Poetry Contests Available to Kelsay Books Poets with Submission Deadlines in February and March 2023
The de Groot Foundation
Cash Prize: $7,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 2/12/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Seven grants of $7,000 each will be given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with works-in-progress and “for whom a monetary boost...
Omnidawn Publishing
First/Second Poetry Book Contest
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/13/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Sawako Nakayasu will judge. Using only...
Furious Flower Poetry Center
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems. The winner also receives a $500...
New American Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by New American Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Jamaica Baldwin will judge. Writers of any citizenship...
Sarabande Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $29
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for collections of poetry and fiction. For the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, using only the...
Airlie Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Airlie Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
Arrowsmith Press
Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in English during the previous year by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States. Poets who are...
Center for African American Poetry and Poetics/Autumn House Press
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection or a work that intersects with poetry, including hybrid text,...
Hidden River Arts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/20/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Works translated into English are eligible, but the author must submit. The...
Sustainable Arts Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/24/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to 20 awards of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with children. Writers with at least one child under the age of 18...
Minds Shine Bright
Cash Prize: $1,031
Entry Fee: $3
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
A prize of $1,600 AUD (approximately $1,031) and publication in the Confidence Minds Shine Bright anthology will be given annually for works of poetry or fiction exploring the...
Tupelo Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 36 pages with a $25 entry fee by...
Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Self-Publishing Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book by an African American writer self-published in the United States during the previous year...
Austin Community College
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Two prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction published during the previous year. Authors or publishers may submit three copies of...
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Cash Prize: $5,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. In addition, two prizes of $2,500 each and...
Mississippi Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be offered in...
Kansas City Public Library
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
A prize of $10,000 is given in alternating years for a poetry collection or a novel by an author whose work “demonstrates a commitment to social justice in America and/or the...
Poets & Writers, Inc.
Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner will also receive a monthlong residency at the Jentel Artist...
Broadside Lotus Press
Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $500 and publication by Broadside Lotus Press is given annually for a poetry collection by an African American poet. Submit two copies of a manuscript of...
Alabama State Council on the Arts
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Approximately two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in the state of Alabama for at least...
University of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships
Cash Prize: $39,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
An academic year in residence, which includes a stipend of at least $39,000, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is given annually to at least five writers working on a...
Persea Books
Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/7/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet who has published at least one book of poetry. Using only the online...
TulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/8/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review is given annually for a single poem, a short story, or an essay “whose main characters embody the Wild Woman spirit...
National Endowment for the Arts
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/8/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Around 35 grants of $25,000 each are given annually in alternating years to poets and prose writers to “enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel,...
Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Juan Felipe Herrera will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each with a $10 entry fee by March...
Prairie Schooner
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by University of Nebraska Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. Kwame Dawes will judge. Submit a...