This is a list of contests and residencies for writers, poets, essayists, playwrights, journalists and bloggers. These include prizes for first novels, essays, poetry collections, to name a few, and are for unpublished, contracted and published writers. There are some great opportunities for fellowships, including to Japan; some are a few weeks and others are for a term or a year, including one for writers persecuted in their home countries. Some have teaching duties attached; all endeavour to buy writers time for their work. Prizes and residencies range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. See this list for some other upcoming contest deadlines in January.  –– S. Kalekar

Virginia Commonwealth University First Novelist AwardThis award is for debut novels first published in the US between July-December 2017. The author may have published previous work in a different form, such as poems or short stories, but the submission must be his or her first published novel.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 14 January 2018
Open for: Those with a first published novel
Details here.

Hektoen International Grand Prix Essay CompetitionSubmit original essays up to 1,600 words relating to art, history, literature, education, personal narratives, and music as they relate to medicine, as well reports on famous physicians or hospitals. The rules also say that any of the entries may be published in Hektoen International journal at any time, whether or not they win.

Value: $3,000; two prizes of $800 each
Deadline: 14 January 2018
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert WritersThis is a prize for desert writing and honors the memory of Ellen Meloy. It provides support to writers whose work reflects the spirit and passions embodied in Ellen’s writing and her commitment to a “deep map of place.” Literary or creative non-fiction submissions are accepted. The writing sample’s artistic excellence and desert literacy, the proposal’s strength, and the biography’s ability to demonstrate a history and future of writing and desert experience will be taken into consideration. Any desert region in the world is applicable to this award. Send up to 10 pages of a writing sample – it can be published, unpublished, or a work in progress. Emerging, mid-career or established non-fiction writers can apply.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 15 January 2018
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Andrés  Montoya Poetry Prize
This prize is for the publication of a full-length poetry manuscript by an emerging Latinx poet. Applicants must neither have published, nor committed to publish a book-length collection of poems (48 pages of poems or more) with a registered ISBN, either in the US or abroad. There is no restriction on theme or style. Manuscripts must be between 48 and 100 pages.Value: $1,000
Deadline: 15 January 2017
Open for: Emerging Latinx poets
Details here.

Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry PrizeThis prize supports the publication of a second or third full-length book of poems by a Latinx poet. The manuscript should be 48-100 pages.

Value: $1,000
Deadline: 15 January 2018
Open for: Latinx poets living in the US

Details here.

Janet Heidinger Kafka PrizeThis prize is for a woman writer who is a US citizen, and who has written the best book-length work of prose fiction – novel, short stories, or experimental writing. The works must have been published in 2017 and be submitted by the publisher. They particularly welcome work of a promising but less established writer.
Value: $7,500
Deadline: 15 January 2018 (postmarked)
Open for: Women writers who are US citizens
Details here.

Summer Poet in Residence, University of MississippiThis is for poets who have at least one full-length book, either published or under contract, and no more than two books. Poets will give a public reading and make 1-2 class visits in a week during the four-week residency. Poets need to send a work sample of up to 10 pages.

Value: $3,000, travel reimbursement, residency
Deadline: 15 January 2018 (postmarked)
Open for: Emerging published or contracted poets
Details here.

The Hillman Prize for JournalismThis is for journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good. Recipients exemplify reportorial excellence, storytelling skill, and social justice impact. The categories are books, newspaper journalism, broadcast journalism, web journalism, and opinion & analysis journalism, which includes all kinds of advocacy, opinion, commentary and analysis, normally short-form and/or frequent, regardless of medium. It is open to newspaper and magazine columnists, TV and radio presenters, podcasters, blogs, and bloggers. There is a Canadian Hillman Prize and a US Hillman Prize – the US prize is open to all journalists and subjects globally but the work must have been primarily accessible to a US audience in 2017.

Value: $5,000 each
Deadline: 15 January for Canadian, 30 January 2018 for US entries
Open for: Journalists and bloggers
Details here.

Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers ProgramThis is for contracted authors of literary fiction, short story collections and literary non-fiction, such as travel essays, memoirs, or other non-fiction with a strong narrative, as well as for graphic novels, memoirs, or histories written and illustrated by one person. Books should be for an adult or young adult audience. The publisher must have US distribution. Debuting authors and writers with three or fewer previously published books who have yet to receive a major literary award are eligible. Exceptions are sometimes made for authors who have published more books, but have yet to break out to a larger audience. Submissions must be made by publishers, not authors, at least 3-6 months before the publishing date. They accept submissions thrice a year.
Value: Total prizes worth $105,000 for six writers
Deadline: 18 January 2018 for Summer 2018
Open for: Contracted writers
Details here.

The Fountain Essay ContestSubmit an essay of 1,500-2,500 on this topic: How to face a disaster? Writers should say how they faced difficult times, and share their advice and life lessons. Writers should read terms and conditions laid out in the FAQ, which specify that they “might publish submissions in The Fountain, both the print and web editions, even if the essays did not win any prize.”
Value: $1,000, $500, $300; two prizes of $150 each
Deadline: 31 January 2018
Open for: All writers
Details here.

