It’s finally feeling like spring, and the world is full of green growing things. Now it’s your turn to create something new, and send it off to one of these amazing events!

FEATURED The Masters Review Flash Fiction Contest

Never before has each word in a submission been worth so much…You might be limited to 1000 words, but the winner will be rewarded with 3000 dollars! Second and third place receive $200 and $100, respectively, and all stories are considered for publication. We’re only looking for previously unpublished stories, but you’re allowed both simultaneous and multiple submissions. Don’t miss it!
Entry Fee: $20 for 2 stories Deadline: May 31

FEATURED Frontier Poetry Industry Prize

If ever there was a time to shine and polish your most magnificent poem, this is it! This prize allows submitters the chance to be read by astoundingly influential people; this year it’s Don Share, Nicole Sealey, and Matt Zapruder. They will collaborate to choose one winning poem, and that winner receives $3000 and publication (Second and third place receive $200 and $100 respectively). Check it out!
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: May 15

Creative Nonfiction Grants

The Whiting Foundation offers a helping hand to authors in the midst of completing a book-length work of nonfiction for a general, not academic, audience by awarding up to eight grants of $40,000. They welcome submissions such as works on history, biography, the sciences, philosophy, travel writing, and even personal essays, but these projects must be under contract to a publisher in the United States. Work must have been ongoing for two years, to ensure that the author can identify upcoming challenges, but any applicants who fulfill all the requirements already know that this is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don’t miss out!
Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: May 2

Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize

This amazing prize is available through Duke University, and it’s based on the collaboration between photographer Dorothea Lange and writer Paul Taylor. They’re looking for extended projects that rely on combining words and images, up to eighteen images and fifteen pages! Applications must include a project description, a statement, and a biography. The winner will receive $10,000, a feature story, and their work will be placed in the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University. More details here.
Entry Fee: $70 Deadline: May 15

Emerging Writer’s Contest

Ploughshares is now focusing on their commitment to promoting the work of up-and-coming writers, so there’s no better time to submit! This contest is meant to celebrate emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, awarding $2000 and publication to the winners of each category. Carmen Maria Machado is judging fiction, Roxane Gay is judging nonfiction, and Roger Reeves is judging poetry. Guidelines here.
Entry Fee: $24 Deadline: May 15

Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize

If you have a poem to share, Ruminate wants to read it! Judged by the impressive poet Ilya Kaminsky, the first-place prize is $1500 and publication. Each submission is only two poems, 40 lines or less, but there are no limits on the number of entries per person. Submit here.
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: May 15

The Loraine Williams Poetry Prize

Natasha Trethewey is judging this contest for The Georgia Review, and they are looking for a masterful poem! The final winner will receive $1000 and publication, but all submitted poems will be considered for publication (at $4 a line). Learn more here.
Entry Fee: $15 Deadline: May 15

Prophecy Creek Book Award in Speculative Fiction

If you write your fiction with a futuristic or supernatural bent, this is the contest you’ve been waiting for! Hidden River Press is looking for an original unpublished work of speculative fiction, and the winner will receive $1000 and publication. Make a note that submissions need to include a brief biography, outline, and full synopsis along with the full manuscript! More details here.
Entry Fee: $22 Deadline: May 15

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