Some competitions of interest for 2020/2021
I University of Iowa Press
The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award Competition is open to any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction. Previously entered manuscripts that have been revised may be resubmitted. Writers are still eligible if they have self-published a work in a small print run. Award-winning manuscripts will be published by the University of Iowa Press under the Press's standard contract. Deadline 9/30/20; 2021 TBD.
II Virginia Commonwealth University
The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is for an outstanding debut novel published in the preceding calendar year. Self-published novels are not eligible, nor any novel published (via a hybrid press or otherwise) using an author's financial investment or fundraising efforts. The USA must be the country of first publication for the submission. For submissions for 2021, the postmark deadline is December 30, 2020.
III Minotaurbooks
The Hillerman Mystery Contest is open only to writers who are 18 years of age or older and are legal residents of one of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or Canada (excluding Quebec). Each potential entrant must not be the author of a published mystery novel. The 2021 competition has not been announced yet.
IV The New York Public Library
Young Lions Fiction Award ($10,000 prize) is awarded each spring to a writer age 35 or younger for a novel or a collection of short stories. Each year, five young fiction writers are selected as finalists.
V Science Fiction and Fantasy competition
L. Ron Hubbard SF and Fantasy Contest. This is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field. There is no entry fee. Prizes of $1000, $750 and $500 are awarded quarterly every year.
VI Academy of American Poets
The Walt Whitman Award is a $5,000 first-book publication prize. The award was established in 1975 to encourage the work of emerging poets and to enable the publication of their first book. The winning manuscript is published by Graywolf Press. Submissions are accepted from September 15, 2020, to November 15, 2020. The entry fee is quite pricey: $35.
VII Ernest J. Gaines Award
The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, now on its 14th year, honors Louisiana’s storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines. It serves to inspire and recognize emerging African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. There is an annual award of a $15,000 cash prize to support the writer and help her/him to focus on her/his art of writing. The deadline for 2020 is over, so look out for the 2021.
VIII The Omega Sci-Fi Awards
The Roswell Award competition offers cash prizes for science fiction writing on any theme. In addition, special prizes will be awarded for feminist-themed sci-fi. Stories must be original, 1,500 words or less, not published or posted, and not fan fiction. Deadline on December 15, 2020.