David J. Weber Prize
Sponsor – Western History Association
Deadline Date – 15-Apr-2025
Funding – $2,500.00
Program Information – View Details
This $2500 award is given to the author of the best non-fiction book on Southwestern America.
The David J. Weber Prize is given annually for the best non-fiction book on Southwestern America. The competition will be open to any non-fiction book, including biography, on any aspect of Southwestern life, past or present.
All submissions must have a 2024 copyright date. Presses should submit nominations and a copy of the book to each member of the award committee.
The author will receive $2500 and an invitation to give the annual David J. Weber Prize Lecture at Southern Methodist University.
F(r)iction Creative Nonfiction Contest
Sponsor – Brink Literacy Project
Deadline Date – 02-May-2025
Funding – $500.00
Program Information – View Details
F(r)iction will award a prize of $500 for a previously unpublished nonfiction story.
F(r)iction will award a prize for a previously unpublished nonfiction story. F(r)iction accepts work, written in English, from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcomes speculative writing and experimental literature.
Writers over the age of thirteen are welcome to submit.
First prize receives $500 and will be considered for publication in F(r)iction, the triannual print collection or through the online blog F(r)iction Log. Up to five finalists will be considered for publication too.
Poetry Prize
Sponsor – The London Magazine
Deadline Date – 31-Mar-2025
Funding – $605.00
Program Information – View Details
The London Magazine holds an annual poetry competition and cash prizes are awarded for the top three entries with the winning poems being published in future issues of The London Magazine. Top prize is £500.
Established to encourage emerging literary talent, the award provides an opportunity for publication and recognition, as well as rewarding imagination, originality and creativity. The London Magazine is taking submissions for previously previously unpublished poems, no longer than 40 lines. There is no criteria as to theme, form or style. Diverse work, which is not afraid innovate and startle, is especially welcome.
This competition is open to international entries.
Prizes are as follows:
– First Prize: £500
– Second Prize: £300
– Third Prize: £200
All three prize winners will appear in a print issue of The London Magazine.
Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry
Sponsor – Tupelo Press
Deadline Date – 30-Apr-2025
Funding – $3,000.00
Program Information – View Details
The annual Tupelo Press Berkshire Prize Award for a First or Second Book of Poetry is a competition for a poetry manuscript with a $3,000 prize.
Submissions must be a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript with a table of contents. There is no mandatory page count. Tupelo Press suggests in the area of 48 to 88 pages of poems, but all manuscripts will be read and considered with full respect, regardless of length, and no manuscript will be rejected simply because it’s shorter or longer.
The Berkshire Prize is open to anyone writing in the English language, whether living in the United States or abroad. Poets submitting work for consideration may be authors having published only one previous collection or writers without prior book publications.
The Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry includes a cash award of $3,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 20 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion.
Open Competition
Sponsor – Ver Poets
Deadline Date – 30-Apr-2025
Funding – $726.00
Program Information – View Details
The Ver Poets Open Competition is for poems on any theme and in any form. It is open to anybody aged 16 or over.
To be eligible for the competition, poems must be no more than 30 lines in length. Each poem should be typed clearly, in English, on one side only of A4: one poem only per sheet (two copies of each poem). Poems must be the original work of the competitor. They should not have been published, or accepted for publication, in print or online. They should not have won prizes in other competitions, be simultaneously entered for other competitions or be translations of other poets’ work. No competitor may win more than one prize.
Anyone aged 16 or over may enter as may poems as they like when accompanied by the required entry fee(s).
First prize will receive £600; second prize £300; and, third prize £100. Short-listed poems published in The Ver Prize 2025 anthology.
de la Torre Bueno Prize
Sponsor – Dance Studies Association
Deadline Date – 17-Feb-2025
Funding – $1,000.00
Program Information – View Details
The de la Torre Bueno Prize of $1,000 is awarded annually to a book published in the English language that advances the field of dance studies.
The de la Torre Bueno Prize is awarded annually to a book published in the English language that advances the field of dance studies. Qualified submissions are not restricted to any particular methodology or approach, but should introduce quality dance studies scholarship to a wider audience.
Books translated into the English language are acceptable, so long as they have been published during the Prize year. Edited volumes consisting mainly of newly published essays are eligible. The award is for works published in the previous calendar year (2024).
All members of DSA are eligible for this prize. Titles may only be submitted for either the Brockett or the Bueno awards, not both.
The award consists of a cash prize of $1,000.
Autumn House Fiction Contest
Sponsor – Autumn House Press
Deadline Date – 28-Feb-2025
Program Information – View Details
The annual Autumn House Fiction Contest awards publication of a full-length manuscript, $1,000 advance against royalties, and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote his or her book.
Autumn House Press offers an annual prize for the best full-length fiction manuscript.
Fiction submissions should be approximately 150-300 double-spaced pages. All fiction sub-genres (short stories, short-shorts, novellas, or novels) or any combination of sub-genres are eligible. Submissions should be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Friends, family members, and former students of judges or Autumn House editors may not submit to the contest. Students do not include interactions at short-term residencies or fellowships. Former employees of Autumn House, including interns, may not submit to the contest.
The winners will receive book publication, $1,000 advance against royalties, and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote his or her book. All finalists will be considered for publication.
