Literary Contests - Non-Fiction

Fred Kerner Book Award

The Fred Kerner Book Award is awarded annually to a Canadian Authors member who has the best overall book published in the previous calendar year, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Only current CAA members whose memberships are up to date are eligible for this award. ...

Toronto, ON   CA

Accenti Magazine Writing Contest

The topic is open. Any type of entry that meets the submission criteria below is eligible. Multiple entries welcome. • The contest is open to prose works. • Entries can be fiction, non-fiction or creative non-fiction. • Entries must be previously unpublished and not under consideratio...

Montreal, PQ   CA

Agatha Awards

The Agatha Awards honor the traditional, "cozy" mystery. That is to say, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. Agatha Awards are given for materials first published in the United States by a living author during the calendar year 2014 (January 1-December 31), either in hardc...

Gaithersburg, MD   US

Albert B. Corey Prize in Canadian-American Relations

The Albert B. Corey Prize, awarded for the first time in 1967, is sponsored jointly by the American Historical Association and the Canadian Historical Association. This biennial prize is awarded in even numbered years for the best book on Canadian-American relations or on the history of both countri...

Ottawa, ON   CA

Andrew Price-Smith Book Award

Andrew Price-Smith, one of the leading scholars of global health security and the David Packard Smith Professor of International Relations at Colorado College, died of cancer on July 11, 2019. His 2001 book, The Health of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on Nation...

Storrs, CT   US

Anthony Awards

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery w...

Stevensville, MD   US

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (1,200 to 1,500 words), nonfiction (1,200 to 1,500 words), a...

Salmon Arm, BC   CA

Atlantic Book Award for Scholarly Writing

The Atlantic Book Award for Scholarly Writing was established to recognize and promote literary achievement in the Social Sciences and Humanities fields - including, but not limited to, history, philosophy, religion, anthropology, regional studies, communication, cultural studies and linguistics - t...

Dartmouth, NS   CA

BC and Yukon Book Prizes

The BC Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers. The prizes are for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, regional, children’s and illustrated children’s literature.<p> The seven Prizes are presented annually at the Lieutenant Govern...

Vancouver, BC   CA

Blue Ridge Mountains CWC Directors Choice Awards

Past and present attendees of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference are eligible to submit their published work to this contest. ...

Ridgecrest, NC   US

BMO Winterset Award

The BMO Winterset Award celebrates and supports excellence in Newfoundland & Labrador writing. Writers must be either native-born Newfoundlanders or residents of the province. All published literary works are eligible: novels, poetry, non-fiction, collections of essays, works of drama, and books...

St John’s, NL   CA

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards

The Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards are a set of industry-recognition awards set up by a coalition of Irish booksellers in 2007. The awards are owned by Irish Book Awards Ltd, a not-for-profit company presided over by a board comprising representatives from founding members Eason & Son Ltd, A...

,   IE

British Book Awards

The British Book Awards, or Nibbies, is the definitive event for honouring the commercial successes of publishers, authors and bookshops. It succeeds 2016’s British Book Industry Awards.

There have been many notable winners over the years. Faber was the first publisher of the year in 1990 and in...

London,   UK

Byron Caldwell Smith Book Awards

These awards are given biennially to one individual in each of three categories, residing or employed in Kansas, who has authored an outstanding book published within the two calendar years preceding the application deadline. One $750 award for fiction, one $750 award for non-fiction, and one $750 a...

Lawrence, KS   US

CALIBA Golden Poppy Awards

The members of CALIBA present The Golden Poppy Book Awards to recognize the most distinguished books written by writers and artist who make California their home. The Golden Poppies are given for books published in the following categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Cooking & Food, Mystery, Romance,...

Campbell, CA   US

California Book Awards

The Commonwealth Club of California's California Book Awards is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary award programs in the US. It has various categories including Fiction, First Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young Adult and Juvenile. Since 1931, they have recognized California writers...

San Francisco, CA   US

Canada-Japan Literary Awards

The Canada-Japan Literary Awards recognize literary excellence by Canadian writers writing on the subject of Japan, or Japanese culture.<p>These awards are available every two years.<p>Awards will be given for literary excellence to Canadian authors of published, first-edition trade bo...

