Spring is all around us by now, reminding us that new growth is the key to achieving our full potential! Take a look at these upcoming contests, and see if their challenge might be just what you need.
OPEN NOW! Best Emerging Writers 2025
It’s finally that time of year again, when The Masters Review is accepting entries for our anthology! For the fourteenth volume, we are looking for stories from the best emerging writers. Submissions can be fiction or narrative nonfiction, but they need to be under 8,000 words. The winners will be published in print and online, and $7,000 will be awarded between the ten finalists. This contest is judged by the terrific Andrew Porter, and he is looking for stories that create a genuine emotional connection between reader and character. Check it out!
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: June 8
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
Inspired by author and poet Ellen Waterston, this prize provides financial and other support to writers whose work reflects a connection to the desert. They’re looking for creative or literary nonfiction, with an engaging style, unique voice, and a fresh perspective. The Waterston Desert Prize recognizes one writer with $3,000, and a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR. Applicants need to provide a biographical statement, a proposal, and a writing sample. Judged by the wonderful writer, actor, and language activist Beth Piatote! Submission guidelines here.
Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: May 1
F(r)iction Spring Contests
There are so many options in F(r)iction’s collection of contests, there’s bound to be something for everyone! Short stories are judged by Gaël Le Cornec, and the winner receives $1,000. Flash fiction is judged by Terry J. Benton-Walker, and the winner receives $300. Poetry is judged by K. Iver, and also receives $300. Finally, creative nonfiction is judged by Grace Talusan, and the winner receives $500. All winners and some finalists will be published. Check it out!
Entry Fee: $15 Deadline: May 2
The Emerging Writer’s Contest
Ploughshares prides itself on their commitment to promoting the work of up-and-coming writers, and that means you! This contest is meant to celebrate emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, awarding $2,000, publication, and agency review to the winners of each category. R. O. Kwon is judging fiction, Elisa Gabbert is judging nonfiction, and Joshua Bennett is judging poetry. Guidelines here.
Entry Fee: $30 Deadline: May 15
The Loraine Williams Poetry Prize
Brandon Som, a Pulitzer Prize winner and associate professor at UC San Diego, is judging this contest for The Georgia Review, and he is looking for a masterful poem! Entries may include up to three poems, but must be fewer than ten pages total. The final winner will receive $1,500 and publication, and three finalists will receive $200 and publication. All submitted poems will be considered for publication (at $4 a line). Learn more here.
Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: May 15
New Letters Prizes
There are actually three contests here, one each for poetry, nonfiction, or fiction! The Conger Beasley Jr. Award for Nonfiction submissions may be up to 8,000 words, and the best essay receives $2,500 and publication. The Robert Day Award for Fiction may also be up to 8,000 words, the Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry up to six poems, and the winner of these contests also receives $2,500 and publication. Make sure to select the correct contest for your submission! More details here.
Entry Fee: $24 Deadline: May 19
Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
The University of Georgia Press has offered this award since 1983, and it has become an important showcase for talented emerging writers. Series editor Lori Ostlund is looking for short story collections, which may include novellas and long stories, and the competition is open to all authors writing in English who reside in North America. The winner receives a cash award of $1,000 as well as a standard book publishing contract with the University of Georgia Press. More information here.
Entry Fee: $30 Deadline: May 31
Guy Owen Prize
Southern Poetry Review is looking for the perfect poem, and it could be yours! They’re accepting three to five poems in every submission, and the winning poem will receive $1,000 and publication. Enter here!
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: May 31
The Peseroff Prize Poetry Contest
Breakwater, operating from the University of Massachusetts, is searching for something new in poetry, and thus this contest specifically has no restrictions in content or form. Clearly this is a call to all poets who think that their work can make the cut! Judged by the three-time Boston Music Award winner Amanda Shea, the winner receives $1,000 and publication in Breakwater’s fall issue. Submit here.
Entry Fee: $10 Deadline: May 31
by Kimberly Guerin