S. Kalekar
These are contests/grants/fellowships for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and journalism, with prizes up to $85,000. Some of the contests are themed. They are, very broadly, divided geographically. One of the deadlines is in November.
INTERNATIONAL CONTESTS
Vellum Prize
This is a prize for a fiction manuscript. “We are seeking submissions of book-length original literary fiction, written in English, that is evocative, genre-bending, and perspective-shifting. Submissions may blend elements of mystery, romance, autofiction, historical fiction, and speculative fiction, and should surprise, move, and challenge the reader.” And, “The submission must be either completed manuscripts or excerpts of at least 50 pages. Excerpts must be accompanied by a detailed outline of the remainder of the book and a statement explaining how far along you are in the drafting process.”
Value: $3,000 and publication
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
After the End Poetry Competition
This is an international poetry contest. “The After the End project in collaboration with the National Poetry Centre is inviting poets worldwide to submit original, previously unpublished work as part of the exciting research project exploring time, temporality, and the question of endings.” And, “Poems should engage with the concept of “after the end,” exploring the temporal, ethical, social, or emotional dimensions of endings. Submissions may draw on personal, historical, or global events, reflect on lived experiences, or experiment with form and perspective.”
Value: £200
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: All poets
Details here and here.
One Teen Story Contest
This is a short fiction contest for writers ages 13-19, run by One Story Magazine; there are three categories divided age-wise for this contest – ages 13-15, 16-17, and 18-19. “One Teen Story is looking for great short stories written by teens about the teen experience. Some examples of stories we look out for are ones that deal with issues of identity, friendship, family, and coming-of-age. Gratuitous profanity, sex, and drug use are best avoided. We’re open to all genres of well-written young adult fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words.”
Value: $500
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: Writers ages 13-19
Details here and here.
The African Poetry Book Fund: Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry
It is for poets born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African, and who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published (this includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible). Manuscripts have to be at least 50 pages long. Only poems written in English can be considered, but they accept poems in translation too. If the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money is awarded to the translator. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets publication from the University of Nebraska Press.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: African poets, for a debut poetry book (see guidelines)
Details here and here (see the relevant category).
(See all the African Poetry Book Fund contests here.)
Nieman Fellowships
These are nine-month fellowships for both US and international journalists at Harvard. You need to send the following to apply: two essays; a professional profile and study proposal summary; work samples; and three letters of recommendation. The deadline for journalists who are non-US citizens, including for those who are working in the US, is in December and for US citizens, it is in January. Also see guidelines for the deadlines for letters of recommendation.
Value: $85,000 and other expenses, see their FAQ
Deadlines: 1 December 2025 for international journalists, 31 January 2026 for U.S. journalists
Open for: International and US journalists
Details here and here.
(Also see the Nieman Visiting Fellowships for short-term research projects designed to advance journalism.)
Neville Dawes First Book Prize for Emerging Caribbean Poets
This is a contest for Caribbean poets, for a poetry manuscript. “The Neville Dawes First Book Prize celebrates the work of an emerging Caribbean poet with a $1,000 USD cash prize and publication of a full-length manuscript by the University of Nebraska Press. Run annually, the contest is open to emerging Caribbean poets who have not yet published a full-length book of poetry. Poets may reside anywhere globally, as long as they are of Caribbean origin. There is no reading fee to submit to the prize.” And, “Only poetry submissions in English can be considered. Work translated from another language to English is accepted, but a percentage of the prize will be awarded to the translator.”
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: Caribbean poets worldwide
Details here.
J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards
These awards are given for non-fiction works in progress which deal with a topic of American political or social concern, to aid their completion. Writers must already have a contract with a US-based publisher. One of the application requirements is 50-75 pages from the work in progress. Also, “The judges will make their decision on the basis of achieving maximum impact on a promising book project. Therefore, their selection criteria will represent a blend of the merit of the book and the financial need of the author. For this reason, the judges will need to know the amount of the author’s advance, as well as any other financial support for the book, such as a grant.”
There is no fee for the work-in-progress award. The prizes are run by Columbia Journalism School – they also have other awards, which charge entry fees.
Value: $25,000
Deadline: 4 December 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
International Women’s Media Foundation: Kim Wall Memorial Fund
This grant is for women or nonbinary journalists with one or more years of professional experience working in news media from anywhere in the world. “The IWMF’s Kim Wall Memorial Fund will provide $5,000 grants to journalists whose work embodies the spirit of Kim’s reporting. The grant will fund women or non-binary reporters covering subculture, broadly defined, and what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.”
Value: $5,000 each
Deadline: 7 December 2025
Open for: Women and nonbinary journalists
Details here and here.
(They’re open for other awards/grants as well. See more of IWMF’s programs/grants/awards here and their Submittable here.)