Ottawa, ON   CA

Canadian Science Writers’ Association Book Awards

Each year the Canadian Science Writers’ Association offers two book awards to honour outstanding contributions to science writing 1) intended for and available to children/middle grades ages 8-12 years, and 2) intended for and available to the general public for books that were published in Ca...

Toronto, ON   CA

CBC Literary Prizes Nonfiction Prize

Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada are eligible to enter. For any contestant who has not reached the age of majority in his/her province or country of residence, parental or guardian consent is necessary to enter the Contest. The Nonfiction Prize includes memoir, biography, hum...

Montreal, PQ   US

Christian Book Awards

The Christian Book Awards are among the most prestigious awards in the religious publishing industry, as well as the oldest. Formerly the Gold Medallion Book Awards, the Christian Book Awards have been awarded to Christian authors since 1978. Given out by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Associa...

Phoenix, AZ   US

Christian Indie Awards

Christian Indie Awards (formerly Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Awards) honors books produced by small publishers and independent authors each year for outstanding contribution to Christian life. Books are nominated by the publishers or authors and voting is open to Christian readers, re...

Pace, FL   US

Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize

The Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize is awarded to the best work submitted to the magazine’s annual contest for a genre that embraces, but is not limited to, the personal essay, memoir, narrative nonfiction, social commentary, travel writing, historical accounts, and biography, all enhanc...

Victoria, BC   CA

CWA Communications Contest

Each year, the Cat Writers’ Association selects the best entries in each category and awards them with Certificates of Excellence. The highest-scoring Certificate-winning entry in each category receives a Muse Medallion at our Annual Awards Ceremony. Special Awards focus on a specific topic and co...

Saint Louis, MO   US

Dartmouth Book Awards

The Dartmouth Book Awards honour Nova Scotia literature and recognize the valuable contribution writers make to our cultural heritage. Two prizes valued at $2,500.00 each are awarded in the categories of: fiction and non-fiction. A third $2,500.00 prize is awarded to the author from Atlantic Canada ...

Halifax, NS   CA

Dayton Literary Peace Prize

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize, inaugurated in 2006, is the first and only annual U.S. literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize invites nominations in adult fiction and nonfiction books published within the past year that have led re...

Dayton, OH   US

DWAA Annual Writing Competition

The Maxwell Medallion writing contest is open to all writers, editors, publishers, photographers, artists and others whose work falls into the designated competition categories, which include newspaper, blog postings and magazine columns or articles on canine health, training, rescue or other topics...

Westlake Village, CA   US

Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest

In the spirit of Edna’s contributions to the genre, we are interested in essays of any length, on any topic, in which the writer’s personal engagement with the topic provides the frame or through-line. There is no restriction on essay length or subject matter, but the author must be a Canadian c...

Waterloo, ON   CA

Evelyn Richardson Non-fiction Award

The Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award was established in 1977 to honour the work of non-fiction writers in Nova Scotia and is named for Evelyn Richardson. It awards one prize a year for a book of creative non-fiction that was written by a full-time resident of Nova Scotia and published or distribu...

Halifax, NS   CA

Florida Book Awards

The Florida Book Awards is an annual competition that exists for one purpose--to honor the best work written by Florida authors and about Florida culture in the previous year. Begun in 2006, the Florida Book Awards is the most comprehensive state book awards program in the United States, and the onl...

Tallahassee, FL   US

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards

You have a great book, you’re looking for some recognition, and you want a wider audience to fall in love with it. That’s where Foreword’s annual book awards program comes in. The IndieFab Awards recognize the best in indie book publishing, and has been doing so for fifteen years. Our prestigi...

Traverse City, MI   US

Global Ebook Awards

The Global Ebook Awards are more than an honor for the best ebooks published, they offer high-profile publicity for ebook authors, publishers and ebooks....

Santa Barbara, CA   US

Goody Business Book Awards

The Goody Business Book Awards are unique as they honour 100% social impact books in 50 different categories, covering 8 different book genres. A total of 100+ Award-Winning Authors are selected each year, and these awards provide more recognition options than other business book awards. Winning aut...

