Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

DIRECTORY

Best Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 427 contests that match your search.

Genres: Poetry

The competition, run by The Poetry Society since 1978, is one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for a single unpublished poem. Judged by Stephen Sexton, Romalyn Ante, John McAuliffe. Open to all poets worldwide aged 18+.

Top Prize:

£5,000

Additional prizes:

Runners-up receive £2,000 and £1,000. Commended entries receive £500

💰 Entry fee: $8

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2024

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Every Friday, Reedsy sends out five writing prompts. Enter your response within a week for a chance at $250. Winners may also be included in a future issue of Reedsy’s literary magazine, Prompted.

Top Prize:

$250

Additional prizes:

$25 credit toward Reedsy editorial services

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

This quarterly open-themed competition has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. The results will be announced about six weeks after each closing date and the three winning entries each quarter will be published on the website.

Top Prize:

£300

Additional prizes:

£200, £100

💰 Entry fee: $7

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024 (Expired)

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Learn more about Reedsy Studio.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Romance, and Thriller

The Writing Peers Summer Short Story Prize is designed to celebrate and promote the art of storytelling. Details about the contest, including submission guidelines, themes, and criteria, are crucial for participants.

Top Prize:

$1,000

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: June 21, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Script Writing

The Scriptation Showcase is the screenwriting contest that circulates winners’ scripts to Hollywood directors, showrunners, and producers. 15 scripts get featured for one year in Scriptation, the Emmy® Award winning app used on film and TV productions. The earlier you apply, the lower the entry fee will be.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

1 Year Scriptation Showcase, 1 year industry pro access

💰 Entry fee: $74

📅 Deadline: July 21, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Young Adult

We're looking for original ideas, a fresh voice, a diverse range of entries and stories that children will love! To enter, you must have written a full-length novel suitable for children/young adults aged between 7 and 18 years. We suggest a minimum of 30,000 words and ask that manuscripts do not exceed 80,000 words. The IET 150 Award will be awarded to a manuscript that celebrates Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Top Prize:

A worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House & royalty advance of £10,000

Additional prizes:

An offer of representation from a top literary agent

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: June 01, 2024 (Expired)

Writer's Games

The Writer's Workout

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Thriller, and Young Adult

Writer's Games is a free, six-week, challenge-based competition designed to help writers improve their craft. Each week, registered participants receive a secret event announcement and have 72 hours to write and submit their entries. All entries receive feedback from judges. The competition emphasizes creativity across various genres.

Top Prize:

Publication in anthology, 72 Hours (26+ spaces)

Additional prizes:

Top three overall winners receive interviews and physical copies of the anthology. Additional prizes are subject to sponsorship and donations.

📅 Deadline: July 22, 2024 (Expired)

The Bath Children's Novel Award

The Bath Novel Awards

Genres: Children's, Fiction, and Young Adult

The Bath Children's Novel Award is an international writing prize for unagented emerging writers. It seeks novels for children or teens, chapter books, and picture book texts. The winner receives £5,000, a trophy, and feedback for listees.

Top Prize:

£5,000

Additional prizes:

A place on the 'Edit Your Novel the Professional Way' course worth £1,980 for one longlisted writer. Minerva trophy and feedback from an editorial director.

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Young Adult

An international contest to find original short stories focused on the human impact of climate change. Emphasis on emotional narratives rather than scientific theories. Open to writers aged 18 and above.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: $500 | 3rd: $250 | Up to 30 entries will be published in an anthology.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The competition invites poets to submit works based on five given words each week over a 42-week period. It aims to encourage creativity and showcases poets' works in an anthology.

Top Prize:

$750

Additional prizes:

Second place: 500 euros Third place: 250 euros Travel fee and accommodation for winners attending the event. Physical award crafted by Michael Ray, plus opportunities for winners to read at events.

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: January 28, 2025

Annual Student Essay Contest

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The contest encourages students to reflect on strength and resilience in overcoming challenges. Since 2001, it has engaged over 15,000 students from more than 20 countries, with 900 participants this year. Winners were selected based on their unique voice and thoughtful analysis.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd place: $750 3rd place: $500

📅 Deadline: March 04, 2024 (Expired)

The Caledonia Novel Award

Alice Lutyens, literary agent at Curtis Brown

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Young Adult

The Caledonia Novel Award aims to support unpublished and self-published novelists across all genres for adults and young adults. The 2025 competition encourages diverse submissions, offering significant prizes to help cultivate new talent.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

Exclusive framed award designed by Edinburgh artist Lucy Roscoe. Highly Commended prize: £500 Special prize: a free place on a writing course at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre

💰 Entry fee: $28

📅 Deadline: October 15, 2024

Genres: Flash Fiction

We seek work that actively pushes boundaries, that forces us to question traditions and tastes. If your work takes risks, we want to read it. We like strong narratives that make us feel something and stories we haven’t seen before. We accept work, written in English, from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcome speculative writing and experimental literature. Strange is good. Strange with a strong character arc is even better. Keep it weird, folks.

Top Prize:

$300

Additional prizes:

Up to five finalists will also be considered for publication.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: November 01, 2024

Fish Short Memoir Prize

Fish Publishing

Genres: Memoir, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Everyone has a memoir in them. Go for it! Write a piece of your life, send it to Fish. Qian Julie Wang, author of her memoir Beautiful Country, will select 10 short memoirs to be published in the Fish Anthology 2022, which will be launched during the West Cork Literary Festival.

Top Prize:

€1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: Writing Course (online) + €300 | 3rd: €300

💰 Entry fee: $18

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Honest Holiday Haiku

Gotham Writers Workshop

Genres: Poetry

The Honest Holiday Haiku contest invites writers to create a haiku that reflects their honest feelings about the holiday season. This contest emphasizes originality and emotional expression.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Free class from Gotham Writers Workshop. Runners-up may receive honorable mentions and features in social media.

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

Genres: Poetry

This is a UK based competition but we welcome international entries. Poets are invited to enter poems (maximum 40 lines excluding title) on any theme. Discounts are offered on multiple entries. Besides the cash prize, our judge, poet and author and mentor, Helen Cox, will offer feedback on five of the winner's poems plus an hour-long mentorship zoom call about their poetry.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Feedback on poems, a Zoom mentorship call, and publication

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Spring Microfiction Battle is part of the Writing Battle series, where participants write stories based on prompts. Participants receive feedback from peers and industry judges.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 Feedback by industry professionals. Various merchandise and opportunities for additional exposure in the community.

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: May 03, 2024 (Expired)

Mark Lynton History Prize

Columbia Journalism School

Genres: Non-fiction

The Mark Lynton History Prize, in the amount of $10,000, is awarded to a book­-length work of history on any topic that best combines intellectual distinction with felicity of expression. Books must have been published in the United States between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.

Top Prize:

$10,000

💰 Entry fee: $75

📅 Deadline: December 07, 2023 (Expired)

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, and Young Adult

Launched in 2014, Book Pipeline connects writers worldwide with publishers, editors, agents, and the film industry. Through two submission platforms—Unpublished and Adaptation—the company seeks both new and established authors. For over 22 years, Pipeline has bridged the gap between up-and-coming writers and the industry through a unique, long-term, hands-on facilitation process. The result thus far has been $8 million in scripts sold to studios and networks since 1999.

Top Prize:

$15,000

💰 Entry fee: $45

📅 Deadline: August 20, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, and Flash Fiction

The competition invites young writers aged 13-19 to explore themes of fairytales and myths, honing their creativity and writing skills in a structured environment.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50

📅 Deadline: March 04, 2024 (Expired)

Spring Flash Fiction Contest

The Berlin Literary Review

Genres: Flash Fiction

This contest is for flash fiction pieces of 1,500 words or less. Winning entries will be published in the magazine.

Top Prize:

€660

Additional prizes:

Second place: €100 Third place: €60 Winner has publication in the online magazine for winners and shortlisted participants.

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Thriller, and Mystery

Any novels between 50,000 and 200,000 words that are in the realm of action/adventure/thriller/mystery - and chocked-full of adventure - are welcome. New and previously published books welcome, though you must have sold or given away less than 10,000 books of the title(s) you enter. We do not accept sci-fi, fantasy, horror or young children's books. See our website for info on rules and entering.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Two AWC Finalist Awards: $500

💰 Entry fee: $50

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)

UNO Press Publishing Lab

University of New Orleans Press

Genres: Novel

The Publishing Laboratory at the University of New Orleans seeks to promote innovative publicity and broad distribution for authors. They accept submissions for unpublished novels and short story collections. A selected author is awarded a $10,000 advance on royalties and a publishing contract.

Top Prize:

$10,000

Additional prizes:

Advance on royalties

💰 Entry fee: $28

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, and Short Story

This contest invites young writers aged 13-19 to explore the realms of science fiction and fantasy through creative writing. Participants can share their unique stories and ideas, receiving valuable feedback from peers and experts.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50 Publication opportunities and mentorship sessions. Recognition for runners-up and feature in the Write the World blog.

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: July 28, 2025

Genres: Poetry

The Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships are $50,000 awards given to honor poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to support them in creating new work, as well as to enable them to undertake meaningful, impactful, and innovative projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through responsive and interactive poetry activities.

