, a gala award ceremony is held in conjunction with the IBPA Publishing University conference where one Gold and two or three Silver award winners are announced in each category. During the ceremony, all Gold winners receive an engraved trophy marking their achievement. Following the ceremony, winners are announced to major trade journals, select libraries, all IBPA social media channels (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the IBPA news feed), and more. In addition, all winners (Gold and Silver) receive:
- Recognition prior to the awards ceremony on the IBPA website.
- Archived listing after the awards ceremony on the IBPA website.
- Two tickets to the awards ceremony recognizing all of the award winners.
- 15% off all IBPA marketing programs during the book(s) winning year.
- A press release template to use when announcing the winning book(s).
- A personalized award certificate.
- Special award stickers to affix to the winning books.
Finally, all entrants into the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award program receive 15% off IBPA Publishing University conference tickets.
Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction
Sponsor – Lunch Ticket
Deadline Date – Aug 31, 2024
Funding – $250.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Diana Woods Memorial Award serves as a special opportunity for authors worldwide to be published in the literary journal Lunch Ticket. Twice each year an author of a work of creative nonfiction will be selected for the Diana Woods Memorial Award award by a special guest judge. One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue.
Creative nonfiction authors are invited to submit an essay of up to 3,500 words on the subject of their choice to be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction.
Submitters must be 18 years of age or older.
Winners will receive $250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. Each award recipient must submit a 100-word biography, current photo, and send a brief note of thanks to the Woods family.
Poetry Contest
Sponsor – Room Magazine
Deadline Date – Aug 30, 2024
Funding – $1,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Room Magazine invites submissions for its annual Poetry Contest. Prizes ranging from $100 to $1,000 will be awarded. Entries include a one-year subscription to Room.
An entry (both initial and additional) can include up to three poems or 150 lines of poetry in a single document. Please start each poem at the top of a new page. Submissions must be anonymous.
Each entry must be original and unpublished.
Room’s contests are open to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people.
All first submissions include a one-year subscription to Room. The following prizes will be awarded:
- First Prize is $1,000 and publication in Room
- Second Prize is $250 and publication in Room
- Honorable Mention is $100 and publication on Room’s website
Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize
Sponsor – Hunger Mountain
Deadline Date – Aug 31, 2024
Funding – $500.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize is an annual contest for short fiction. Prize winners in each category receive $500. Publication in Hunger Mountain is awarded for first-place winners and runner-ups.
There is a $20.00 entry fee.
Prize winners in each category receive $500. Publication in Hunger Mountain is awarded for first-place winners and runner-ups.
NEA Literature Fellowships: Translation Projects, FY2026
Sponsor – National Endowment for the Arts/National Fndn. on the Arts & Humanities 2025NEA03LFTP
Deadline Date – Jan 16, 2025
Funding – $25,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Through fellowships to published translators, the Arts Endowment supports projects for the translation of specific works of prose, poetry, or drama from other languages into English.
The work to be translated should be of interest for its literary excellence and merit. We encourage translation projects that feature languages, perspectives, and writers that are not well represented in English, as well as work that has not previously been translated into English. The NEA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and fostering mutual support for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups.
Individual U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. who meet specific publication requirements are eligible to apply. To determine eligibility, review the complete list of requirements in the Grant Program Details document linked below.
An individual may submit only one application for FY 2026 Literature Fellowships funding. You may not apply for both a Translation Project at this deadline (January 16, 2025) and a Creative Writing Fellowship in Prose at the March 2025 deadline.
Grant amounts range from $10,000 to $25,000.
Ruth Stone Poetry Prize
Sponsor – Hunger Mountain
Deadline Date – Aug 31, 2024
Funding – $500.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Ruth Stone Poetry Prize is an annual poetry contest providing recognition for original, unpublished works of poetry. Prize winners in each category receive $500. Publication in Hunger Mountain is awarded for first-place winners and runner-ups.
Entrants can submit three original unpublished poems in one entry.
There is a $20.00 entry fee.
Prize winners in each category receive $500. Publication in Hunger Mountain is awarded for first-place winners and runner-ups.
Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competition
Sponsor – Flash 500
Deadline Date – Oct 31, 2024
Funding – $645.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Flash 500 offers a Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition for an opening chapter up to 3,000 words, plus a one page synopsis outlining the balance of the story. The competition offers a £500 first prize, and a £200 second prize.
Flash 500 is looking for a novel opening up to 3,000 words, plus a synopsis of the story (max 750 words) to be submitted together in a single file. If a first chapter is longer than 3,000 words, the entry must close within the 3,000 word limit and with a note at the end (which will not be included in the word count) stating the chapter continues beyond this point.
Entries must be in English.
Entries must be the work of the entrant and must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere.
Entries may have appeared online in private (password protected) peer review sites, but should not have been published in any commercial online form including blogs or personal websites.
The competition is international and welcomes non-UK entrants.
There is an entry fee of £10 for one novel, £18 for two novels, or £26 for three novels.
The competition offers a £500 first prize, and a £200 second prize.
Novel Award
Sponsor – Hackney Literary Awards
Deadline Date – Sep 30, 2024
Funding – $5,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Hackney Literary Awards gives a $5,000 prize for an unpublished novel.
The Hackney Literary Awards offer a prize for an unpublished novel of any length. Length is open but the novel must be unpublished.
There is an entry of $30.00 per entry.
The prize amount is $5,000. Publication rights revert to the winner.
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Sponsor – Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Deadline Date – Dec 31, 2024
Funding – $15,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. The annual award of a $15,000 cash prize is to support and enable the writer to focus on writing.
The award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to honor Mr. Gaines, is designed to inspire and recognize rising African-American writers of excellence as they work to achieve the literary heights for which Ernest J. Gaines is known.
The literary award winner also participates in educational activities at selected area schools and after-school programs in keeping with the Gaines Award’s interest in emphasizing the role of literature and arts in education. Through small creative writing workshops with the winning author, students are encouraged to pursue reading, delve into their own creativity, and to consider becoming an author.
The criteria for the 2024 award is as follows:
- A work of fiction (novel or collection of short stories) that is published between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024. Galleys for a 2024 publication are also accepted.
- The nominee must be a rising author, not yet widely recognized for their work.
- Author must be an African-American U.S. citizen.
- Self-published books will not be accepted. Self-published defined as publishing one’s work independently and at one’s own expense.
- Emailed entries will not be accepted.
The annual award consists of a $15,000 cash prize. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation sponsors the winner’s travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to receive the prize at a ceremony, where the author reads an excerpt from the selected work of fiction. A reception follows. The evening is free, open to the public and attracts a diverse audience. The winning author must attend the award ceremony and participate in educational outreach during their visit.