Intrepid Times Travel Writing Competition
Their website says, “Write a true travel story about a moment of human connection. Focus on a specific incident, a meeting with a person from another culture, perhaps, or a time when you broke free of the tourist trail and gained genuine appreciation for the heart of a strange land.
Write 1500 – 1800 words, and win up to $300 USD.One winner and up to four runners-up will be published right here on Intrepid Times. We highly recommend writers take a moment to read some of our recent stories and past competition winners to get a sense of what we publish at Intrepid Times.”
Value: $300
Deadline: 10 December 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Your Paper Quest Writing Competition
Your Paper Quest is “A US based book of the month subscription box exclusively featuring books from self-published authors.” They are open now for their third short fiction contest: the prompt is, ‘The Great Outdoors and the strange things that live there.’ They want stories between 500 to 1,000 words. Details for the contest are on their social media, and submission (for contest as well as non-contest entries – see guidelines) is via a form on their website.
Value: $100, $25 for runners-up
Deadline: 10 December 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here (contest guidelines), here (contest guidelines), here (their website/Linktree), and here (submission form).
Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition
This is an international contest for crime novel manuscripts, for writers who have never been the author of any published novel in any genre and are uncontracted. The writing should be no less than approximately 60,000 words. Authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work. Minotaur is an imprint of Macmillan.
Value: $10,000 advance against royalties
Deadline: 14 December 2025
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
The sine qua non prizes for prose and poetry
The sine qua non is sponsoring two creative writing competitions, for creative prose (send up to 15 pages) and poetry (send up to 3 poems); for this issue of the magazine, they want works that exemplify traits of New Romanticism – they have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. They have a submission quota, so may close earlier than the deadline. Submission is via Submittable. They’re also accepting works outside of this theme. For non-prize-winning entries they publish, including theory and craft submissions, they’ll pay $30.
Value: $500 each for poetry and prose winners, and $250 for runners-up
Deadline: 15 December 2025, or until filled
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
Eggtooth Editions Chapbook Contest
Their tagline is, ‘Home of the Any Genre Chapbook Contest’. They want a chapbook in any genre, of 15-50 pages. The prize accepts submissions from “anyone writing in the English language who has not previously published a full-length book (defined as a solely authored work of more than 50 pages, self-publishing included) . Works may be jointly authored by multiple writers or artists…. Translations are not eligible for this prize, nor are previously published or self-published books, though individual parts of a manuscript may have been previously published or produced.” Please note, they will only accept up to 100 fee-free submissions, so presumably those may close earlier than the deadline. The winner also gets 20 copies of the chapbook.
Value: $250
Deadline: 15 December 2025, or until filled
Open for: Unpublished writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
The Caribbean Writer Prizes
Their website says, “The Caribbean Writer (TCW) has issued a call for submissions for Volume 40 under the 2026 theme: 40 years of The Caribbean Writer: A Spectrum of Representation. … Using the TCW journal as a reference point, authors are invited to explore the themes, subjects, motifs, and topics over the 40 years of The Caribbean Writer” and present an analysis in one of the following contexts given on their website – including Building Regional Community, Connections and Transformations; Calypso and Conflict: Music and Politics in the Literature; Voices of the Diaspora: Migration and Belonging; Negotiating Nuances of Legacy, Ethnicity, Hybridity, Identity; and more. See guidelines for the detailed list of themes.
Apart from the usual call for creative works, they’ve also issued a call for papers focused on the diverse themes explored in The Caribbean Writer over the years; selected authors will be invited to present their papers at the conference to be held at the University of the Virgin Islands, St Croix campus in April 2026 and also be published in an anniversary supplement of The Caribbean Writer (see guidelines).
And the literary submissions are also eligible for various prizes (there is no separate application process)
– The Daily News Prizeof $600 awarded to a resident of the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands.
— The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prizeof $500 awarded to a new or emerging writer.
— The Vincent Cooper Literary Prizeof $300 awarded to a Caribbean author for exemplary writing in Caribbean Nation Language.
— The Anacaona Prize of $500 is awarded to anyone published in the respective volume for their interpretation of the theme, level of technical skill, and originality.
Please note, the prizes are subject to change.
Value: $300-600
Deadline: Proposals/abstracts for the paper due 30 November; submissions due 16 December 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (also click on ‘show prizes) and here.
Poetry Society of America: The Four Quartets Prize
This is for a unified and complete sequence of poems published in the US in a print or online journal, chapbook, or book in 2025. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were published in 2025 and that brought together, they form a complete sequence. The minimum requirement is 14 pages of published poems unified by subject, form, and style. Entire books composed of a unified sequence, however long, are also welcome.Submissions will have to be mailed. Self-published work is not eligible. They have other awards also, though these have an entry fee, or do not have an application process.
