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DIRECTORY

Best Poetry Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 153 contests that match your search.

Genres: Poetry

The New Writers Poetry Competition 2023 is open to published and unpublished poets from around the world. There is no specific theme but poems should be no longer than 40 lines. NewWriters.org.uk will donate £1.00 from each entry to First Story (a creative writing charity in the UK).

Top Prize:

£1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: £300 | 3rd: £200

💰 Entry fee: $13

📅 Deadline: July 12, 2023 (Expired)

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

Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Publication in digital and print

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Poetry

HFR will accept contest submissions in poetry and fiction between Feb 1-29, 2024. This year’s poetry judge is Diana Khoi Nguyen, author of Ghost Of and Root Fractures. This year’s fiction judge is Venita Blackburn, author of How to Wrestle a Girl and Dead in Long Beach, California. There will be two prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review (online in summer 2024 and in the fall/winter 2024 print issue) for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each category will receive $250 and publication. All entries are considered for publication.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

Runners-up: $250

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

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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

International Welsh Poetry Competition 2024

International Welsh Poetry Competition

Genres: Poetry

The first Welsh Poetry Competition was set up by poet & writer Dave Lewis in 2007. Officially launched on St David’s Day at Clwb-Y-Bont, Pontypridd, 2007 the aim is to encourage and foster the wealth of creative writing talent that we know exists in Wales but currently languishes in the doldrums. The aim is to inspire people to capture life in the present day and to give a voice to a new generation of poets and writers. We are not interested in purely academic types of literature but would much rather see pure raw passion burst onto the creative writing scene in Wales.

Top Prize:

£500

Additional prizes:

2nd: £250 | 3rd: £100 | 17 runners-up: commended entries and future publication in anthology

💰 Entry fee: $7

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

Genres: Poetry

“Poetry lays the foundations for a future of change," wrote Audre Lorde. This month, sow your own seeds of change into stanzas, meter, or free verse, or else write and perform an original piece of spoken word (poetry performed aloud). We’ll award two top prizes—one for a written poem, and one for a recorded performance.

Top Prize:

Best entry: $100

Additional prizes:

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50

📅 Deadline: May 27, 2024

Faith Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Poetry

The theme for this poetry contest is "faith". We are looking for poems that in some way pertain to this theme. It doesn't matter if it's spiritual, political, intellectual or emotional as long as faith is clearly represented.

Top Prize:

$100

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: August 19, 2024

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)

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

The Letter Review Prize for Books is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Seeking most unpublished (we accept some self/indie published) novels, novellas, story collections, nonfiction, poetry etc. 20 entries are longlisted.

Top Prize:

$1000 USD shared by 3 winners

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)

Nimrod Literary Awards

Nimrold International Journal of Prose and Poetry

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Novel

All finalists in fiction and poetry will be published and paid at our standard publication rate. Semi-finalists in poetry will also be published and paid at our standard publication rate.

Top Prize:

$2000 + Publication

Additional prizes:

2nd: $1000 + Publication

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)

Minute Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc

Genres: Poetry

Share a minute poem to enter this poetry contest. It's a fun poem to write. It has three stanzas. Each stanza has the same 8-4-4-4 syllable count. So the first line has eight syllables. All other lines in the stanza have four. Cash prize to the winner!

Top Prize:

$100

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: April 13, 2024 (Expired)

Solar Flare

Sunspot Literary Journal

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

Sunspot Lit is looking for one work, including a novel or novella excerpt, that provides a flare of creative energy. Literary or genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope. Learn more: https://sunspotlit.com/contests

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024

Genres: Poetry

The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for a single unpublished poem. The prize is open to anyone, as long as the poem is previously unpublished, and each year it attracts thousands of entries from new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.

Top Prize:

€6,000

Additional prizes:

3x runners up: €1,000 | 8x further prizes of €250 | Publication online in Irish Times

💰 Entry fee: $16

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The 2024 Emerging Writer's Contest will run from March 1 at noon EST to May 15 at noon EST. The Emerging Writer's Contest is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book. Read past winners of the contest here. We award publication, $2,000, review from Aevitas Creative Management, and a 1-year subscription for one winner in each of the three genres. =

Top Prize:

$2,000

Additional prizes:

Review from Aevitas Creative Management

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

Every Tuesday at 12pm (Irish time) from 9th April 2024 – 28th January 2025, five words will be posted on this competition page. Entrants will have one week to compose and submit one or more poems which include all five words given for that week. The winners & shortlist are announced around the first week of March.

