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Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
Ayn Rand Institute
Genres: Essay
Atlas Shrugged is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder—and rebirth—of man’s spirit. We seek exceptional essays of up to 1600 words that analyze its themes and ideas. High school to graduate students worldwide are invited to participate.
Top Prize:
$25,000
📅 Deadline: June 14, 2024
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The Young Sports Journalist Competition, 2024, seeks well-argued articles from aspiring journalists aged 14-21. Winning entries will be published online and printed in the Summer Issue of Pitch. Critiqued by our panel of accomplished judges, winners will also receive a £50 cash prize and offered work experience here at PITCH HQ. The competition runs from 7 February 2024 to 5 April 2024. And winners will be announced in May.
Top Prize:
£50
Additional prizes:
Publication in magazine and online
📅 Deadline: April 05, 2024 (Expired)
Solar Flare
Sunspot Literary Journal
Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
Sunspot Lit is looking for one work, including a novel or novella excerpt, that provides a flare of creative energy. Literary or genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope. Learn more: https://sunspotlit.com/contests
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024
Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Writing, and Short Story
The Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing will be administered to the winner of a literary contest designed to champion innovative hybrid and cross-genre work.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $22
📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)
Artificial Intelligence Competition
New Beginnings
Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story
There is no topic relating to technology that brings more discussion than artificial intelligence. Some people think it does wonders. Others see it as trouble. Let us know your opinion about AI in this competition. Include experiences you have had with AI. 300-word limit. Winners will be selected January 1, 2024. Open to anyone, anywhere.
Top Prize:
$100 CA
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: December 15, 2023 (Expired)
The Letter Review Prize for Books
The Letter Review
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Letter Review Prize for Books is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Seeking most unpublished (we accept some self/indie published) novels, novellas, story collections, nonfiction, poetry etc. 20 entries are longlisted.
Top Prize:
$1000 USD shared by 3 winners
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Annual Student Essay Contest
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
For this year’s Essay Contest, we are asking students to think about why the story of the Oklahoma City bombing is important today.
Top Prize:
$1,000
📅 Deadline: March 04, 2024 (Expired)
Hispanic Culture Review Contest 2022-2023
Hispanic Culture Review
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction
As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.
Top Prize:
$100 for photography, poetry, and essay winners
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)
Solas Awards
Best Travel Writing
Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel
Extraordinary stories about travel and the human spirit have been the cornerstones of our books since 1993. With the Solas Awards we honor writers whose work inspires others to explore. We’re looking for the best stories about travel and the world. Funny, illuminating, adventurous, uplifting, scary, inspiring, poignant stories that reflect the unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. We hope these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: September 21, 2024
Journalism Competition 2024
Write the World
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
What are the most important issues taking place close to home? Perhaps a rare bird sighting near your town? Or a band of young people in your province fighting for access to higher education? This month, immerse yourself in a newsworthy event inside the borders of your own country, and invite us there through your written reporting.
Top Prize:
Best entry: $100
Additional prizes:
Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50
📅 Deadline: July 22, 2024
WOW! Women On Writing Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest
WOW! Women On Writing
Genres: Non-fiction and Essay
Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (1000 words or less) and in any style--from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives. Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints/previously published okay; simultaneous submissions okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
African Diaspora Awards 2024
Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
Up to $1000 in cash prizes for the African Diaspora Award 2024. African-themed prose and poetry wanted. Top finalists are published in Kinsman Quarterly’s magazine and the anthology, “Black Butterfly: Voices of the African Diaspora.”
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication in anthology, "Black Butterfly: Voices of the African Diaspora" and print and digital magazine
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024
Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award
Killer Nashville
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, and Thriller
The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award is committed to discovering new writers, as well as superlative books by established authors and, upon discovery, sharing those writers and their works with new readers. There are a large number of both fiction and non-fiction categories you can enter.
Top Prize:
$250
💰 Entry fee: $79
📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024
International Essay Competition 2023/24
Avernus Education
Genres: Essay
Welcome to our prestigious International Essay Competition. At Avernus Education, we are thrilled to provide a platform for young minds to showcase their prowess in Medicine, Engineering, Law, Economics, Psychology, History and Politics. These varied subject categories underscore the importance of interdisciplinary study, a crucial foundation for future leaders in our increasingly interconnected world. Winners receive an exclusive Avernus Education Scholarship worth over £5000 - granting them free entrance to our exclusive summer camp at Oxford University! Outstanding Runners Up receive 5 hours worth of Credits for Avernus Education courses, conferences and tutoring services.
Top Prize:
100% Scholarship Award to our Oxford University Summer Programme (worth £5995)
Additional prizes:
Partial scholarship
📅 Deadline: February 19, 2024 (Expired)
Stories of Inspiration
Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
Nonfiction stories of inspiration wanted (between 500 to 2,000 words). Submissions should highlight the struggle and resilience of the human spirit, especially related to cultures of BIPOC or marginalized communities. Stories must be original, unpublished works in English. One successful entry will be awarded each month from April 2024 and will be included within Kinsman Quarterly’s online journal and digital magazine. Successful authors receive $200 USD and publication in our digital magazine. No entry fee required.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
Publication in Kinsman Quarterly's online magazine
📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024
Rigel 2024: $500 for Prose, Poetry, Art, or Graphic Novel
Sunspot Literary Journal
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
Literary or genre works accepted. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Closes: February 29. Entry fee: $12.50. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope
Top Prize:
$500 + publication
Additional prizes:
Runners-up and finalists are offered publication
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)
Environmental Writing 2024
Write the World
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The writer and activist Bill McKibben describes Environmental Writing as "the collision between people and the rest of the world." This month, peer closely at that intersection: How do humans interact with their environment? Given your inheritance of this earth, the world needs your voices now more than ever.
Top Prize:
Best entry: $100
Additional prizes:
Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50
📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024 (Expired)
Berggruen Prize Essay Competition
Berggruen Institute
Genres: Essay
The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition, in the amount of $25,000 USD for the English and Chinese language category respectively, is given annually to stimulate new thinking and innovative concepts while embracing cross-cultural perspectives across fields, disciplines, and geographies. Inspired by the pivotal role essays have played in shaping thought and inquiry, we are inviting essays that follow in the tradition of renowned thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Top Prize:
$25,000
Additional prizes:
Publication in Noema Magazine
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024
International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition
Vine Leaves Press
Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Novel
Small presses have potential for significant impact, and at Vine Leaves Press, we take this responsibility quite seriously. It is our responsibility to give marginalized groups the opportunity to establish literary legacies that feel rich and vast. Why? To sustain hope for the world to become a more loving, tolerable, and open space. It always begins with art. That is why we have launched this writing competition.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Book publication
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: July 01, 2024
