Anatomy of Awards: January/February 2019

This issue’s Deadlines section lists a total of 86 contests sponsored by 41 organizations, which is down significantly from the January/February 2018 issue, in which the section listed a total of 120 contests sponsored by 81 organizations. There are several reasons for this decline: Some of the contests listed in that earlier issue are biennial; a number of contests moved their deadlines to the spring (look for the Atlanta

Review’s International Poetry Competition, Restless Books’ Prize for New Immigrant Writing, and Tusculum Review’s Chapbook Contest in the next issue); and other contests were canceled, including the one sponsored by the Salt Lake City nonprofit Writers at Work, which closed after thirty-four years because of “financial challenges.” This issue’s remaining contests offer an estimated $702,100 in prize money. The chart to the right further breaks down the numbers behind Grants & Awards.