Santa Monica, CA   US

Gotham Book Prize

The Gotham Book Prize is awarded annually to the best book published that calendar year — either fiction or nonfiction — that either is about New York City or takes place in New York City....

New York, NY   US

Governor General’s Literary Awards

The Governor General’s Literary Awards are presented to English-language and French-language books in each of the following seven categories: Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Children’s Literature (text), Children’s Literature (illustrated books) and Translation (from...

Ottawa, ON   CA

Hamilton Literary Awards

The Hamilton Arts Council is calling for submissions by Hamilton-area authors for the 22nd Annual Hamilton Literary Awards to recognize works and authors that represent the best and brightest in Hamilton literature for the year 2014. Published books in three genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry...

Hamilton, ON   CA

Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism

The Bernstein Award recognizes works written by working journalists that raise awareness about current events or issues of global or national significance. Works of fiction, anthologies, biography, memoir, history, collections of columns, or articles are not eligible....

New York, NY   US

Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction

The prize is awarded for literary excellence in the category of nonfiction, which includes, among other forms, personal or journalistic essays, history, biography, memoirs, commentary, and criticism, both social and political. Finalist works will, in the opinion of the jury, demonstrate a distinctiv...

Toronto, ON   CA

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize

Established in 2007 at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law by alumnus Roy C. Palmer and his wife, Susan M. Palmer, the prize honors a work of scholarship that explores the tension between civil liberties and national security in contemporary American society. The $10,000 prize is designed to encourage a...

Chicago, IL   US

Independent Publisher Book Awards

Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles published each year.

The ...

Traverse City, MI   US

Kindle Book Awards

The Kindle Book Review’s Best Indie Book Awards is co-sponsored by book sites like Kindle Boards, Digital Book Today, World Literary Cafe, and Author Marketing Club. Any independent or small press author can submit books in the categories of Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Y/A, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Literar...

Kokomo, IN   US

Lambda Literary Awards

For over 30 years, the Lambda Literary Awards (or “Lammys”) have maintained a proud tradition of celebrating vibrant, dynamic LGBTQ storytelling. In 1989, the Lambda Literary Awards were created to garner national visibility for LGBTQ books, which had established a foothold through a nasce...

New York, NY   US

Letter Review Prize for Manuscripts

Three Winners are announced who have a brief extract published, receive a letter of recommendation from our Judges for publishers, and share in the $1000 USD total prize pool. Twenty writers are Longlisted. Please submit the first 5000 words of your manuscript, whether it be prose or poetry. O...

New York, NY   US

Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction

Three Winners are announced who are published and share in the $1000 USD total prize pool. Twenty writers are Longlisted. All entries considered for publication, and for submission to the Pushcart Prize and other anthologies. Open to anyone in the world. We welcome all forms of nonfiction incl...

New York, NY   US

LGBTQA Caucus Book Award

The LGBTQA Caucus awards a Book Prize for the best book published in the preceding two years. The prize recognizes books advancing research on the themes of LGBTQA politics, queer theory, and sexuality in global politics. The LGBTQA Book Prize prioritizes original thought and impact, while also taki...

Storrs, CTUS  

Lionel Gelber Prize

The Lionel Gelber Prize was founded in 1989 by Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber. The prize is a literary award for the world's best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues. A prize of $15,000 is awarded to the winner. The a...

Toronto, ON   CA

Lush Triumphant Literary Awards

Open to short fiction (3,000 words max), poetry (5 related poems, up to 15 pages), and creative non-fiction (max 4,000 words). Winning entries will receive $1,000 plus payment for publication. Runners up will be published in subsequent issues. Entry fee includes a 1 year subscription to subTerrain m...

Vancouver, BC   CA

Maine Literary Awards

The Maine Literary Awards are open to all current Maine residents, including seasonal residents. All nominations to the Book Awards, regardless of category, must have been published during the 2017 calendar year. The editors (or lead editor) of books entered in the Anthology category must be Maine r...

