Writing Competitions – Weekly Updates

Opportunities for aspiring and experienced writers.

Welcome to the most comprehensive list of writing competitions available online. Our list includes short story, poetry, and flash fiction competitions, as well as some events for essay writers, screenwriting, and even entire novel manuscripts. Each item on our list includes basic information about max word count, entry fees, submission deadlines, and the first place prize.

Please do your own research before deciding to enter any event. In case of questions about a particular event, please reach out to the event organizer.

Use our online form to submit a new event to our list.

We are keen to encourage quality submissions, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. We also suggest checking out our article about the Best Apps for Creative Writing.

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march 2024

fri01mar12:00 amwed24apr(apr 24)11:59 pmFirst Pages Prize 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$35 Max word count1250 Top Prize$2000, Developmental Mentorship, Agent Consultation

mon18marAll DayThe Free Verse PrizeCategoryPoetryUKEntry Fee£5 Max word count48 lines Top Prize£500 and publication

sat30marAll DayThis event is FREE to enter! Yay!Crossings Travel Writing CompetitionCategoryNon-fictionInternationalEntry FeeFree Max word count2000 Top Prize$200 and publication

sun31marAll DayThis event is FREE to enter! Yay!Wiingy Future STEM Leaders ScholarshipCategoryEssayInternationalEntry FeeFree Max word count600 Top Prize$200

sun31marAll DayBlack Fox Winter Prize: Fairy Tale RemixCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$12 Max word count5,000 Top Prize$300 and print publication

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april 2024

fri01mar12:00 amwed24apr(apr 24)11:59 pmFirst Pages Prize 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$35 Max word count1250 Top Prize$2000, Developmental Mentorship, Agent Consultation

sun31marAll DayThis event is FREE to enter! Yay!Wiingy Future STEM Leaders ScholarshipCategoryEssayInternationalEntry FeeFree Max word count600 Top Prize$200

sun31marAll DayBlack Fox Winter Prize: Fairy Tale RemixCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$12 Max word count5,000 Top Prize$300 and print publication

sun31marAll DaySuspot Lit 'Inception' Contest (Prose and Poetry)CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$12.50 Max word count250 (prose); 25 (poetry) Top Prize$500 and publication

sun31marAll DayNew England Readers' Choice AwardsCategoryNovelUSAEntry Fee$25 Max word countNo limit Top PrizeFree class from Becca Syme's Write Better Faster Academy

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may 2024

tue30aprAll DayThe Creative Writing NZ Short Story PrizeCategoryShort StoryNew ZealandEntry Fee$9 Max word count3,000 Top Prize$1,000

tue30aprAll DayThe SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash FictionCategoryFull ManuscriptInternationalEntry Fee$14 Max word count1,000 Top Prize$2,500 and publication

tue30aprAll DayNew Writers 1000-Word Short Story CompetitionCategoryShort StoryInternationalEntry Fee£10 Max word count1,000 Top Prize£1,000

tue30aprAll DayTadpole Press 100-Word Writing ContestCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$15 Max word count100 Top Prize$2,000

tue30aprAll DayF(r)iction Writing ContestsCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$10 Max word countDepends on category (check organizer's website) Top Prize$1,000 and publication

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june 2024

fri31mayAll DayThe Bridport Prize 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee£11-£24 Max word countDepends on category (check organizer's website) Top Prize£5,000

fri31mayAll DayThe Yeovil Literary PrizeCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee£5 - £14.50 Max word countDepends on category (check organizer's website) Top Prize£1250

fri31mayAll DayThis event is FREE to enter! Yay!Sapere Books Writing CompetitionCategorySynopsisInternationalEntry FeeFree Max word count2000 Top PrizeContract for a five-book series

fri31mayAll Day2024 Page Turner AwardsBook Award For Indie or Mainstream Published BooksCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$40 Max word countDepends on category (check organizer's website) Top PrizePublication and other perks

fri31mayAll DayThe Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant WritingCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$20 Max word countDepends on category. Check with organizer. Top Prize$10,000 and publication

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july 2024

mon01julAll DayQueen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee£12 Max word count3,000 Top Prize£1000

sun07julAll DayNorth Street Book PrizeCategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee$79 Max word count200,000 Top Prize$10,000

mon08jul2:11 pmmon2:11 pm2024 HG Wells Short Story CompetitionCategoryShort StoryInternationalEntry Fee£10 Max word count5,000 Top Prize£1,000 and publication

mon15julAll DayRattle Poetry Prize 2024CategoryPoetryInternationalEntry Fee$30 Max word countNo limit Top Prize$15,000

sun21jul1:00 amsun1:00 amWrite by the Sea - Writing Competition 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesIrelandEntry Fee€10 Max word countDepends on category (check organizer's website) Top Prize€500

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august 2024

wed31julAll DayAnthology Short Story Competition 2024CategoryShort StoryInternationalEntry Fee€15 Max word count1500 Top Prize€1000

sat31augAll DayAnthology Personal Memoir Competition 2024CategorymemoirInternationalEntry Fee€10 Max word count1000 Top Prize€500

sat31augAll DayAesthetica Creative Writing Award 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee£12 - £18 Max word count2,000 (fiction); 40 lines (poetry) Top Prize£2,500 and publication

sat31augAll DayAnthology Personal Memoir CompetitionCategorymemoirInternationalEntry Fee€15 Max word count1,500 Top Prize€500 and the chance to see their work published in a future issue of Anthology

september 2024

sat31augAll DayAnthology Personal Memoir Competition 2024CategorymemoirInternationalEntry Fee€10 Max word count1000 Top Prize€500

sat31augAll DayAesthetica Creative Writing Award 2024CategoryMultiple categoriesInternationalEntry Fee£12 - £18 Max word count2,000 (fiction); 40 lines (poetry) Top Prize£2,500 and publication

sat31augAll DayAnthology Personal Memoir CompetitionCategorymemoirInternationalEntry Fee€15 Max word count1,500 Top Prize€500 and the chance to see their work published in a future issue of Anthology

fri06sepAll DayToes in the Sand Romance Story ContestCategoryMultiple categoriesUSAEntry FeeFree Max word count50,000 Top Prize$300 and publication

mon30sepAll DayOne Page Poetry ContestCategoryPoetryUSAEntry Fee$25 Max word count300 Top Prize$2,000

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october 2024

mon30sepAll DayOne Page Poetry ContestCategoryPoetryUSAEntry Fee$25 Max word count300 Top Prize$2,000

mon30sepAll DayAnthology Flash Fiction Competition 2024CategoryFlash FictionInternationalEntry Fee€12 Max word count250 Top Prize€300

mon30sepAll DayAnthology Nature Writing Competition 2024CategoryNon-fictionInternationalEntry Fee€10 Max word count1000 Top Prize€500

tue01octAll DayTom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry ContestCategoryPoetryInternationalEntry Fee$22 Max word count250 lines Top Prize$3,500

thu31octAll DayAnthology Poetry Competition 2024CategoryPoetryInternationalEntry Fee€18 Max word count40 lines Top Prize€1000

november 2024

sat30novAll DayAnthology Travel Writing Competition 2024CategoryNon-fictionInternationalEntry Fee€15 Max word count1000 Top Prize€500

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