James Knudsen Prize for Fiction

Genre: Fiction
Entry Fee: $20 USD per story (includes the contest issue of Bayou Magazine)
Deadline: January 1, 2023
Prize: $1,000 and a one-year subscription to Bayou Magazine; all entries will be considered for publication
Description: James Knudsen served as Director of the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans from 2001-2003. A beloved teacher, friend, and colleague, Jim taught all levels of creative writing at UNO from 1977 until his death in 2004. Submissions must be original, previously unpublished work of fiction, no longer than 7500 words.
Details: https://bayoumagazine.org/writing-contests/fiction-contest-guidelines/

 

Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $20 USD per poem (includes the contest issue of Bayou Magazine)
Deadline: January 1, 2023
Prize: $1,000 and a one-year subscription to Bayou Magazine; all entries will be considered for publication
Description: Kay Murphy served for many years as Poetry Editor for Bayou Magazine. She was awarded the Louisiana Division of the Arts Individual Artist Grant in 2002 for her poetry and an International Alumnae Excellence in Teaching Award in 2001.
Details: https://bayoumagazine.org/writing-contests/

 

Room’s 2023 Cover Art Contest

Genre: Images
Entry Fee: $35 for Canadian entries plus $7 for each additional entry; $45 USD for entrants outside Canada plus $7 USD for each additional entry (includes a one-year subscription to Room)
Deadline: Extended to January 15, 2023
Prize: First prize of $500 and publication on the cover of Room 46.2; second prize of $150 and possibility of publication in Room 46.2; third prize of $100 and publication on Room’s website
Description: Open to women (cisgender or transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit, and nonbinary people. One cover art contest entry includes up to three images and corresponding artist statement(s). All winners will be published with an artist statement and have the option to submit additional artwork for the issue, which, if selected for publication, will be compensated for at the usual rates.
Details: https://roommagazine.com/contest/#ART

 

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

Genre: Poetry, Short Fiction
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: January 16, 2023
Prize: Grand prize of $10,000; two honourable mention prizes of $2,500 each; each finalist will win a mentorship opportunity and a trip to Toronto to attend the award ceremony
Description: This annual award is given to a writer below the age of 35 who has published poetry or prose in a literary magazine, journal, or anthology but has not yet been published in book form and is without a book contract.
Details: http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/RBC-Bronwen-Wallace-Award-for-Emerging-Writers.aspx

 

46th National Magazine Awards

Genre: 29 categories, 18 of which are Writing and Visual Awards
Entry Fee: Early bird rate for Visual & Writing Awards of $105 per entry and regular rate of $125 per entry; early bird rate for Editorial & Best Magazine Awards of $125 per entry and regular rate of $150 per entry
Deadline: January 20, 2023
Prize: First prize of $1,000 in each category
Description: The 46th annual National Magazine Awards competition is open to Canadian print and digital magazines and to Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents (landed immigrants) whose work has appeared in them during the 2022 calendar year. Freelancers submitting their own work may be eligible for the Freelancer Support Fund, which allows freelancers to submit their first two entries at the discounted rate of $50 per submission or 50% of the regular rate.
Details: http://magazine-awards.com/

 

The Nine Dots Prize

Genre: Prompted Short Story
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: January 23, 2023
Prize: $100,000 USD, editorial support and book publication by Cambridge University Press, and the opportunity to spend a term at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at Cambridge University
Description: The Nine Dots Prize is an international writing prize. It encourages innovative thinking to tackle contemporary societal issues. Judged anonymously, the prize is now seeking submissions for this year’s question: Why has the rule of law become so fragile? Entrants must respond with 3,000 words and an outline on how they would expand their response into a short book. The prize includes $100,000 USD and a book deal with Cambridge University Press.
Details: https://ninedotsprize.org

 

Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Genre: Short Fiction, Short Nonfiction, Poetry
Entry Fee: $15
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: First prize in each category of $200 and festival registration; second prize in each category of $125 and festival banquet; honourable mention in each category of $100 and festival banquet
Description: Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. All submission fees for the contest go toward supporting the nonprofit Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC.
Details: https://wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/saw/writing-contest/

 

Danuta Gleed Literary Award

Genre: Short Story Collection
Entry Fee: None, but all submissions must be made by publishers only
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: First prize of $10,000; two finalists will each receive $1,000
Description: The award was created as a celebration of the life of Danuta Gleed, a writer whose short fiction won several awards before her death in 1996, and is administered by The Writers’ Union of Canada. The prize is awarded annually to a Canadian writer for the best first collection of published short fiction in the English language. All entries must be Canadian-authored titles published in English between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Only first collections of short fiction are eligible.
Details: http://www.writersunion.ca/danuta-gleed-literary-award

 

