Lush Triumphant Literary Awards
Sponsor – Sub-Terrain Magazine
Deadline Date – 15-May-2025
Funding – $690.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
SubTerrain Magazine provides literary awards in the categories of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction.
Awards are given for: a work of fiction (of no specific theme) with a maximum of 3,000 words; a suite of five related poems with a maximum of 15 pages: and a work of creative non-fiction (based on fact, adorned with fiction) with a maximum of 4,000 words. All entries must be previously unpublished material and not currently under consideration in any other contest or competition.
Applicants may submit as many entries in as many categories as they like. All entries MUST be previously unpublished material and not currently under consideration in any other contest or competition
The winning entries in each category will receive a $1,000 cash prize and will be published in our Winter 2025 issue. The first runner-up in each category will be published in our Spring issue of the following year. All entrants receive a one-year subscription to SubTerrain.
Gulf Coast Prize
Sponsor – Gulf Coast
Deadline Date – 01-May-2025
Funding – $1,500.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Gulf Coast is accepting entries for the 2025 Gulf Coast Prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. The contest awards $1,500 and publication in Gulf Coast to the winner in each genre. Two honorable mentions in each genre are awarded $250.
Entries for the Gulf Coast Prizes in Fiction and Nonfiction should be a single prose work not exceeding 7,000 words. Entrants for the Gulf Coast Prize in Poetry may submit up to five poems not exceeding 10 total pages in length. Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
Entrants may submit more than once or in more than one genre.
The contest awards $1,500 and publication in Gulf Coast to the winner in each genre. Two honorable mentions in each genre are awarded $250. All entries are considered for publication and the entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Gulf Coast.
North Street Book Prize
Sponsor – Winning Writers
Deadline Date – 01-Jul-2025
Program Information – View Details
The North Street Book Prize is for self-published or hybrid-published books. Entrants can win up to $10,000 plus expert marketing services.
Writers may submit self-published or hybrid-published books in one of these categories:
- Mainstream/Literary Fiction
- Genre Fiction (e.g. romance, mystery, thriller, young adult, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, etc.)
- Creative Nonfiction & Memoir (This category includes books that tell a true story with the kind of narrative arc and literary techniques one would find in a novel or a short story collection. This can include memoirs, personal essay collections, or narrative nonfiction. Biographies and journalistic works might be eligible if they read like a novel and are written for a general audience.
- Poetry
- Children’s Picture Book
- Middle Grade
- Graphic Novel & Memoir
- Art Book
The contest accepts self-published and hybrid-published books. A self-published book is one where the decision to publish the book was the author’s alone, the transaction involved the author paying any upfront costs for services, and the book is currently available for viewing and/or purchase. This includes books created through e-publishers (e.g. Amazon self-publishing, BookBaby, CreateSpace), book printers, and vanity presses. Books from hybrid publishers like Atmosphere Press and She Writes Press are eligible as long as the author paid half the costs of publication or more.
There are no restrictions on the age of the author. All countries are eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus.
There is an entry fee of $85 per book.
ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER WILL RECEIVE $10,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $500 credit at BookBaby, two blurbs from published authors as part of the Atmosphere Press Blurb Matchmaking program, a public author interview at atmospherepress.com, free lodging at the Atmosphere Press oceanside condo in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica, free developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading from Gatekeeper Press, three months of Pro service (a $207 value) and a $250 account credit from Book Award Pro, a book cover consultation from Laura Duffy Design (a $1,100 value, can be assigned to a future book), and 3 free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $525 value)
THE TOP WINNER IN EACH CATEGORY WILL RECEIVE $1,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, a public author interview at atmospherepress.com, 50% off developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading from Gatekeeper Press, three months of Pro service from Book Award Pro (a $207 value), design for a custom merchandise item based on the winner’s book cover from Laura Duffy Design, and one free ad in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $175 value); the winning children’s picture book author will also receive a phone consultation from April Cox at Self-Publishing Made Simple (a $289 value) and access to Authorpreneur Summit sessions (an $89 value)
ONE HONORABLE MENTION IN EACH CATEGORY WILL RECEIVE $500 and three months of Pro service from Book Award Pro (a $207 value); the honorable mention children’s picture book author will also receive a phone consultation from April Cox at Self-Publishing Made Simple (a $289 value) and access to Authorpreneur Summit sessions (an $89 value)
Finalists will receive a free, full-length private critique from Winning Writers (value: $90-$240)
Non/Fiction Collection Prize
Sponsor – Ohio State University Press
Deadline Date – 15-Apr-2025
Funding – $1,500.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Non/Fiction Collection Prize is awarded annually to a book-length collection of short stories, essays, or a combination of the two.
Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories or essays; two or more novellas or novella-length essays; a combination of one or more novellas/novella-length essays and short stories/essays; a combination of stories and essays. Novellas or novella-length nonfiction must be part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 350 typed double-spaced pages, 12-point font. Prior publication of your manuscript as a whole in any format (including electronic or self-published) makes it ineligible. Individual stories or essays that have been previously published may be included in the manuscript. Each submission must include a list of acknowledgments of previously published work (title and magazine/journal/anthology) included in the manuscript. Manuscripts may also be under consideration by other publishers, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, the submission should be promptly withdrawn from consideration.
The award is open to writers of fiction and creative nonfiction, whether or not they have previously published a book. Authors may submit more than one manuscript to the competition as long as one manuscript or a portion thereof does not duplicate material submitted in another manuscript and a separate entry fee is paid.
The prize carries a cash award of $1500 and publication with The Ohio State University Press under its standard contract.
Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant
Sponsor – Whiting Foundation
Deadline Date – 23-Apr-2025
Funding – $40,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000 will be awarded to as many as ten writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership.
The grant is intended for multiyear book projects requiring large amounts of deep and focused research, thinking, and writing at a crucial point mid-process, after significant work has been accomplished but when an extra infusion of support can make a difference in the ultimate shape and quality of the work. The program’s chief objective is to foster original, ambitious projects that bring writing to the highest possible standard.
Whiting welcomes applications for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, food or travel writing, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. Again, the work should be intended for a general, not academic, adult reader. Self-help titles, historical fiction, textbooks, books primarily for a scholarly audience, and books for young readers are not eligible.
Projects must be under contract with a publisher in Canada, the UK, or the US by April 23 to be eligible, and the fully executed contract signed by all parties must be uploaded as part of the application. Contracts with self-publishing companies are not eligible.
The 2025 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000 will be awarded to as many as ten writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership.
Bard Fiction Prize
Sponsor – Bard College
Deadline Date – 01-Jun-2025
Funding – $30,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Bard Fiction Prize is awarded to a promising emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application.
The Bard Fiction Prize is intended to encourage and support young writers of fiction, and provide them with an opportunity to work in a fertile intellectual environment.
The Bard Fiction Prize is awarded to a promising emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application.
In addition to a $30,000 cash award, the winner receives an appointment as a writer in residence at Bard College for one semester, without the expectation that he or she teach traditional courses. The recipient gives at least one public lecture and meets informally with students.
Bacopa Literary Review Fiction Contest
Sponsor – Writers Alliance of Gainesville (WAG)
Deadline Date – 05-May-2025
Program Information – View Details
The Bacopa Literary Review, produced by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville, offers an annual fiction contest.
Bacopa Literary Review is looking for engaging and original pieces of short fiction capable of capturing and engaging the reader. Unique descriptions, vivid language, and original ideas are appreciated.
Entrants must be 18 years old or older.
The prize consists of a $200 Award and $100 Honorable Mention Award.
Banff Mountain Book Competition
Sponsor – Banff Centre
Deadline Date – 03-Jul-2025
Program Information – View Details
As a key program of Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, the Book Competition is an internationally recognized literary competition that celebrates mountain literature in all its forms. Over $29,000 in cash is awarded annually with 8 awards selected by an international jury of writers, adventurers and editors. The short list of category award winners eligible for the Grand Prize is announced in October every year.
Prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories. Please note that in all categories (apart from the Mountain Image category) only English editions are eligible for the award.
- Adventure Travel – includes non-fiction books with a theme of travel to, and non-motorized exploration of, remote and/or rugged landscapes and their cultures.
Mountain Fiction & Poetry – includes fiction and poetry books with a focus on mountain topics. Creative narratives about climbing and mountaineering, exploration and the experiences and cultures of mountain people are accepted. - Mountain Literature – includes non-fiction books such as memoirs, biographies, and narratives on mountaineering, climbing history, mountain exploration, mountain people and culture, and human experiences of any kind in the mountains and in wilderness areas.
