Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

DIRECTORY

Best Poetry Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 143 contests that match your search.

Michael Waters Poetry Prize

University of Southern Idaho

Genres: Poetry

A prize of $6,000 and publication by SIR Press is awarded annually for a collection of poetry written in English. All entries are considered for publication.

Top Prize:

$6,000

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)

Fish Poetry Prize

Fish Publishing

Genres: Poetry

The top ten poems of the annual Fish Poetry Contest will be published in Fish Anthology. First prize winner will receive €1000 and the second prize winner will receive a week in residence at Anam Cara Writers ' Reatreat. 3rd: €300

Top Prize:

€1000

Additional prizes:

2nd: writer's retreat | 3rd: €300

💰 Entry fee: $14

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Inception 2024: $500 for Best Opening

Sunspot Literary Journal

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

For Sunspot Lit’s Inception contest, send your best opening (novel, CNF, art collection, photo series, etc.). No restrictions on theme or category. Submit via Submittable or Duotrope.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Learn more about Reedsy Studio.

Genres: Poetry

Here 's how it works: our editorial staff chooses approximately fifty to sixty finalists. The highest scoring finalists (25 or so) are considered Special Merit poems. Special Merit poems go to the judge. The judge determines the top three prize winners. The entire editorial staff then selects the Honorable Mentions from the remaining Special Merits.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication by The Comstock Review

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2024

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

Literary or genre works accepted. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Closes: February 29. Entry fee: $12.50. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope

Top Prize:

$500 + publication

Additional prizes:

Runners-up and finalists are offered publication

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

Poetry.com offers monthly contests for poets worldwide to gain motivation, inspiration and exposure, while building passion and enjoyment for the written creative process! How are winners chosen? Our contest boasts a clever twist: poems remain anonymous whilst applicants vote on what they believe should be the winning entry.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Poem of the year: 1000 USD | 2nd place: 300 USD | 3rd place: 200 USD | Runner up personalized Poetry.com mug

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.

Top Prize:

$100 for photography, poetry, and essay winners

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers. $500 prizes will be awarded in both the fiction and poetry categories, and the winning manuscripts will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2024

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The 2024 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, the fifteenth edition of the prestigious prize, is open from 1 February to 1 July 2024. Exceptionally international in scope, the prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication in Wasafiri magazine.

Top Prize:

£1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

Bridport Poetry Prize

Bridport Arts Centre

Genres: Poetry

You don't have to be Tennyson. Just talented. All we ask is that you please keep poems to 42 lines, max. You can, of course, write less. In addition to the prize money, the top three poems are automatically entered into the Forward Prize For Poetry’s best single poem competition, with the chance to win a further £1000. This exclusive award is not open to the public. You can write about absolutely anything but whatever your rhyme or reason, we want to read your poetry.

Top Prize:

£5000

Additional prizes:

£1000 for 2nd, £500 for 3rd

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024

Goldilocks Zone

Sunspot Literary Journal

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

Sunspot Lit is looking for the perfect combination of craft and appeal in stories, CNF, novel or novella excerpts, artwork, graphic novels, poems, scripts/screenplays. Literary and genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024

NOWW 26th International Writing Contest

Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW)

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Open to all writers in four categories: poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and critical writing.

Top Prize:

$150

Additional prizes:

2nd: $100 | 3rd: $50

💰 Entry fee: $7

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, and Thriller

The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award is committed to discovering new writers, as well as superlative books by established authors and, upon discovery, sharing those writers and their works with new readers. There are a large number of both fiction and non-fiction categories you can enter.

Top Prize:

$250

💰 Entry fee: $79

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Storytrade Book Awards recognizes excellence in small and independent publishing. Open to all indie authors and publishers including self-published authors, university presses, and small or independent presses, our annual awards program spotlights outstanding books in a number of fiction and nonfiction categories.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Medal, Book Stickers, Digital Seal

💰 Entry fee: $75

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

Military Anthology: Partnerships, the Untold Story

Armed Services Arts Partnership

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Partners are an integral aspect of military life, at home and afar, during deployment and after homecoming. Partnerships drive military action and extend beyond being a battle buddy, wingman, or crew member. Some are planned while others arise entirely unexpectedly. Spouses, family, old or new friends, community, faith leaders, and medical specialists all support the military community. Despite their importance, the stories of these partnerships often go untold. This anthology aims to correct that: We will highlight the nuances, surprises, joy, sorrow, heroism, tears, healing power, and ache of partnerships. We invite you to submit the story about partnerships from your journey, so we can help tell it.

Top Prize:

$500 Editors' Choice award

Additional prizes:

$250 for each genre category (prose, poetry, visual art)

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

This is a UK based competition but we welcome international entries. Poets are invited to enter poems (maximum 40 lines excluding title) on any theme. Discounts are offered on multiple entries. Besides the cash prize, our judge, poet and author and mentor, Helen Cox, will offer feedback on five of the winner's poems plus an hour-long mentorship zoom call about their poetry.

Top Prize:

£100

Additional prizes:

Feedback on poems, a Zoom mentorship call, and publication

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

The Paul Cave Prize for Literature

Tim Saunders Publications

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Paul Cave Prize for Literature, established in 2023 by Tim Saunders Publications, is in memory of Paul Astley Cave-Browne-Cave (1917 to 2010), a hugely inspirational magazine and book publisher. What we are looking for All forms of poetry: haiku, free verse, sonnet, acrostic, villanelle, ballad, limerick, ode, elegy, flash fiction, short stories and novellas. Work must be new and unpublished. International submissions welcome.

