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DIRECTORY

Best Writing Contests in 2025

Showing 87 contests that match your search.

The Bedford Competition

The Bedford Competition

Genres: Poetry and Short Story

The Bedford Competition runs annual international short story and poetry competitions open to anyone over 17 years. Winning entries are published in an anthology.

Top Prize:

£2000

Additional prizes:

2nd Prize £300 | 3rd Prize £200 | Cygnature Prizes £200 | Bedford Prizes £100

💰 Entry fee: $11

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

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:

Publication on Reedsy Prompts + $25 credit for Reedsy Marketplace services for shortlisted entries

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2025

The Elegant Literature Award For New Writers

Elegant Media Publishing Corporation

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, LGBTQ, Science Fiction, Suspense, and Thriller

The contest invites new and unpublished writers to explore the theme 'Snowfall and Silence' while writing a story involving a cloak. It aims to promote new talent and is open to submissions across all genres.

Top Prize:

$3,000

Additional prizes:

1st: Free enrollment in New Novelist Accelerator and publication payment at 10c/word | 2nd – 10th: 10c/word and publication | 11th – 35th: $20 USD and an honorable mention in the magazine.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

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

The 2025 Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest aims to discover unpublished manuscripts across ten categories. Winners receive $25,000, industry circulation, and executive development opportunities. It is open to writers aged 18 and older, with specific submission guidelines based on categories.

Top Prize:

$25,000

Additional prizes:

$2,500 for each category winner

💰 Entry fee: $45

📅 Deadline: September 25, 2025

Leave Your Mark: Teen Contest

Gotham Writers Workshop

Genres: Script Writing, Fiction, and Poetry

Participants are invited to write about a scar, real or fictional, in any format (story, song, script, poem) with a limit of 250 words. The contest encourages creativity and personal expression.

Top Prize:

$400 Gotham credit, a $50 gift certificate to Bookshop, and publication on the Gotham Writers website.

Additional prizes:

Two runner ups wll receive a free Gotham class of their choice and publication.

📅 Deadline: December 15, 2025

Genres: Short Story and Fiction

The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction is a competition for short fiction (up to 5000 words) with no genre or theme restrictions. It is open to writers worldwide, with 2-4 winners published and sharing in the prize money. Entries are also considered for publication and submission to the Pushcart Prize.

Top Prize:

$1000 USD shared by 2 to 4 winners.

Additional prizes:

Publication by The Letter Review. Up to 20 writers shortlisted. Publication and consideration for the Pushcart Prize and anthologies.

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: October 01, 2025

C.D. Wright Prize for Poetry

Arkansas International

Genres: Poetry

The C.D. Wright Prize for Poetry honors innovative poetry and is open to poets who have not published a full-length book. The winner receives $1000 and publication in the Arkansas International.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication in the Arkansas International

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

"Matter" Poetry Contest

Oprelle Publications

Genres: Poetry

The Matter Poetry Contest invites poets to showcase their work. Winners are selected based on the emotional impact and creativity of their submissions. The contest aims to highlight the significance of poetry in personal and societal contexts.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

2nd: $100 | 3rd: $50 | Publication in anthology

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

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

Participants write a short story of up to 2,000 words based on a secret theme and assigned genre for a chance to win £500. The competition is open to anyone aged 18 and older.

Top Prize:

£500

Additional prizes:

Publication on website. 12 genre finalists selected.

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

2025 Latino Voices in Children's Literature Writing Contest

Strive Publishing and Free Spirit Publishing

Genres: Children's and Fiction

This contest aims to elevate authentic, culturally relevant children's stories by Latino authors. It is open to Latino authors residing in the U.S. who are 18 years or older. The contest accepts original children's books focusing on topics like resilience, identity, and diversity for ages 0-8.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: $500 | 3rd Place: $300 | Winner also receives a meeting with Naibe Reynoso and an editor from Free Spirit. All winners receive a T-shirt.

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: October 13, 2025

Genres: Short Story

The competition is open for entries, accepting submissions on any theme or genre. All entries are judged anonymously.

Top Prize:

£1000

Additional prizes:

Two runners-up will receive £200 each and a free online course. Winner will also receive a free online course and publication on the website

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

Genres: Children's and Fiction

This contest invites participants aged 8-14 to submit a short story based on autumn themes with prompts including family dinners, campfire stories, and mysteries.

