24-Hour Short Story Contest from Writer’s Weekly. Sign up now to receive the writing prompt and word count shortly before the contest starts on July 11; write and submit your story within 24 hours. Prizes: $300, $250, $200 and publication on www.WritersWeekly.com. Entry fee $5. https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/
The WriterShort Story Contest. Prize $1,000 and publication. Any genre of fiction up to 2,000 words. Entry fee $25. Deadline June 2. https://www.writermag.com/contests
Cave Canem Prize for a second book by black poets of African descent. Prize $1,000, publication by Northwestern University Press, 15 copies, and a featured reading in NYC. No entry fee. Deadline June 12. https://cavecanempoets.org/prizes/cave-canem-northwestern-university-press-poetry-prize/
Sappho Poetry Prize for poets who identify as women or non-binary. Submit up to three poems. Prizes: first, $3,000; second, $300; third, $200. All winning entries will be published on Palette Poetry. Entry fee $20. Deadline June 14. www.palettepoetry.com/current-contest
Cathy Smith Bowers Chapbook Contest for 28–40 pages of poetry. Prize $1,000, publication, and 50 copies. Entry fee $15. Deadline June 15. www.mainstreetrag.com/contests/cathy-smith-bowers-chapbook/
Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction. Submit unpublished fiction up to 8,000 words. Prizes: first, $2,500, publication, and invitation to awards dinner; second, $750; third, $500. Entry fee $15. Deadline June 15. https://philadelphiastories.org/fiction-contest/
Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. Submit short story manuscripts of at least 98 pages that include at least three stories. Prize $2,000 and publication. Entry fee $27.50. Deadline June 15. http://willowspringsbooks.org/submit/
May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize for a book-length collection of previously unpublished poetry. Prize $1,000, publication, 100 copies, and distribution. Entry fee $30. Deadline June 30. http://www.bauhanpublishing.com/may-sarton-prize/
Drue Heinz Literature Prize for short story collections or novellas; manuscripts of 150 to 300 pages. Open to authors who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals. Prize: $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and support in nation-wide promotion. Entry fee $25. Deadline June 30. https://upittpress.org/prize/drue-heinz-literature-prize/
Explore the theme of “goodness” in poetry, story, memoir, or creative nonfiction for Wising Up anthologies. Prose up to 5,000 words; up to five poems. “Goodness is hard to define, but we know it when we see it. In action or inaction, that pause that isn’t uncertain, that is more like a deep, steady breath, an existential embrace.” Deadline Aug. 15. goodness@universaltable.org
Information about contests, markets, and grants is provided as a service to writers, and is not an endorsement of any particular contest or sponsoring organization. Always check contest websites for complete rules.