Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards   For fiction and nonfiction writers who have recently published a book that “contributes to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. Offers $10,000 cash as well media and publicity opportunities. Submissions must be published in the prior year. Annual submission window is September 1 through December 31

Bartleby Snopes Annual Dialogue Only Contest: $, up to 2,000 words

Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Contest: $, poems for greeting cards

Blue Bus Publishing announces our 2nd annual Journal from the Heartland Writing Contest, open to interested writers with connections to Wisconsin. Entries may be on any subject or theme – essays, environmental narratives, and other prose of less than 2,000 words accepted. (No poetry this year.) Deadline for submissions March 21, 2019. First place is $125.00, second: $50.00, third: $15.00. Entry fee $10.00 per submission, paid by mail. Send money order, cashier’s check or personal check made out to Blue Bus Publishing to: Blue Bus Publishing, PO Box 194, Amherst, WI  54406.

Email entries to:  journalfromtheheartland@gmail.com  as a .doc or .docx attachment with only the title and page numbers on contest entry itself. Include name, phone number, and email address in the body of your email, also please provide a 2-3 sentence bio describing yourself. Type “Writing Contest Entry” in the subject line. We prefer email submissions but hard copies can be mailed to address above.

For more information, contact Eleonore Hebal at journalfromtheheartland@gmail.com

Bo Carter Memorial Contest: Sponsored by the Waukesha Writers Workshop, January to April each year. $ Click here for submission details.

W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction   $Awards $5,000 to the best piece of fiction set during a period when the U.S. was at war (war may be the main plot or simply provide the setting). Submissions may be adult or YA novels: Annually on December 1

Conium Review Flash Fiction Contest: $, publication

Council for Wisconsin Writers Published Writing Contest: $, Authors who had their work published in 2017 may enter. Categories: book-length fiction, nonfiction and poetry; short fiction and nonfiction; a set of five poems two of which must have been published in the contest year, and children’s literature. $25 fee. Deadline: Jan 31, 2018

Drue Heinz Literature Prize   Awards$15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press for a collection of short fiction. You may submit an unpublished manuscript of short stories, two or more novellas or a combination of novellas and short stories. Your total word count should be between 150 and 300 typed pages. Annual submission window is May 1 through June 30

Erma Bombeck Writing Competition; $$, humor

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence  for emerging African American fiction writers awarding a $10,000 cash for a novel or short story collection, published in the calendar year. Check website for current deadline.

Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize: $, publication; up to 1500 words

Fanstory’s Tombstone Poetry Contest: $, Brief, humorous epitaphs

Fictional Black Ink’s Halloween Flash Fiction Contest: $, publication; up to 1,000 words.

Friends of American Writers Award: for published books by residents of IL, IN, IO, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, SD, and WI; or the locale of the book must be in these states; self-published and e-books not eligible.

Golfwell’s Annual Golf Story Writing Competition: $, publication on the Golfwell website.

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize   This prize provides a $12,000 advance and publication by Graywolf Press. The judges look for winners who push the boundaries of traditional literary nonfiction. Deadline: Annually in May

Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters Microfiction Contest: $; flash fiction up to 500 words

The Hal Prize: $+ A Wisconsin-based contest — Sponsored by The Peninsula Pulse; offers publication, a week stay at Write On, Door County, and other prizes. Open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photographers throughout the United States.

Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Contest  Hektoen International, an online journal dedicated to medical humanities, offers two prizes annually for essays of no more than 1,600 words in two categories: $1,200 for an essay suited for their Famous Hospitals section, and $1,000 for the best essay suited for the sections of Art Flashes, Literary Vignettes, Moments in History or Physicians of Note. Check website for annual deadlines.

Jade Ring Contest, $,Wisconsin Writers Association; fiction, nonfiction, poetry, humor: See contest page information posted on this site.

James Laughlin Award:  For published poets; $5,000 plus all-expenses-paid week-long residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, and distribution of the winning book to approximately 1,000 Academy of American Poets members.