Value: $1,000 for three finalists, an additional $20,000 for the winner
Deadline: 31 December 2025 (postmark date)
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (download the entry form).
Lilith Magazine Fiction Contest
This magazine publishes work of interest to Jewish women. They like work with both feminist and Jewish content. Submit fiction up to 3,000 words.
Value: $300
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Meridians: The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award
Meridians is a literary magazine affiliated with Smiths College. This award is for short works – poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and play scripts. “The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award celebrates an author whose work embodies the lyrically powerful and historically engaged nature of Dr. Alexander’s writing. We aim for this award to highlight different forms of knowledge production that emerge from the artistic, political, and cultural advocacy undertaken by women of color nationally, transnationally, and globally. Works engaging with feminism, race, and transnationalism will be prioritized. Translated works and manuscripts in languages other than English are encouraged as well.” And, according to their submission form, “Each year we award two winners: one in Poetry and one in Prose. Each winner will have the opportunity to spend a week-long residency at Meridians at Smith College the following Fall or Spring.” It is unspecified whether they have a cash award as well, this year.
Value: Residency
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here
Defenestration.net Lengthy Poem Contest
They are reading entries for a lengthy poem, of at least 120 lines and up to chapbook-length (see guidelines). It is best to divide it into parts or sections, though this is not a strict requirement. Poem cycles will be considered. Please note, the shortlisted poems will be posted on the website, which will be followed by fan voting.
Value: $300
Deadline: 1 January 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here.
table//FEAST Literary Magazine: The Blossom Contest
This contest is fee-free and only open to BIPOC writers. There will be one winner for poetry or prose. Send up to 5 poems or one piece of fiction or creative nonfiction of up to 3,000 words.
Value: $250
Deadline: 1 January 2026
Open for: BIPOC writers
Details here. (They have other contests too, for women and for writers over 50 years, which have submission fees.)
On the Premises: The Return Of…
They want a story based on a prompt on their website. For this cycle, the prompt is, “The Return Of…”. “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which someone or something has returned after a significant absence. Does this return make people happy, unhappy, or somewhere in-between? That’s up to you. Also: Was this return a surprise, or was it expected? That’s also up to you.“ They do not want children’s fiction, exploitative sex, over-the-top grossout horror, or stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors.
Value: $250, $200, $150, $75
Deadline: 2 January 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here (general guidelines) and here (theme details).
Shepton Snowdrops: In the Garden
Their website says, “The Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Project is a not for profit Community Interest Company run entirely by volunteers. We run and support the annual Snowdrop Festival each February and plant snowdrop bulbs each autumn across the town.” They’re also open for an international poetry contest. There is an entry fee for over-18s, and poets under 18 years can send one poem of up to 30 lines, on the theme, ‘In the Garden’, for free. There are two categories for under-18s: 11 and under (prize £50) and 12-17 years (prize £100). Entry is via a form on their website.
Value: £50-100 for under-18s
Deadline: 4 January 2026
Open for: Free for under-18s
Details here.
San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program
This awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program. Award recipients will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area or adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the fellowship period.
Value: Up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each
Deadline: 4 January 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
The Leon Levy Centre for Biography: Biography Fellowships
These are four resident fellowships at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, to nonfiction writers working on biographies. preference in the award of fellowships is given to those who have not yet published a biography or received fellowships for the writing of a biography. They also welcome applications from published and accomplished writers who are undertaking their first biography. The Leon Levy Center for Biography does not award fellowships for memoirs, essays, plays, films, or fiction. One of the application requirements is a sample of the proposed biography, a maximum of 2,500 words. (Also see the Sloan Fellowship, given annually to a writer working on a biography of a figure in the field of science or technology.)
Value: $72,000, residency
Deadline: 4 January 2026
Open for: Writers working on biographies
Details here and here.
The Joan Shorenstein Fellowship
This is a fellowship from Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. It is a self-directed fellowship for leaders and scholars working at the intersection of media, technology, politics, and public policy. They welcome mid- to senior-career professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, including journalists, news influencers and creators, civic tech and media innovators, nonfiction authors and scholars in fields like political science or media studies, as well as policymakers, political advisors, and policy analysts. There are “limited funds available to support a few fellows who advance a more substantial research project and more deeply engage with our community during their fellowship term” which include:
- High-profile leaders—such as prominent journalists, technologists, or public figures—pursuing significant research projects and active involvement with the Center and our broader research community. (Walter Shorenstein fellows)
- Authors working on nonfiction books related to media, politics, and public policy. (Rosenthal Writers-in-Residence)
- Technologists or scholars exploring how technology shapes the information ecosystem. (Schuster fellow)
Also, “Fellows work independently on projects developed in collaboration with the Center. All fellowships are one year in length and mostly remote, though Boston-based fellows are welcome to use the Center’s on-campus resources. Travel stipends to Cambridge may be available for fellows participating in events or campus activities.” Applications are rolling, via a form on the website, and onboarding is in September and January of each year.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: Open now
Open for: Non-fiction authors and journalists
Details here.
