Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest  
   San Jose State University sponsors this yearly challenge "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels". No entry fee. Official deadline: April 15.
   http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

Southeastern Writers Association Contests  
   These contests and awards are restricted to writers attending the annual week-long Southeastern Writers Conference, held in June at St. Simons Island, Georgia. .
   http://www.southeasternwriters.com/contests.htm

Tundra Memorial Poetry and Short Fiction Contest  
   Offers a contest for short stories (500 to 2,000 words) and rhyming poetry (up to 100 lines), inspired by and using similar themes to the works of Emily Chesley. Prize: $100 (US). Entry fee: $5. Deadline: mid-October.
   http://emilychesley.com/contest/

Annual APEX Awards for Publication Excellence  
   An annual competition for writers, editors, publications staff, and both business and non-profit communicators.
   http://www.apexawards.com

Page One Contests  
   A writing contest, in which readers are urged to write 100 words on a given theme, in order to win a copy of a current book.
   http://www.pageonelit.com/contests.html

Park Publications U.K.  
   Publishers of the magazines, "Scribble" and "Countryside Tales", holding quarterly competitions for original, unpublished short stories and poems, some open, some limited to specific themes.
   http://www.parkpublications.co.uk

Pronghorn Press Publishing  
   Promotes annual prose (up to 5,000 words) and poetry (no more than 60 lines) contests relating to contemporary life in three specific regions, namely, the Rockies, the Desert Southwest, and the Northwest Coast.
   http://www.pronghornpress.org

Communicator Awards, The  
   Annual competitions honoring excellence in all areas of communication, with separate categories for print (177 sub-categories), video (216 sub-categories) and audio (140 sub-categories).
   http://www.communicator-awards.com/

Associated Writing Programs Awards  
   Annual awards of $2,000 (plus publication) are offered for original, unpublished, book-length work in each of three categories: novels, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Reading fee: $20. Deadline: February 28. Open to U.S. residents only.
   http://www.awpwriter.org

Playwriting Contest  
   Annual contest seeks original, unproduced plays, open in theme, but suitable in both subject, and language, for family-oriented amateur groups. The winner receives a $1,000 royalty advance, and publication.
   http://www.pioneerdrama.com/stuff/contest.html

Milkweed Editions  
   Milkweed Editions is a non-profit publisher of literature for adults and young adults based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Milkweed National Fiction Prize is awarded annually for the best fiction manuscript submitted by an author not previously published
   http://www.milkweed.org

AwardWeb  
   Information on major literary awards throughout the USA and other countries, particularly focusing on (though not limited to) science fiction and fantasy.
   http://www.dpsinfo.com/awardweb/

Flyway  
   6th Annual Flyway Sweet Corn Prize. $150 and a book bag of Iowa sweet corn for top entries in each category: fiction, nonfiction (maximum: 4,000 words) and poetry. Reading fee: $18. Deadline March 1st.
   http://www.engl.iastate.edu/publications/flyway/homepage.html

Richard J. Margolis Award  
   A $4,000 prize, awarded annually to a promising non-fiction writer whose work combines "wisdom, humor, warmth, and concern, combined with social justice." Deadline: July 1.
   http://www.margolis.com/award/index.html

Boston Review Annual Short Story and Poetry Contests  
   Contests for original, unpublished short stories (up to 4,000 words) and poems (no more than 10 pages) in any genre. Closing dates: September 1, and June 1, respectively. Entry fees: $20, and $15, respectively.
   http://bostonreview.mit.edu/contests.html

The New Writer Magazine Annual Prose and Poetry Prizes  
   Offers prize money totalling 2,500 pounds for essays (maximum 2,000 words), short stories (maximum 4,000 words), serials or novellas (up to 20,000 words), and poetry (maximum 100 lines). Closes November 30. Modest entry fees.
   http://www.thenewwriter.com

Arizona Authors Association Awards  
   AAA requires entries for unpublished poetry, short stories, essays/articles, and novels. Cash prizes of $100 in each category, plus publication, are offered. Deadline: July 1, annually. Entry fees vary from $10 (poetry) to $30 (novels).
   http://azauthors.com

Sarabande Books - Poetry & Short Fiction Contests  
   Open to U.S. citizens only, Sarabande offers an annual $2,000 prize for both poetry (minimum 48 pages) and short fiction (minimum 150 pages).
   http://www.sarabandebooks.org

ByLine Magazine Contests  
   Writers magazine offers a large number of contests throughout the year, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Open to all. Modest cash prizes.
   http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp

River City Writing Awards in Fiction and Poetry  
   A journal based at the University of Memphis, offers annual cash awards for both original, unpublished short stories (maximum 7,500 words) and poetry (maximum 2 pages). Closes March 1. Entry fees: $12 and $5, respectively.
   http://www.people.memphis.edu/~rivercity/contests.html

William Saroyan International Prize for Writing  
   An annual prize of $12,500, this award is intended to encourage new writers who have recently published a work of fiction or memoirs.
   http://saroyanprize.stanford.edu

Santa Fe Writers Project  
   SFWP provides resources for authors and features online fiction as well as an annual writing contest for prose, both fiction and non-fiction, including short stories, essays and sample chapters of novels. $6,000 in cash prizes. Deadline: mid-January.
   http://www.sfwp.com/