Jeffrey E. Smith Editor’s Prize: (The Missouri Review) $$, fiction, poetry, nonfiction

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest: $$$, quarterly; short stories, novelettes; science fiction or fantasy

The Lindenwood Review Prose Poetry Contest: (St. Charles, MO) $, 3 prose poems; publication

The Masters Review Short Story Contest: $$, publication, 6000 words or less from unpublished authors, Portland, OR

Mighty River Short Story Contest: $$, publication, stories up to 30 pages

Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition   Awards an original book-length manuscript where “murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story.” The winner receives a publication contract with Minotaur Books and an advance of $10,000 against future royalties. Deadline: Annually in the last quarter of the year.

Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award  Open to African American poets, previously published or not, this award provides a $500 prize and publication by Broadside Lotus Press in a book-length collection of poems (approximately 60 to 90 pages).  Deadline: Annually on March 1

Nelson Algren Short Story Award: $$; presented by the Chicago Tribune

New Voices Award: sponsored by Lee & Low Books: $$, for children’s picture books by a writer of color

Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel: $$, publication; Southeast Missouri State University Press

Real Simple’s Life Lessons Essay Contest  Awards $3000 for your compelling personal essay about your “eureka” moment. Deadline: Annually in mid-September

Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest  Every three months, winners earn $1,000, $750 and $500, or an additional annual grand prize worth $5,000. Short stories or novelettes (up to 17,000 words) in the genre of science fiction or fantasy, and new and amateur writers are welcome. Deadlines: Quarterly on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1

Rollick Magazine: $, publication, themed stories, poetry, essays, reviews, art, photography

Rooglewood Press: $, children’s story 5,000-20,000 words, fairy tale themes

Shawano Area Writers: George Putz Memorial Student Writing Contest, Shawano, WI.
The contest is for three grade groups and invites entries in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Runs from January to March 31 every year. No limit or charge as to how many entries a student may submit. The contest awards first, second, third place, as well as honorable mention. Those selected will receive certificates of achievement at the awards ceremony held at the Mielke Arts Center. Rules and details available here:  http://shawanoareawriters.org

Springfield (Missouri) Writers’ Guild Annual Poetry and Prose Contest

St. Francis College Literary Prize  Biannual prize honors mid-career writers who have recently published their third, fourth or fifth work of fiction. The winner receives $50,000 but must be able to appear at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY to deliver a talk on their work and teach a mini-workshop in fiction to St. Francis students. Deadline: Biannually; the deadline for work published between June 2013 and May 2015 is August 15, 2015

Stowe Prize This biennial prize of $10,000 honors an American author whose work has had an impact on a critical social justice issue (as did Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin). Deadline: Biennially in odd-numbered years.

Tethered by Letters:  Prizes range from $300-1,000; Flash fiction, short story, poetry

Tony Hillerman Prize  Presented by St. Martin’s Press and WORDHARVEST; awards first mystery novel set in the Southwest with $10,000 and publication by St. Martin’s Press.  Deadline: Annually on June 1

T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry: $$$, publication; Submit 60-100 pages of poetry

Troubadours Poetry Award: Poems must be inspired by a musician and/or lyrics of the troubadour/story-telling tradition; Missouri Arts Council.

Tufts Poetry Awards: Claremont Graduate University (CA) $$$; for published first book of poetry

Wergle FLomp Humor Poetry Contest: $$, one funny poem, up to 250 lines

Wisconsin People & Ideas: $$, publication, short stories and poems; open to all Wisconsin residents 18 and older

Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Contests: $, prose and poetry; prizes awarded at WWA’s annual fall conference

Writer’s Digest Magazine: poetry, screenwriting, short-short story, popular fiction, science fiction, thriller/suspense, young adult fiction, crime, romance, horror, your story

Young Lions Fiction Award recognizes author aged 35 or younger. Submit any novel or short story published or scheduled to be published in the calendar year. $10.000 prize. Works must be written for adults; children’s or YA pieces are ineligible. Deadline: Annually in August