River of Words International Art and Poetry Contest

Genre: Poetry (Ages 5 – 19)
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: Eight grand prize winners are chosen from the U.S. entries; 100 poems and artworks are selected as finalists each year; all winners receive ribbons, books, art supplies, and other prizes
Description: You may enter on your own, or through your school, or youth organization. Poems are accepted in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language (please submit on DVD). You may enter as many poems or pieces of art as you wish. All poems must be original work. Poems should not exceed 32 lines in length (written) or 3 minutes (signed). Entries received after the deadline will be automatically entered in next year’s contest. Winners will be announced in April of each year.
Details: https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/centers-institutes/center-environmental-literacy/river-of-words

 

The BookLife Prize Nonfiction Contest

Genre: Nonfiction
Entry Fee: $99 USD
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: Grand prize of $5,000 USD and an author profile in Publishers Weekly; one finalist from each respective submission category will receive $1,000 worth of BookBaby’s Facebook + Instagram for Authors service, a promotional “blurb”  from one of the guest judge’s for the Prize, and a mention in Publishers Weekly; all entrants receive a Critic’s Report (a brief critical assessment of their novel written by a Publishers Weekly reviewer)
Description: Unpublished or self-published novels in the English language. The BookLife Prize seeks to support independent authors and discover great written works in four nonfiction categories – Memoir/Autobiography, Self-Help, Inspirational/Spiritual, and Business/Personal Finance. Submissions must contain 40,000 to 100,000 words.
Details: https://booklife.com/about-us/the-booklife-prize.html

 

The Brucedale Press 24th Annual Acrostic Story Contest

Genre: Fiction
Entry Fee: $5 per story
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: First prize of 25% of the entry fees; second prize of 15% of the entry fees; third prize of 10% of the entry fees; authors of all published stories will receive a one-year subscription to The Leaf
Description: Writing a story in 26 sentences offers a challenge, especially when the sentences must begin with the letters of the alphabet in reverse order, opening with the phrase, “X-out the doubt!”. Very soon you’ll catch on. Understand that your story must keep the sentence openings in correct sequence. That means your last sentence will open with a Z word. Stay attentive to details.. Repeating or omitting any letters means disqualification. Quite often entrants send too few or too many sentences. Picking three wining stories and up to three for honourable mention, the judge will weed out any with racist, sexist, or ageist themes. Obscene language is also a no-no. Narrative form means including a beginning, middle, and end.
Details: https://www.brucedalepress.ca/project/twenty-fourth-annual-acrostic-story-contest/

 

The Darling Axe Clash of the Query Letters

Genre: Query Letter
Entry Fee: $5; optional feedback for $20
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: First prize of $700; second prize of $200; third prize of $100; all three finalists will be published on the Chopping Blog and receive complimentary access to a Darling Axe self-paced course
Description: A writing contest for querying authors. In the fiction world, a query letter alone is not enough to land representation. The manuscript’s first sentence, first paragraph, and first page are the crucial test. However, a query letter acts as a writer’s resume or c/v. It sets the tone, lays out the book’s market potential, and introduces the human behind the words and ideas. And of course, it also pitches the story itself. While an ideal query letter may not seal the deal, it will fill literary agents with eager excitement—a most helpful frame of mind for them to be in as they turn to your sample pages. Must be one page with a maximum of 500 words.
Details: https://darlingaxe.com/pages/query-letter-clash

 

The Masters Review Winter Short Story Award for New Writers

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $20 USD
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: First prize of $3,000; second prize of $300; third prize of $200; all prizes include online publication and agency review
Description: No style or genre preferences, however, this is a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Take chances and be bold! Previously unpublished stories under 6,000 words. Emerging writers only (self-published writers and writers with story collections and novels with a small circulation are welcome to submit, and writers with novels published with a circulation of fewer than 5,000 copies can also submit).
Details: https://mastersreview.com/calendar/

 

The PRISM International 2023 Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $35 for Canadian entries; $40 for US entries; $45 for international entries (includes a one-year subscription or extension to Prism Magazine); $5 for each additional entry
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: Grand prize of $1,500; runner-up prize of $600; second runner-up prize of $400
Description: Maximum word count of 4,000. Entries must be original, previously unpublished in print or online.
Details: https://prismmagazine.ca/2020/12/22/now-open-for-submissions-2021-jacob-zilber-prize-for-short-fiction/

 

The ReLit Awards

Genre: Novel Length Fiction, Short Fiction, Poetry
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Prize: Recognition
Description: Only Canadian authors are eligible. Books must have been written by Canadian authors while living in Canada. Books must have been published by an independent Canadian press. Books must be submitted by the publisher to be eligible (individuals can not submit their own book). Self-published books will not be eligible. Books must have been published between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Publishers may submit a maximum of 8 books per year.
Details: http://www.relitawards.com/

 

The Montreal International Poetry Prize

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $20 per first entry submitted by May 1, 2022; $25 per first entry submitted by May 15, 2022; $17 per each additional entry
Deadline: The next competition of the Montreal International Poetry Prize will open for entries in January 2024
Prize: $20,000
Description: 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. The shortlist is published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology. The prize is run by the Department of English at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Details: https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com/