Top Prize:

$750

Additional prizes:

Publication in Five Words Vol XVIII

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: January 28, 2025

Best Indie Book Award

Best Indie Book Award

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

The annual Best Indie Book Award® (or BIBA®) is an international literary awards contest recognizing self-published and independently published authors from all over the world. Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.

Top Prize:

Trophy

💰 Entry fee: $65

📅 Deadline: August 15, 2024

Genres: Poetry

The Trio Award for First or Second Book includes $1,000, publication, and twenty books. The Trio Award for First or Second Book is only open to poets with less than two books published.

Top Prize:

$1,000

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

One Line Poem Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Poetry

Share a one line poem to enter this poetry contest. Cash prize to the winner. How creative can you get with one line to work with.

Top Prize:

$100

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: August 24, 2024

"I Matter" Contest

National Youth Foundation

Genres: Poetry

Submit a poem or art on the topic of why Black lives matter. This contest is open to students from grades K-12.

Top Prize:

$500

📅 Deadline: July 23, 2024

Genres: Poetry

The 42 Miles Press Poetry Award was created in an effort to bring urgent and original voices to the poetry reading public. The prize is offered annually to any poet writing in English, including poets who have never published a full-length book as well as poets who have published several. New and Selected collections of poems are also welcome.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024

Writer's Games

The Writer's Workout

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

The Writer's Games is a free competition with six surprise challenges over six weeks, designed to help each individual writer improve his or her craft fast. ​FREE registration is required in advance (opens May 1, 2024). Every entry from a registered participant receives honest, unbiased feedback from multiple judges. There's no elimination; push yourself to try each challenge and see what you alone can do in 72 hours each week. The top five winners each week are published in a competition anthology (that's 25 chances, plus the Judges' Choice!).

Top Prize:

Publication in anthology, 72 Hours (26+ spaces)

📅 Deadline: July 22, 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)

North Street Book Prize

Winning Writers

Genres: Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Children's, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Submit a self-published or hybrid-published book, up to 200,000 words in length. One grand prize winner will receive $10,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, three months of Plus service (a $207 value) and a $500 account credit from Book Award Pro, and 3 free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $525 value)

Top Prize:

$10,000

Additional prizes:

$1,000 for top winner in each category | $300 for honorable mentions

💰 Entry fee: $75

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

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: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller

Our contest provides a First, Second, and Third prize for both prose and poetry. There are no themes or special requirements so just send us your best work. We recommend you read through previous editions or listen to the works and author interviews on our Story Discovery Podcast to get a sense of the range of creativity we enjoy.

Top Prize:

$500 + publication and author interview on Story Discovery podcast

Additional prizes:

2nd: $150 | 3rd: $75

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: May 05, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Young Adult

We aim to assist writers in the completion of an important literary project and vision. The Unleash WIP Award offers writers support in the amount of $500 to supplement costs to aid in the completion of a book-length work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Writers will also receive editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Coaching, interview, and editorial support

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: July 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

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 (Expired)

The Peseroff Prize

Breakwater Review

Genres: Poetry

Submit up to three poems and a $10 entry fee. There are no restrictions on content or form: it 's all poetry. Poems should be previously unpublished. The winner and finalists will be published in Breakwater Review.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication in spring issue

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: May 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)

Miller Williams Poetry Prize

University of Arkansas Press

Genres: Poetry

Every year, the University of Arkansas Press accepts submissions for the Miller Williams Poetry Series and from the books selected awards the $5,000 Miller Williams Poetry Prize in the following summer. For almost a quarter century the press has made this series the cornerstone of its work as a publisher of some of the country’s best new poetry. The series and prize are named for and operated to honor the cofounder and longtime director of the press, Miller Williams.

Top Prize:

$5,000

Additional prizes:

Publication through the University of Arkansas Press

💰 Entry fee: $28

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2024

The Pinch Literary Awards & Page Prize

The Pinch Literary Journal

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

The 2023 Pinch Literary Awards accepts poetry and fiction. The 2023 Page Prize accepts non-fiction.

Top Prize:

$2000 for poetry & fiction winners

Additional prizes:

$1000 for Page Prize winner

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

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: 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

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

Related Resources:

 

Prompts | Prompts Sans Serif | 2024-03

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