Caine Prize for African WritingThis is for a published short story by an African writer, of 3,000-10,000 words. Publishers need to enter the works. Works received after the deadline will be put forward to the next year’s prize. The short-list is selected from work originally published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline and not previously considered for a Caine Prize.

Value: £10,000, and £500 and travel expenses for short-listed candidates
Deadline: 31 January 2018
Open for: African writers
Details here.

Ohioana Walter Rumsey Mavin GrantThis is a grant for Ohio writers who are 30 years or younger, and have not had a book published. Send up to 4 pieces of prose, of 10-40 pages.

Value: $1,000
Deadline: 31 January 2018
Open for: Ohio writers
Details here.

Binghampton Book Awards: The Milt Kessler Poetry Award and The John Gardner Fiction Award
The awards are for one book of poetry and a book of prose (novel or a collection of fiction), published in the previous year. The writers need to have a US Social Security number for the prize to be awarded.Value: $1,000 each
Deadline: 1 February 2018
Open for: Published poets and writers
Details here.

Roth Residence in Creative WritingThis residency is offered by Bucknell University, and provides writing time of up to four months. For 2018-19, it is open for poets working on a first or second book. There are two residencies, in fall and spring semesters. Some record of publication is desirable.
Value: $5,000 and residency
Deadline: 1 February 2018
Open for: Poets living in the US
Details here.

Olive B. O’Connor Fellowship in Creative WritingThe annual fellowship from Colgate University is designed to support writers completing their first book. It provides a stipend and office space. Each fellow teaches a creative writing workshop each semester and gives a public reading of his or her work. Those who have completed MFA, MA or PhD in creative writing and working on their first book are encouraged to apply.

Value: $40,500 and travel expenses; residency
Deadline: 1 February 2018
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

US-Japan Creative Artists Exchange FellowshipsThis grant offers artists, including writers and playwrights, the opportunity to work in Japan. Collaboration with Japanese colleagues is encouraged – it is important to identify potential partners/collaborators/teachers and articulate the reason behind the choice. Artists are free to live anywhere in the country to pursue activities of greatest relevance to their creative process. Applicants must be professional creative artists (see guidelines for details about writers’ publishing requirements) working in their field.
Value: $20,000 for three months, $28,000 for up to five months; up to $2,000 for travel to Japan
Deadline: 1 February for cover sheet, and 1 March 2018 for narrative application and work samples
Open for: US Citizens or permanent residents
Details here.

The Golden Shovel Anthology International Student CompetitionThis is for student poets in the US and internationally. It honors Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize, and Terrance Hayes, who created The Golden Shovel form. Students must draw a borrowed line from a poem in The Golden Shovel Anthology:  New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks.  They may borrow from Terrance Hayes’s original “The Golden Shovel,” from one of Gwendolyn Brooks’s five poems in the anthology, to any of the 300 other poems in the anthology. Students must choose 5-14 words out of a sentence or line to use to create their own 5-14 line Golden Shovel poem by vertically running those words as the last word in each of their lines (see guidelines for examples and further details).

Value: $1000 for the Undergraduate College/University division; $500       for Middle/High School division (both pending completion of W9 tax  form, etc.)
Deadline: 1 February 2018
Open for: US and international students
Details here.

Nelsen Algren Literary AwardsThis contest is for US-based writers and is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. Send one short story of up to 8,000 words.

Value: $3,500, 4 prizes of $1,000 each, 5 prizes of $500 each
Deadline: 7 February 2018
Open for: Legal residents of the US and District of Columbia
Details here.

Life Writing PrizeThis is a prize for UK-based writers who have not published a full-length work. Life writing is ‘intended to be true’, that is, based on a significant portion of the author’s own experience. Send a sample of 5,000 words.

Value: £1500, an Avron course, membership to the Royal Society of Literature; meetings with a literary agent and an editor; two prizes of £500 each, a writing mentor, meetings with a literary agent and an editor
Deadline: 9 February 2018
Open for: UK-based writers
Details here.

International Writers ProjectThis is a one-year fellowship with residency to provide sanctuary and support for established creative writers – fiction writers, playwrights, and poets – who are persecuted in their home countries or are actively prevented from pursuing free expression in their literary art.  The Fellow will be a member of a supportive community at Brown University, Rhode Island. The fellowship will be accompanied by a series of lectures, readings and other events that highlight the national artistic and political culture of the writer and address the global issues of human rights and free expression. Fellows can apply themselves or be nominated. Send a letter, providing publishing history and explaining need, together with a resume, and if available, a writing sample (preferably in English) of creative work by the candidate. Supporting letters from others would be helpful.

Value: A stipend, residency, relocation funds, and health benefits; aid for Visa and relocation process
Deadline: 15 February 2018
Open for: Persecuted established creative writers
Details here.

The Madeleine P. Plonsker Prize Emerging Writers Residency PrizeThis prize is for an emerging writer under forty years old with no major book publication, to spend time at the Lake Forest College. There are no formal teaching duties. Time is to be spent completing a manuscript, participating in a literary festival, and offering a series of public presentations. Send a 30-page excerpt of a fiction manuscript in progress.
Value: $10,000, residency
Deadline: 1 March 2018 – entries close after the first 200 submissions
Open for: Writers under 40 years
Details here.