- Environmental Literature – includes books that pertain to the environment, specifically related to flora, wildlife, conservation, and climate change. Scholastic research and academic papers/texts will not be accepted.
- Guidebook – non-fiction books dealing with physical activities in mountain environments including hiking, climbing, mountaineering and “how-to” books.
Mountain Image – includes books with a primary focus on mountain images and with text in a complementary role. Images may include photographs or reproductions of artwork. *This category will be reviewed by our Photo Competition jury. - Mountain Article – includes articles or short form essays under 7,000 words with mountain themes including, but not limited to: climbing, adventure, conservation, and mountain literature. Articles may be fiction, historical or non-fiction narratives, and can be submitted by either an editor or author of the article. This category accepts articles that have been published in print or digitally.
- Climbing Literature – will be awarded to the best long-listed book on mountaineering or climbing.
- Grand Prize – will be awarded to a book chosen from amongst the winners in the above categories.
First Editions – to be eligible for the 2025 Mountain Book Competition, entries must be first editions published in 2024 or 2025 (before July 31, 2025). New editions of previously published titles may be eligible if previous editions have not been entered in the competition in the past. Each title may be entered in the competition only once.
Entries for all categories may be submitted by authors or publishers. Posthumous works will not be accepted.
Over $29,000 in cash is awarded annually. The Grand Prize will be announced on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and category awards will be presented to winning authors.
Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize
Sponsor – Calyx, Inc.
Deadline Date – 30-Jun-2025
Funding – $300.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Calyx provides a prize for the best poetry submission.
Each entry can include up to three (3) unpublished poems, no more than six (6) manuscript pages total.
The winner receives $300 cash prize. The winner and all finalists will receive a one-volume subscription to CALYX Journal and publication on CALYX’s website.
May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize
Sponsor – Bauhan Publishing
Deadline Date – 30-Jun-2025
Funding – $1,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
Bauhan Publishing offers an annual poetry contest.
Manuscripts must be typed and paginated, 50 to 80 pages in length (single-spaced). Single- or double-sided manuscripts are acceptable.
The manuscript must be the product of only one author. Multiples entries are accepted for $30 per entry.
The winner receives $1000, book publication, and 50 copies of the published book, as well as distribution with Bauhan Publishing’s other spring titles through their distributor (Casemate IPM).
Angela Jackson Prize
Sponsor – Cave Canem Foundation, Inc.
Funding – $1,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The Cave Canem Angela Jackson Prize is a second-book award for black poets of African descent, offered every other year.
The Angela Jackson Prize celebrates and publishes works of lasting cultural value and literary excellence. All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets of African descent who have had no more than one full-length book of poetry published by a professional press are welcome. (Chapbooks and self-published works are excluded.)
Winners must agree to be present in the continental United States at their own expense shortly after the book is published in order to participate in promotional reading(s).
Eligibility is limited to Black authors of published, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets who have had one full-length book of poetry published by a professional press. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora.
Black authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a maximum print run of 500 may apply. Simultaneous submission to other book awards should be noted: immediate notice upon winning such an award is required. Only one manuscript per poet may be submitted.
The winner receives $1,000, publication by Northwestern University Press, and 15 copies of their book.
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
Sponsor – University of Pittsburgh Press
Deadline Date – 30-Apr-2025
Funding – $5,000.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The award is open to any poet writing in English who has not had a full-length book of poetry published previously. The sponsor define “full-length book” as a volume of 48 or more pages published in an edition of 500 or more copies. Books whose publication costs have been borne by their authors are excluded from this definition. University of Pittsburgh employees, former employees, current students, and those who have been students within the last three years are not eligible for the award. The prize carries a cash award of $5,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press as part of the Pitt Poetry Series.
Manuscripts should be between 48 and 100 pages. Manuscripts being considered by other publishers are allowed.
The prize carries a cash award of $5,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press as part of the Pitt Poetry Series.
Autumn House Poetry Prize
Sponsor – Autumn House Press
Deadline Date – 30-Jun-2025
Funding – $2,500.00 USD
Program Information – View Details
The annual Autumn House Poetry Contest provides book publication, an advance against royalties, and support for book promotion. Full-length collections of poetry 50-80 pages in length are eligible.
Submissions should be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are permitted.
The winner will receive book publication, a $1,000 honorarium, and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote their book. All finalists will be considered for publication.
