Advertisements for writing contests and competitions abound in the magazines, newsletters, and listservs familiar to so many writers. Why might writers pursue these opportunities, and how can we evaluate these offerings for their potential to contribute to our writing lives? We’ll talk about awards for works in progress, unpublished manuscripts, and published books. Depending on group interest, we’ll expand beyond contests proper to cover grants, scholarships, fellowships, and residencies.

Erika Dreifus writes prose and poetry. She is the author of Quiet Americans: Stories (Last Light Studio, 2011), which was an American Library Association/Sophie Brody Medal Honor Title for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. She is the editor and publisher of The Practicing Writer, a popular e-newsletter for poets, fictionists, and writers of creative nonfiction. Learn more at www.erikadreifus.com and follow Erika on Twitter @ErikaDreifus.

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The Writing Life events in 2015 are generously underwritten by Jenny Lawrence.