Top Prize:

£100

Additional prizes:

Best Short Story: £50 | Best Flash Fiction: £25 | Best Poem: £25

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2024

The Plough Prize

The Plough Arts Centre

Genres: Poetry

Now in its twenty first year, the Plough Poetry Prize is an international open competition for poems in English up to 40 lines on any subject. We're delighted that this year's competition will be judged by Roger McGough.

Top Prize:

£1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: £500 | 3rd: £250

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

2025 Book Prize

Unleash Press

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, and Short Story

Details: $1,000 advance and standard contract from Unleash Press for one winning manuscript. Novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction manuscripts are accepted. We'll reopen for our 2025 competition in July.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication with Unleash Press

📅 Deadline: December 02, 2024

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

Minds Shine Bright is an arts business based in Melbourne Australia committed to supporting the arts and writers. We run two fiction writing competitions; Minds Shine Bright Confidence, a longitudinal look at the theme confidence in fiction and poetry, and Seasons a competition with a changing external theme. Light and Shadow is currently open.

Top Prize:

$500 AUD

Additional prizes:

2nd: $400 AUD | 3rd: $300 AUD | 4th: $200 AUD | Commended entries: $100 AUD

💰 Entry fee: $3

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

F(r)iction Contests

Brink Literacy Project

Genres: Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

For our contests, we seek writing that pushes boundaries and challenges us to think differently. We like work that features complex characters and strong narratives, and plays with genre, setting, voice, you name it. For Spring 2024, we have Wole Talabi judging Short Story, Sherrie Flick judging Flash Fiction, C. S. E. Cooney judging Poetry, and Marin Sardy judging Creative Nonfiction.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: November 03, 2024

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Indignor House Publishing is proud to announce that our annual writing competition (INDIGNOR PLAYHOUSE Short Story Annual Competition) is officially open with expected publication in the fall of 2024. Up to 25 submissions will be accepted for inclusion in the annual anthology.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

2nd: $250 | 3rd: $150

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Kinsman Poetry Slam

Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

Genres: Poetry

Poetry entries wanted for the upcoming collection, SLAM! Up to $300 in cash prizes. We are looking for captivating rhythm, form, hard-hitting themes of culture, resilience, passion, and justice. BIPOC Poets are encouraged to submit. Entries should have unpredictable patterns of rhyme and explore free verse and playfulness with language.

Top Prize:

$300

Additional prizes:

Publication in Kinsman Quarterly and the "SLAM" anthology.

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024

Dream Quest One Poetry

Dream Quest One

Genres: Poetry

Write a poem, 30 lines or fewer on any subject, style, or form, typed or neatly hand printed.

Top Prize:

$250

Additional prizes:

2nd: $125 | 3rd: $50

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2024

Genres: Poetry

The Montreal International Poetry Prize is committed to encouraging the creation of original works of poetry, to building international readership, and to exploring the world’s Englishes. The Montreal Prize awards one prize of $20,000 CAD to a poet for a single poem of 40 or fewer lines. A jury of internationally reputed poets and critics selects a shortlist of approximately 60 poems, from which a judge chooses one winner.

Top Prize:

$20,000

Additional prizes:

Shortlist published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: May 15, 2024

Genres: Poetry

Heroica is delighted to announce the launch of our new Poetry Prize. Heroica is a global storytelling platform dedicated to sharing stories about all aspects of gender oppression. Stories that are real, inspiring, challenging and relatable. Your story matters.

Top Prize:

£125

Additional prizes:

2nd: £50 | 3rd: £25 | Publication in anthology

💰 Entry fee: $2

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, LGBTQ, Non-fiction, and Poetry

So To Speak is seeking submissions for poetry, fiction, and non-fiction with an intersectional feminist lens! It is no secret that the literary canon and literary journals are largely comprised of heteronormative, patriarchal, cisgender, able-bodied white men. So to Speak seeks work by writers, poets, and artists who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $4

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series highlights a first full-length collection by emerging authors from each state in the southern U.S. This year's state is South Carolina. Open to any poet born in South Carolina, currently residing in South Carolina, or who has lived in South Carolina for five consecutive years at any point, who has not yet published a full-length collection of poetry. The author may have published chapbooks or books in other genres. Submissions accepted through Submittable only.

Top Prize:

Publication

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

Welcome to the 20th annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre. $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style.

Top Prize:

$3,000

Additional prizes:

$200 for 10 honorable mentions

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: October 01, 2024

Tanka Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Poetry

For this contest you are challenged to write a Tanka poem. Tanka is a form of poetry that often follows a specific syllable count. That count is 5-7-5-7-7. So your first line has five syllables, second has seven, third has five and the last two lines each have seven syllables. Cash prize!

Top Prize:

$100

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: June 18, 2024

3-6-9 Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Poetry

This poem has three stanzas. Each stanza has three lines that follows the 3-6-9 syllable count. The first line has 3 syllables, the second line has 6 syllables and the last line 9 syllables. The subject can be anything.

Top Prize:

$100

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: November 15, 2024

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Shuswap Association of Writers

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Essay, Memoir, and Short Story

Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (up to 2,000 words), nonfiction (up to 2,000 words), and poetry (up to three one-page poems).

Top Prize:

$200 CAD

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $11

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Rhyming Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Poetry

Write a poem of any type that has a rhyme scheme.

Top Prize:

$100

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: August 12, 2024

Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry

Beloit Poetry Journal

Genres: Poetry

We’re open to a wide range of forms and styles in contemporary poetry. We’re always watching for new poets, quickened language, and work that offers a fresh purchase on the political or social landscape.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

1500

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024

Narrative Prize

Narrative Magazine

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative. The submission system is open all year.

Top Prize:

$4,000

💰 Entry fee: $27

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024

Related Resources:

 

Prompts | Prompts Sans Serif | 2024-03

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

Reedsy Marketplace UI

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account: