Poetry Contests & Writing Contests

An array of literary prizes recognizes excellence among American authors of fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry, honors the art of literary translation, and highlights the distinctive contributions of literary editors and publishers.

For lifetime achievement:

The PEN/Nabokov Award - Honors a living author whose body of work, published in the United States, either written in or translated into English, represents achievement in a variety of literary genres, and is of enduring originality and consummate craftsmanship ($20,000 biennially in even-numbered years). By internal nomination only.

The PEN/Nabokov Award will be judged by a panel of PEN members and will be administered by internal nomination only (with a deadline of Early January). The panelists will not accept applications and will consider only authors who have published a book in the United States within the past two years.

See also the: Beyond Margins Award

PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowships for Writers - honor exceptionally talented fiction writers whose debut novel or short story collection represents literary achievement and suggests great promise (three fellowships, $35,000 each, biennially, in even-numbered years).

Nominations are welcome by Early January in even-numbered years, from writers, editors, literary agents, and members of the literary community. Describe the literary character of the candidate's work, and the degree of promise evident in his or her first book of literary fiction. Send three copies of the candidate's book with nomination. To be eligible, candidate's first (and only the first) novel or first collection of short fiction must have been published by a U. S. trade publisher during the two years preceding nomination. Candidates must be U. S. residents; American citizenship not required. There are no restrictions on the candidate's age or on the style of his or her work.

Winners must undertake and complete a project of public literary service that brings authors and their works to settings outside the literary mainstream, such as schools, adult educational programs, and literacy centers that serve low-income communities. These projects will be conducted under the auspices of PEN.

The The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for First Fiction is now administered by PEN New England, a branch of PEN American Center. PEN New England Awards
Each calendar year, PEN New England presents two awards to writers whose work has made an outstanding contribution to fiction, non-fiction or poetry in the previous year.

The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, established in 1976 by the late Mary Hemingway in honor of her husband Ernest Hemingway, includes an $8,000 cash prize for a novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a book of fiction.

PEN New England is now accepting submissions for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for books published in 2005.

Two finalists and two runners-up will also be named; each of these authors will be awarded a residency at UCross Foundation in Wyoming.

The L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award, which was established by The Boston Globein 1975, includes one $1,000 cash prize each for an outstanding work of fiction, non-fiction and poetry with a primarily New England setting and/or by an author principally residing in New England.

To qualify, a book must be a first edition work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, published in 2005, with a New England topic or setting, and/or by an author whose principal residence is in New England.

Deadline; early December Postmark (Early submissions are encouraged. Galleys are acceptable.)

To submit books for the award, mail two copies to the following address along with the enclosed application form (Adobe Acrobat PDF).

The PEN/Faulkner Award is a national prize which honors the best published works of fiction by American citizens in a calendar year. Three judges are chosen annually by the Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to select five books from among the 200 to 300 works submitted.

The winning writer receives $15,000 at the award ceremony held at the Folger Shakespeare Library in May; four other nominees receive $5,000 each. The judges generally make their decision about the five finalists in early to mid-March, at which time the names are announced. The "First among Equals" is announced to the press mid-April. These dates vary each year according to the schedule of judging. All five read from their work for approximately five minutes each at the award ceremony.

Anyone may submit a book for consideration. This includes publishers (trade, university, or small presses, but not vanity presses), agents, and authors.

The rules are simple:

The author must be an American citizen.

The book must be published in the calendar year immediately preceding the year of the award ceremony.

PEN/Faulkner does not accept self-published books or e-books.

You must send four copies of each book, to the PEN/Faulkner office by October 31. You may send four bound galleys for books which will be published in November and December.

There are no submission fees or application forms.

Syndicated Fiction Project (now known as The Sound of Writing) are not administered by PEN American Center. For information on this program, write to:

For the art of literary translation:

The PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize - For a distinguished book-length translation, from any language into English, published in the current calendar year. ($3,000, annually)

There is no application form. Three copies of booklength literary translations published during the calendar year under consideration may submitted by publishers, agents, or the translators themselves. DEADLINE: December 16, 2003.

The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation - For a distinguished book-length translation of poetry, from any language into English, published in the current calendar year. ($3,000, annually)

There is no application form. Two copies of booklength translations of poetry published during the calendar year under consideration may be submitted by publishers, agents, or the translators themselves.

The PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation - Given every three years to a translator whose career has demonstrated a commitment to excellence through the body of his or her work. - By Internal Nomination Only

The Gregory Kolovakos Award - For an American literary translator, editor, or critic whose work is distinguished by a strong commitment to Hispanic literature and to expanding its English-language audience ($2,000, triennially; next award 2004).

Writers, critics, or translators whose work has aided the cause of Latin American and Iberian literatures in English, may be nominated for the award. Candidates may not nominate themselves. A letter of nomination must be received from the candidate's editor or colleague, accompanied by a copy of the candidate's vita. As the award is intended to recognize a sustained contribution over time to Latin American literatures in English translation, nominating letters should not focus exclusively on a single work published by the candidate, but should persuasively document the candidate's qualifications with particular attention given to the depth and vision of his or her work. No additional materials are required.

Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation

By Internal Nomination Only. The PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation is given every three years to a translator whose career has demonstrated a commitment to excellence through the body of his or her work. The award was initiated by funds donated by the late Bernard Malamud and by Gay Talese, and has received additional support from the family and friends of Ralph Manheim.

The medals will be awarded in 2006, 2009, 2012 . . .

Translation Fund Grants

Translation Fund Grant proposals are judged by a jury of prominent translators, writers, and editors on the basis of two evenly weighted criteria: 1) the quality of the original work, 2) the quality of the translation. In cases of equal merit, priority will be given to underrepresented languages and authors and to works previously untranslated. The amount of the award will vary from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the nature and length of the project and the number of proposals deemed worthy of support during a given year.

In addition to providing financial support for translations, the PEN Translation Fund will seek to promote the projects it selects by pairing them with writers of established reputation, each of whom will write an introduction to the work and help to publicize it. The Fund will also encourage booksellers to make special ongoing promotions for the books it has supported.

Who Is Elegible
The PEN Translation Fund provides grants to support the translation of book-length works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or drama that have not previously appeared in English or have appeared only in an egregiously flawed translation. Anthologies with multiple translators, works of literary criticism, and scholarly or technical texts do not qualify. The Fund seeks to encourage translators to undertake projects they might not otherwise have had the means to attempt.

How to Submit
Click here to download an application (MS Word document).

Deadline: January

For creative nonfiction:

The PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction - For a first-published book of general nonfiction by an American writer, characterized by literary excellence, published in the current calendar year. ($1,000, annually)

There is no application form. Send three copies of each eligible book. Eligible books must have been published in the current calendar year. Authors must be American citizens or permanent residents. Books should be adult nonfiction of a literary character, intended for general or academic readers. Eligible submissions may include biography, belles lettres, criticism, reportage, social analysis, etc., but may not be memoirs, which should be submitted for PEN's companion award, the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir. (The two PEN/Martha Albrand Awards are judged by separate panels of writers of nonfiction.)

There is no application form. Send three copies of each eligible book. Eligible books must have been published in the current calendar year. Authors must be American citizens or permanent residents; they can have published books in any other literary genre, but the work submitted for this prize must be their first memoir to be published.

The PEN/Jerard Fund Award - For a woman writer early in her career, at work on a book of general nonfiction marked by high literary quality. ($5,500, in odd-numbered years)

The minimum requirement for applicants is the publication of at least one magazine article in a national publication or in a major literary magazine. Applicants must not have published more than one book of any kind. Each applicant should submit two copies of no more than 50 pages of her English-language booklength work in progress accompanied by a list of her publications. Although there are no restrictions on the content of the work, the emphasis is on the quality of writing rather than the subject. The award is not intended to focus exclusively on women's studies or personal memoirs; all serious literary subjects are welcome. However, manuscripts such as how-to manuals, inspirational tracts, cookery, craft, or fashion guides, or celebrity biographies will not be considered. Applicants must be residents of the United States. There is no restriction on the age of the applicant. Manuscripts will be judged by a panel of five American writers of nonfiction, at least three of whom are women. Manuscripts will be returned only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of a suitable size.

Beyond Margins Award

Open to submissions from publishers and agents only.

The PEN/Beyond Margins Awards invites submissions of book-length writings by authors of color, published in the United States during the current calendar year. The Beyond Margins Awards were created by PEN American Center's Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities. The awards confer five $1,000 prizes upon African, Arab, Asian, Caribbean, Latino, and Native American authors who have not received wide media coverage. U.S. residency or citizenship is not required. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir and other works of literary character are strongly preferred.

How to Apply:
Publishers and agents may submit five copies of book-length writings by an author of color published during the calendar year under consideration, with an official letter of recommendation. Self-published books are not eligible.

Deadline: December.

See also the: Beyond Margins Award

The PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry - For an American poet whose distinguished and growing body of work to date represents a notable and accomplished presence in American literature, for whom the promise seen in earlier work has been fulfilled, and who has matured with each successive volume. ($5,000, in even-numbered years) - By Internal Nomination By Members of PEN

Candidates can be nominated for the PEN/Voelcker Award only by members of PEN. All letters of nomination (one to two pages is expected) should describe the scope and literary caliber of the candidate's work, and summarize the candidate's publications. Most importantly, nominations should articulate the degree of accomplishment the nominated poet has attained, and the esteem in which the candidate's work is held within the American literary community. It is understood that all nominations made for the PEN/Voelcker Award supplement internal nominations made by the panel of judges.

Candidates may be nominated for the PEN/Osterweil Award only by members of PEN. All letters of nomination (one to two pages is expected) should describe the literary character of the candidate's work, and summarize the candidate's publications to date. Most importantly, nominations should articulate the degree of promise which the nominated poet's work indicates. All nominations made for the PEN/Osterweil Award supplement internal nominations made by the panel of judges.

For drama:

The PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Awards for Drama - Two playwrights are recognized annually: a medal is presented to a master American dramatist, in recognition of his or her body of work (chosen by internal nomination); and a stipend of $5,000 is awarded to an American playwright in mid-career (for which nominations are accepted), whose literary achievements are vividly apparent in the rich and striking language of his or her work.

Playwrights may not apply on their own behalf. They must be nominated by their peers-producers, agents, critics, or other playwrights-who are expected to write a letter of support, describing in some detail the literary character of the candidate's work, accompanied by a list of the candidate's produced work. Do not send scripts; if the panel requires supporting materials, they will be requested.

A candidate is a writer of children or young adult fiction in financial need, who has published at least two books, and no more than five, during the past ten years, which may have been well reviewed and warmly received by literary critics, but which have not generated sufficient income to support the author.

Writers must be nominated by an editor or a fellow writer. It is strongly recommended that the nominator write a letter of support, describing in some detail how the candidate meets the criteria for the Fellowship. Since, in most cases, candidates will be aware that they are being nominated, the nominator should provide the following: a list of the candidate's published work (preferably accompanied by copies of reviews, where possible) and a description of the candidate's financial resources, such as a summary of recent earnings, or some articulation of why monetary support is particularly needed at this time (the need for child care, research expenses, etc.). Three copies of no more than 100 pages of current work, intended as part of a new book, must be submitted, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope of a suitable size if the candidate wishes return of manuscripts. The award is judged by a panel of three members of PEN who are authors of children's or young adult fiction.

For editing and publishing:

The PEN/Nora Magid Award - Honors a magazine editor whose high literary standards and taste have, throughout his or her career, leant distinction to the publication he or she edits. ($2,500, in odd-numbered years) - By Internal Nomination By Members of PEN

Candidates for the award must be nominated either by a writer who has written extensively for the candidate's periodical or by a member of the literary community whose admiration of the candidate's work prompts him or her to articulate, in some detail, the ways in which the editor has made a personal mark upon the literary quality of the publication. Especially welcome candidates are editors of magazines, journals, and reviews published by small or regional presses, or magazines whose subjects are aimed at a specialized, but literate, readership.

Honorees have included Askold Melnyczuk (Agni), Herbert Liebowitz (Parnassus), Wendy Lesser (Threepenny Review), Stanley W. Lindberg (Georgia Review), and Peter Stitt (Gettysburg Review).

The panel of judges, selected by the PEN Awards Committee, encourages nominations from all PEN members to supplement nominations from the judges themselves.

The PEN Publisher Award - A non-cash award, conferred occasionally by the PEN Board of Trustees to a publisher whose career has demonstrated continuous and distinctive service to literature and writers. - By Internal Nomination Only

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