Winter 2026 ~~ Contests, Markets, and Publishing Ideas

Is your writing out in the world? Ready to try submitting this month? 

Is your website or blog looking for contributors? Please let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll share it here. 

A few opportunities listed on the Author’s Guild website. 

Fiction Contests

Cai Emmons Fiction Award
Eligibility: All writers
Prize: $5,000 + publication
Entry fee: $25
Deadline: January 15, 2026

Nonfiction Contests

Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers
Eligibility: Emerging, mid-career or established writers are all welcome to apply
Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $15
Deadline: January 15, 2026

Fund for Investigative Journalism Grant
Eligibility: Journalists with a letter of commitment from a publication for a specific story
Prize: up to $10,000
Deadline: January 26, 2026

Poetry Contests

Colorado Prize for Poetry
Eligibility: All poets
Prize: $2,500 + publication
Entry Fee: $28 online; $25 by mail
Deadline: January 14, 2026

Multi-Genre Contests

Mississippi Review Prize
Eligibility: All writers except current of former students or employees of the University of Southern Mississippi
Prize: $1,000 + publication
Entry Fee: $16 online
Deadline: January 1, 2026

Iowa Review Awards
Eligibility: All writers and poets
Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Deadline: January 31, 2026 (must be submitted during the month of January)

Culled from the New Pages:

The Meadow Seeking Work for Summer 2026

Deadline: January 15, 2026

The Meadow is the literary arts journal of Truckee Meadows Community College.

Ritual, Healing, and World-Making

Deadline: January 15, 2026