Portland, ME   US

NAIWE 1st Annual Book Awards 2023

Winning a respected book award helps an author reach new audiences and boost sales. It also delivers a satisfying cap for all the hard work that goes into publishing a manuscript. If you have written a book that was published in the last five years, you are eligible to enter it in the NAIWE 1st...

Montpelier, VA   US

Narrative Spring Story Contest

Entries can include short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously cho...

San Francisco, CA   US

National Book Awards

The National Book Award is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar record of identifying and rewarding quality writing. In 1950, William Carlos Williams was the first Winner in Poetry, the following year William Faulkner was honored in Fiction, and so on throug...

New York, NY   US

National Indie Excellence Awards

The National Indie Excellence Awards is open to all English language books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.

The National Indie Excellence Awards exists to help establish independent publishing as a str...

Hermosa Beach, CA   US

New England Book Awards

Titles submitted for the New England Book Awards must be either about New England, set in New England, or written by an author residing in New England. Submissions can be hardcovers, paperback originals, or reissues. The award categories are Children's, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Adul...

Boston, MA   US

New Letters Editor’s Choice Award

We’re looking for work that experiments, that crosses the traditional boundaries of genre and form.

Enter your hybrid work - your lyric essays, prose poems, short-shorts, collages, micro-memoirs . . . whatever you’re doing that’s experimental, that defies easy categorizatio...

Kansas City, MO   US

New Zealand Book Awards

The New Zealand Book Awards celebrate excellence, identifying the very best books for adult readers written by New Zealanders. From 2016, in a partnership between the New Zealand Book Awards Trust and the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival Trust, they will be held annually as part of the Auckland...

Auckland,   NZ

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards (#NGIBA) is the largest non-profit book awards program for indie authors and publishers.<p>The Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in over 70 different categories, for ...

Lake Oswego, OR   US

Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards (NEMBA)

The Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards (NEMBA) was established in 1988 to recognize books that substantially represent northeastern Minnesota in the areas of history, culture, heritage, or lifestyle. Starting with a single category in the early years, the awards have grown to include six categories...

Duluth, MN   US

Nova Writes Competition for Unpublished Manuscripts

The annual Nova Writes Competition for Unpublished Manuscripts honours short-form works by Nova Scotia writers. Entry is open to all Nova Scotia residents who have not published books in their categories of entry, which include poetry, fiction, non-fiction, YA & children’s literature, and writ...

Halifax, NS   CA

Page Turner Awards

Awards are offered in five categories: Writing Award : for unpublished, completed manuscripts Young Writer Award : for writers aged between 18 and 25 Writing Mentorship Award : for uncompleted manuscripts Screenplay Award : for scriptwriters with a completed screenplay Book Award : for aut...

Speen, England   UK

QWF Awards

Every year, The Quebec Writers’ Federation shines the spotlight on the best English-language writers to emerge from Quebec. The QWF Awards include six $2,000 book prizes for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, First Book, Translation, and Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The winners of t...

Westmount, PQ   CA

Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing

The ethos of America is defined by its immigrants. Their stories have always been an essential component of the nation's cultural consciousness, from Isaac Bashevis Singer to Jhumpa Lahiri, from Jacob Riis to Maxine Hong Kingston. In novels, short stories, memoirs, and works of journalism, immi...

Brooklyn, NY   US

Saskatchewan Book Awards

The Saskatchewan Book Awards offers 14 annual or semi-annual awards to celebrate, promote and reward Saskatchewan authors and publishers worthy of recognition.

Award winners are determined through a jury process of the highest integrity, by high-calibre jurors who are recognized as leaders wit...

Regina, SK   CA

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize is sponsored by Aimia and supported by the Politics and the Pen Gala. Now in its fifteenth year, the prize is awarded annually for a book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence ...

Toronto, ON   CA

Shelf Unbound Competition For Best Indie or Self-Published Book

Any independently published book in any genre is eligible for entry. Independently Published books include self-published books and e-books (such as those published through CreateSpace, Lulu.com, iUniverse, etc.) and/or books and e-books published through small presses releasing less than five title...

Richardson, TX   US

Stonewall Book Awards

The first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table. Since Isabel Miller’s Patience and Sarah received the first award in 1971, many other books have been honored fo...