Top Prize:

$50,000

📅 Deadline: April 08, 2024 (Expired)

4th Annual Wine Country Writers' Festival Writing Contest

Wine Country Writers' Festival Society

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The contest is open to writers over 18 worldwide and includes categories for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each submission must adhere to specific formatting guidelines and word limits. Winners are selected through blind judging, and results are announced during the festival.

Top Prize:

$200 CAD per category

Additional prizes:

Second place: $100 Third place: $50 Winner also gets anthology publication, entry to next year's festival

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: June 02, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: LGBTQ and Non-fiction

Lambda Literary’s Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction, in memory of the beloved activist and author, honors lesbian/queer-identified women and trans/gender non-conforming nonfiction authors. The award will go to a writer committed to nonfiction work that captures the depth and complexity of lesbian/queer life, culture, and/or history.

Top Prize:

$2,500

📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)

The 2022 First Chapter Book Contest

TheNextBigWriter, LLC

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Novel, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Have a book or a novel idea you've been noodling? Enter your first chapter into the Booksie First Chapter Contest and see how it does. You don't need to have finished the book. You don't even need more than the first chapter. We're looking for a start that will grab our attention, that is original, that is well written, and that makes us want to beg you to see what comes next. And for those we find, we'll provide some awards to inspire you to finish writing the book or, if finished, to help get it published.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Gold contest badge.

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: May 14, 2022 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Register now for our next 7-day story writing challenge. A secret theme, a randomly assigned genre, and just 7 days to write a story of no more than 2,000 words. Our 7-day story writing challenges take place throughout the year. The challenges are free and you can even get feedback on your story. Take part in one challenge or take part in all of them!

Top Prize:

£500

Additional prizes:

Publication on website

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series highlights a first full-length collection by emerging authors from each state in the southern U.S. This year's state is South Carolina. Open to any poet born in South Carolina, currently residing in South Carolina, or who has lived in South Carolina for five consecutive years at any point, who has not yet published a full-length collection of poetry. The author may have published chapbooks or books in other genres. Submissions accepted through Submittable only.

Top Prize:

Publication

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The competition seeks articles from aspiring journalists aged 14-21. Winning entries will be published in Pitch Magazine and critiqued by a panel of judges. Winners receive a £50 cash prize and work experience.

Top Prize:

£50

Additional prizes:

Publication in magazine and online, work experience at Pitch Magazine.

📅 Deadline: April 12, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The Diode Editions Chapbook Contest is an annual competition open to English-language poets. The contest is currently closed, with winners for the 2024 contests to be announced by August 1, 2024. Multiple publications may be selected during this contest.

Top Prize:

$750

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The contest seeks poetry submissions from writers aged 50 and older. The winner will receive a cash prize and publication. The submission window is from February 15 to April 15, and all poems must be original and not previously published.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Winner gets publication and a featured interview. All honorable mentions will be published.

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: April 15, 2024 (Expired)

Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Ayn Rand Institute

Genres: Essay

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is open to all high school, college, and graduate students worldwide. Participants write essays based on prompts related to Ayn Rand's novel _Atlas Shrugged_. The contest has seasonal entry rounds with unique prompts, and essays must be between 800 and 1,600 words. The winning essays demonstrate a strong grasp of the book's themes.

Top Prize:

$25,000

Additional prizes:

Annual Grand Prize of $25,000 Seasonal prize winners: 1st place: $3000 2nd place: $2000 3rd place: $1000

📅 Deadline: June 14, 2024 (Expired)

2025 Book Prize

Unleash Press

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, and Short Story

The 2025 Book Prize awards a winning manuscript with a $1,000 advance and a standard contract from Unleash Press. Accepts novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction. The competition is open now until December 1, 2024.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Standard publishing contract for the winner. Finalists will be considered for publication.

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: December 02, 2024

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

  • "How to Craft a Killer Short Story" (Click here)
  • "The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction" (Click here)
  • "How to Write a Novel" (Click here)
  • "Understanding Point of View" (Click here)
  • "Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love" (Click here)
  • "Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character" (Click here)
  • "Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine" (Click here)

On Editing:

  • "Story Editing for Authors" (Click here)
  • "How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro" (Click here)
  • "Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites" (Click here)

Blog posts

  • "How to Write a Novel: Steps From a Bestselling Writer" (Click here)
  • "How to Write a Short Story in 9 Simple Steps" (Click here)
  • "100 Literary Devices With Examples: The Ultimate List" (Click here)
  • "20 Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft" (Click here)
  • "How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples]" (Click here)
  • "8 Character Development Exercises to Write 3D Characters" (Click here)

Bonus resources

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

  • Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

  • If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

  • After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.