(A couple of contests with later deadlines are:
— Jack Hazard Fellowship: This is an opportunity for US writers. “Jack Hazard Fellows are fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and memoir writers who teach full time in an accredited high school in the United States. We provide a $5,000 award that enables these creative writers who teach to focus on their writing for a summer.” The deadline is 9 January 2026. Details here and here
— Discoveries 2026: It is for UK- and Ireland-based unpublished and unrepresented women writers, for a novel-in-progress (adult fiction) – send the first 10,000 words and a synopsis. This prize is run by The Women’s Prize Trust, Audible, Curtis Brown Literary Agency, and Curtis Brown Creative writing school. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets literary representation. There are also non-cash prizes for shortlisted and longlisted writers. The prize is £5,000, and the deadline is 12 January 2026. Details here and here.
— Lunch Ticket: Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction: This award is for a creative non-fiction piece of up to 3,500 words on any subject. The contest is open in February and August. The submission period will be 1st to 28th February 2026, and the prize is $250. It is open to all writers. Details here.
— Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts: Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize. Writers should indicate whether the translation falls under poetry or prose, and include the original work along with your translation. Original, bilingual work qualifies for the Gabo Prize. The contest is open in February and August. The submission period will be 1st to 28th February 2026, and the prize is $200. It is open to all translators. Details here.)
FOR WRITERS IN US/CANADA
(Also see The Caribbean Writer Prizes, Nieman Fellowships,the Leon Levy Centre for Biography: Biography Fellowships, the Steinbeck Fellows Program, the Poetry Society of America: The Four Quartets Prize, and the Jack Hazard Fellowship in the international section.)
McGovern Center Writing Awards in Fiction
This is a call for US writers, for “unpublished fiction that is medical or healthcare-related in theme or focus.
There will be three distinct prizes awarded, as follows:
- McGovern Center Healthcare Provider Award in Fiction: open to any healthcare provider in the U.S., including residents and fellows. Applicants must be 18 years or older.
- McGovern Center Student Award in Fiction: open to any student, undergraduate or graduate in the U.S. Applicants must be 18 years or older.
- McGovern Center Community Award in Fiction: open to anyone in the U.S., 18 years or older.”
Value: $500 each
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: US writers
Details here and here.
RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers
This is for Canadian writers who have published work in literary magazines, but not in book form. For this cycle, writers should submit up to 10 pages of either unpublished short fiction, creative non-fiction, or 5-10 pages of poetry. A self-published book or chapbook will not disqualify you.
Value: CAD10,000 for winners in each category; CAD2,500 for finalists
Deadline: 2 December 2025
Open for: Canadian writers (see guidelines)
Details here (overview), and here (Submittable)
The Lyric Magazine: College Poetry Contest
This is a contest open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Poems must be original and unpublished, 39 lines or less, written in English in traditional forms, preferably with regular scansion and rhyme. Students can send up to three poems.
Value: $500, $200, $100
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Open for: Undergraduates in an American or Canadian college or university
Details here.
FOR WRITERS IN UK/IRELAND
(Also see Shepton Snowdrops: In the Garden,and Discoveries 2026, in the international section above.)
Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize
This is an award for a working class writer in the UK or Ireland for prose fiction or non-fiction unpublished work in progress. “Simply submit a sample of your writing, which must be the beginning of an unpublished work-in-progress no more than 2,000 words in length and a one-page synopsis for the full manuscript.” Writers must not have a publishing contract or an agent. Apart from a cash prize, winner receives a 5-day fully-catered writing retreat in North Wales with return travel included, mentoring sessions, and more. There are non-cash awards for runners-up, as well. Also, all entries will receive feedback on their entry from the W&A Team. Submission is via a form on their website.
Value: £200
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: UK working-class writers
Details here.
Jane Martin Poetry Prize
This poetry prize, for young UK poets, is affiliated with Girton College, University of Cambridge. Entrants must be resident in the UK and between the ages of 18 and 30 (on 26th February 2026).
Value: £1,000, £500
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Open for: Young UK poets (see guidelines)
Details here.
Society of Authors: Strachey Trust Grants
This grant fund is open to all UK authors (see guidelines), who wish to access UK-based archives/collections. The author must be working on a specific full-length literary project which has a strong likelihood of publication. The Strachey Trust promotes access to, and availability of, manuscripts of use to historians, biographers, and other researchers, as well as assisting in the tracing of copyright holders.
Value: £500
Deadline: Ongoing
Open for: UK writers
Details here.
(See all of SOA’s prizes here and grants here.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.