Chicago, IL   US

The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize

The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize is awarded in honour of acclaimed Calgary writer W.O. Mitchell and recognizes literary achievement by Calgary authors. The prize was established in 1996 and is coordinated through a partnership between The City of Calgary and the Writers' Guild of Al...

Edmonton, AB   CA

The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence

The Awards are for CRIME WRITING and are not restricted to mystery writing. Crime-writing encompasses far more than the traditional whodunit. The crime genre includes crime, detective, espionage, mystery, suspense, and thriller writing, as well as fictional or factual accounts of criminal doings and...

Guelph, ON   CA

The Wallace Stegner Prize in Environmental Humanities

The Wallace Stegner Prize will be awarded to the best monograph submitted to the Press in the broad field of environmental humanities. To compete for this award, manuscripts must emphasize interdisciplinary investigations of the natural and human environments and their fundamental interconnectedness...

Salt Lake City, UT   US

The Whistler Independent Book Awards

Established in 2016 to recognize excellence in Canadian independent publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards offers prizes in two categories: fiction and nonfiction. There are three finalists in each category (fiction and nonfiction), with the winners being announced at the annual Whistler W...

New Westminster, BC   CA

Toronto Book Awards

The Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. Authors are only eligible if their submission evokes the city itself, that is, contains some clear Toronto content (this may be reflected in the themes, settings, subjects, etc.). Authors do...

Toronto, ON   CA

Towner Award

The Towner Award is the Washington state award for nonfiction picture books written for 2nd-6th grade students. In the spring, all Washington State students in public and independent schools, from second through sixth grades, are invited to vote for their favorite book if they have listened to or re...

Seattle, WA   US

Trillium Book Award

The Ontario government established the Trillium Book Award in 1987 to celebrate the quality and diversity of Ontario writers and writing. It includes the Prix Trillium for Francophone writers, a Trillium Book Award for Poetry for emerging poets, and a Trillium Book Award for Children’s Literature ...

Toronto, ON   CA

Vermont Book Award

The Vermont Book Award is a new prize created to honor artists with deep connections to the state of Vermont, and to draw attention to a state so uniquely suited for creative enterprise. To be eligible for this year's prize, a book must either be set in Vermont, published by a Vermont pr...

Montpelier, VT   US

Virginia Literary Awards

The annual Virginia Literary Awards honor Virginia writers and celebrate their contributions to the literary landscape of our state and nation. Given to Virginia authors in the categories of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—and to nonfiction authors for works about a Virginia subject as well—the ...

Richmond, VA   US

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards

A biennial award made available by the Western Australian Government and are managed by the State Library of Western Australia.

The categories are as follows: Children’s Books, Digital Narrative, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Scripts, Writing for Young Adults, West Australian History and W...

Perth, WA   AU

Western Writers of America Spur Awards

To be eligible, works submitted must be set in the American West, the early frontier, or relate to the Western or frontier experience. Submitted works must be first copyrighted and published in the calendar year covered by the award. Categories include Western Traditional novel, Historical nov...

, NM   US

WFNB Writing Competition

WFNB Writing Competition offers prizes in seven categories: fiction manuscript, short fiction, poetry manuscript, single poem, children and teens, young writers, and creative non-fiction. Prizes for all categories total $2,600.

Entrants must be New Brunswick residents, or non-resident New Brunsw...

Fredericton, NB   CA

Wilfred Eggleston Awards for Nonfiction

The Alberta Literary Awards were created by the Writers' Guild of Alberta in 1982 to recognize excellence in writing by Alberta authors.

The Wilfred Eggleston Award for Nonfiction is awarded for a nonfiction book by an Alberta author in the current calendar year. ...

Edmonton, AB   CA

Writer’s Digest Self-Published eBook Awards

Writer’s Digest’s 9th Annual Self-Published E-book Awards honors the best self-published e-book(s) in eight of the most popular categories with $5,000 in cash, a featured interview in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to the ever-popular Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York ...

Blue Ash, OH   US

Zayed Book Award

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a major literary award in the Arab World. Awarded annually to the best books in literature, translation, art and humanities....

United Arab Emirates,   AE