Chapter One Prize
Sponsor – Gutsy Great Novelist
Deadline Date – 03-Mar-2025
Funding – $1,000.00
Program Information – View Details
The Chapter One Prize aims to find the best opening chapter of a novel-in-progress written in the English language. First prize is $1,000.
The prize has been established to support and celebrate novelists. This prize aims to find the best opening chapter of a novel-in-progress written in the English language. Entries may be in any genre, written for adult readers—this does include young adult novels that adults would typically read, but does not include middle-grade fiction.
Eligibility criteria is as follows:
– Eligible writers from anywhere in the world may enter.
– Entrants must be individuals, not a company or organization.
– Entrants must submit the work using their real name, not a pen name. A pen name may be used when announcing a win, if requested.
– Entrants must be over 18 years of age at the time of entering their work.
– Entrants must not be personal friends with or family members of the judge, Joan Dempsey. Writers with whom Joan has worked either in classes or one-on-one are eligible; because the entries are reviewed blind, the judge will not see the writers’ identities until her selections are final.
– Entries must be unpublished (including self-published), original work from a novel-in-progress.
– Entries must be written in English; translated works are not eligible.
Entries (or drafts of entries) that have won 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in any other competition are not eligible.
The sponsor will award prizes as follows:
– First Prize – $1,000
– Second Prize – $500
– Third Prize – $250.
Fatema Mernissi Book Award
Sponsor – Middle East Studies Association
Deadline Date – 10-Apr-2025
Funding – $1,000.00
Program Information – View Details
The Fatema Mernissi Book Award was established to recognize outstanding scholarship in studies of gender, sexuality, and women’s lived experience. The award will be announced at the Awards Ceremony held during MESA’s annual meeting.
Subject matter must deal with the Middle East. Areas primarily of interest include Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Israel, Pakistan, and the countries of the Arab World from the seventh century to modern times. Spain, Southeastern Europe, the Soviet Union and other regions also are included for the periods in which their territories were part of the Middle Eastern empires or were under the influence of Middle Eastern civilization.
Nominations can be made by either the publisher or the author.
Books must be non-fiction scholarly monographs based on original research published in English between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. (If a book has been printed and is available for distribution but has a publication date after March 31, 2025, please contact the Secretariat). Authors need not be members of MESA.
The author of the award will receive $1000. In the event of co-winners, prize money will be divided evenly among the winners. Honorable mentions also receive a certificate of award. Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at the MESA Annual Meeting. As well, the results will be posted on MESA’s website and in other publications as deemed appropriate by MESA.
Editorial Fellowships
Sponsor – A Public Space
Deadline Date – 15-Feb-2025
Funding – $5,000.00
Program Information – View Details
Established in 2019, the Editorial Fellowships at A Public Space aim to support the next generation of editors who will offer a more diverse publishing community—culturally, aesthetically, economically; and to explore new possibilities for editing, writing, and literature.
The Editorial Fellowship is designed to provide practical, hands-on experience as well as mentorship and education in editing and independent publishing.
Two Editorial Fellows will be selected to work alongside the editorial staff at A Public Space on various aspects of the magazine, including evaluating submissions, researching, developing, and soliciting work, editing, copyediting, proofreading, production, and promotion. They will also have the opportunity to oversee an Open Call and serve as the lead editor on a piece for the magazine.
Qualifications: A strong interest in contemporary literature and a career in publishing. The ability to work independently, and to bring curiosity and initiative to their work. Excellent verbal and written English-language communication skills. A commitment to meeting deadlines. Individuals who bring diverse experiences and new perspectives to our work are especially encouraged to apply. Some experience in editorial work is preferred but not required.
Preference will be given to aspiring editors who have not worked extensively in literary publishing, and who may have limited access to career opportunities in the industry. The Editorial Fellows must be residents of New York City for the duration of the Fellowship. A Public Space reserves the right to invite candidates to apply. Unfortunately, A Public Space is unable to sponsor work visas.
The 2025 Editorial Fellowships period is approximately six months, from June 1, 2025 through November 30, 2025. The Fellows will work on their own schedule, and will have responsibilities of approximately fifteen hours weekly. They must be able to attend up to two weekly meetings (virtual and in person) during regular office hours. The Fellows will receive compensation of $5,000.
Kurt Weill Prize
Sponsor – Weill (Kurt) Foundation for Music
Deadline Date – 30-Apr-2025
Program Information – View Details
The Kurt Weill Foundation welcomes nominations for the 2025 Kurt Weill Prize for distinguished scholarship in music theater since 1900 (including opera), for works first published in calendar years 2023 and 2024. Two 2025 Kurt Weill Prizes will be awarded: a cash prize of $5,000 to the author of the winning book entry; and a prize of $2,000 to the author of the winning article entry.
Media may include not only print (book, major scholarly article in a journal, chapter or essay, critical edition), but also audio-recording, video-recording, multi-media projects, and on-line publications, provided there is a significant scholarly component. Edited multi-author collections of essays are not eligible in the book category, although single essays from such collections may be nominated in the article category. Works addressing the American music theater are particularly encouraged.
There are no citizenship or language restrictions. Nominations are solicited from individuals, publishers, scholarly societies, and institutions, but self-nominations are encouraged as well.
Two Prizes are awarded each cycle: to the author of one book ($5,000) and to the author of one article ($2,000).