Mid-List Press First Series Awards  
   Offers annual awards for novels, short fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Reading fee: $30. Deadlines vary. Open to unpublished writers only. The award includes publication and an advance against royalties.
   http://www.midlist.org/firstseriesguidelines.cfm

Word Smitten Annual Literary Fiction Contest  
   Offers a prize of $1,010 for the best on-line submission of literary (no genre) fiction totaling exactly 1,010 words. Reading fee: $15. Deadline: July 1.
   http://www.wordsmitten.com/fiction.html

The University of Michigan Press  
   Annual awards, worth $1,000 each and publication, for literary fiction in the form of both a novel and a short story collection. Entrants must have at least one publication credit in the realm of literature. No entry fee. Deadline: July 1.
   http://www.press.umich.edu/fiction

Painted Bride Fiction and Poetry Contests  
   Literary short stories (maximum 5,000 words) and poetry are sought in contests sponsored by Rutgers University. Reading fees: $10 and $5 respectively. Deadline: September 30. $1000 prize in each category, plus publication in PBQ.
   http://pbq.rutgers.edu

The Parable Award for Literary Christian Fiction  
   Seeks unpublished, original novels of Christian fiction, suitable either for children or adults. Deadline: December 1. Reading fee: $1. Cash prize: $100.
   http://parableaward.tripod.com

Peralta Press Writing Awards  
   Annual contest seeks poetry (maximum: 30 lines), short stories and non-fiction (both maximum: 2,000 words). Minimum entry fee: $10. Cash prizes total: $750. All entries considered for publication. Deadline: August 15.
   http://www.peraltapress.homestead.com

Paraclete Press Fiction Contest  
   Paraclete Press, a Christian multi-media company, seeks an original, unpublished novel. Minimum length: 40,000 words. Prize: $2,000 in advance royalties. Entry fee: $25. Deadline: February 1, 2004.
   http://www.paracletepress.com/fictionaward

We Love Writers Writing Contests  
   Conducts regular contests on-line for poetry, short stories and essays. No entry fees. Modest cash prizes. Deadlines: June 1 and December 1.
   http://www.betterkarma.com/welovewriters

National Writing Contest  
   Original, unpublished novels are sought in this annual contest. Manuscripts must be at least 90 pages in length.
   http://www.fountainheadpub.com/

Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Non-Fiction  
   Humorous stories and essays up to 750 words are required. Reading fee: $5. Deadline: December 1. Cash prizes total $850.
   http://www.brashcyber.com/mona.html

A Woman's Write  
   Writing contest for women seeks a story, memoir or book chapter on a given theme. Deadline; December 31, thence monthly. Entry fee: $7. First prize: $70.
   http://www.awomanswrite.com

Pomegranate Words Writing Contests  
   Offers free monthly contests for poetry and fiction. Open worldwide, but to teenagers only.
   http://www.pomegranatewords.com

Koret Young Writer on Jewish Themes Award  
   Provides a $25,000 award, plus a 3-month residency at Stanford University. Applicants must be 40 years of age or younger and have published no more than one book at the time of application. This award is for fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. Deadline: No
   http://www.koretfoundation.org/initiatives/young_writer.shtml

Writer Online  
   Offers short story and poetry contests with modest prizes.
   http://writeronline.us/main/index.htm

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)  
   Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
   http://www.nanowrimo.org/

SAY Writing Contests  
   Writing contests open to all types of entries including essays, short stories, and poetry. Maximum length: 700 words. Entries are published in a book and readers determine the winners.
   http://say.com.au/index.htm

Tickled by Thunder fiction magazine  
   Sponsors quarterly poetry contests (closing February 15, et seq) and an annual fiction contest (closing February 15). A $10 subscription to the quarterly magazine offers one free entry to both contests.
   http://www.tickledbythunder.com/TbT/Magazine/02_Contest_Info.html

Foster City International Writer's Contest  
   Seeks entries in four categories: short stories (limit: 3,000 words); poetry (limit: 2 pages); children's stories (limit: 2,000 words); humor or personal essay (2,000 words). Entry fee: $12. Total prize money: $1,500. Deadline: December 31.
   http://www.geocities.com/fostercity_writers

Blackberry Hill Creative Arts Awards  
   Seeking 3,500 word-limit short stories and 40 line-limit poems. Cash prizes total $750 and $300, respectively. Entry fees: $15 and $10. Deadlines: October 31, 2004
   http://www.blackberryhillcreativeartsawards.com

Writers Notes Book Awards  
   Annual awards are granted to qualifying small-press and self-published books in eleven categories. $100 cash prize in each category. Entry fee: $40 per book. Deadline: January 15, 2005.
   http://hopepubs.home.comcast.net/awards.html

International STC Technical Communications Competition  
   The Society for Technical Communication sponsors annual competitions to recognise achievements in the technical communications field.
   http://www.stc.org/internationalCompetitions.asp

Writers Notes Annual Writing Award  
   Annual writing awards for fiction and nonfiction by the free resource tool and Writers Notes Magazine
   http://hopepubs.home.comcast.net/wawards.html

Mount Arrowsmith Novel Writing Contest  
   Deadline: 15 May 2005. Length: 80 to 120 pages one side double spaced. Theme: open.
   http://www.graham123.com/arrowsmith.html