Top Prize:

£20

Additional prizes:

1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners will receive a full feature on the blog and a personalized winner's certificate. Top 20 submissions will receive an Honourable Mention certificate and feedback from editors.

💰 Entry fee: $3

📅 Deadline: October 25, 2025

The Paz Prize for Poetry

National Poetry Series

Genres: Poetry

The Paz Prize for Poetry awards a $2,000 prize every other year for the publication of an unpublished book of poetry originally written in Spanish by an American resident. The winning manuscript will be translated into English and published in a bilingual edition.

Top Prize:

$2,000

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2026

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The contest invites entries for short fiction with a maximum word count of 2,500 words. All submissions must be original and unpublished. The contest promotes engagement by publishing winning stories in their anthology and on the website.

Top Prize:

$250 CAD

Additional prizes:

Two runners-up will each receive 50 CAD and publication.

💰 Entry fee: $8

📅 Deadline: October 12, 2025

Genres: Flash Fiction

The competition invites entries of flash fiction up to 300 words on the theme of 'a lie'. A special secret phrase must also be included, revealed in the podcast episode on September 29. The contest is sponsored by Scrivener.

Top Prize:

£500

Additional prizes:

Extra prizes may be awarded to runners-up.

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: October 24, 2025

Anthology Poetry Competition

Anthology Magazine

Genres: Poetry

The Anthology Poetry Competition aims to recognize and encourage excellence in poetry writing and to provide a platform for publication. Open to original and unpublished poems in English, there are no restrictions on theme or style. Poems must not exceed 40 lines, and there is no limit on the number of entries.

Top Prize:

€1000

Additional prizes:

2nd: €500 | 3rd: €250 + publication of the winning poem in Anthology magazine

💰 Entry fee: $18

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

The Caledonia Novel Award

Caledonia Novel Award Organizers

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Young Adult

The Caledonia Novel Award is an international competition for unpublished and self-published novelists in all genres, encouraging writers to submit their original works. The award aims to connect new authors with literary agents.

Top Prize:

£1500

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: $37

📅 Deadline: October 15, 2025

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

This contest aims to inspire creative nonfiction and provide recognition to contestants. It's open to all styles of essays including personal, lyric, and hybrid essays.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

1st: Essay published on WOW! Women on Writing, item from CreateWriteNow’s Store, interview on the WOW! blog | 7 runners up: $25 Amazon Gift Certificate | 10 honorable mentions: name mentioned on WOW! Women on Writing.

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

Writers of the Future

Writers of the Future

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

The Writers of the Future Contest, initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983, supports new writers in science fiction and fantasy, judged by leading authors. Winners receive cash prizes and recognition. The contest encourages original works and offers a platform for upcoming writers.

Top Prize:

$5,000

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

The Porter Fleming Literary Competition

The Morris Museum of Art

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Script Writing

The Porter Fleming Literary Competition honors the memory of Porter Fleming. It awards $7,000 in cash across four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and One-Act Play. Winners are invited to a literary program and awards ceremony in Spring 2026.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd place: $500 3rd place: $250 Prizes available in each of the four genre categories

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2026

Genres: Fiction and Science Fiction

A writing contest encouraging creative storytelling in audio series and stories.

Top Prize:

$7,500

Additional prizes:

2nd: $5000 | 3rd: $3500 | Each winner receives a certificate and social media promotion

📅 Deadline: October 24, 2025

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

An international writing contest for original, unpublished short stories. Winners are selected anonymously by a judge.

Top Prize:

€3,000

Additional prizes:

2nd prize: a week at Circle of Misse plus open travel stipend | 3rd prize: €1,000

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

HNS 2026 First Chapters Competition

Historical Novel Society

Genres: Fiction

The HNS 2026 First Chapters Competition invites entries for the opening (maximum 3,000 words) and a 1-page synopsis of a full-length historical novel. It's open to both members and non-members, encouraging excellence in historical fiction.

Top Prize:

£1000

Additional prizes:

Grand winner also receives a trophy. 10 Category Winners receive £500 and a free HNS 2026 conference ticket.

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: November 17, 2025

Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest

Moment Magazine and Karma Foundation

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest invites unpublished stories that focus on themes relating to Judaism or Jewish culture. Established in 2000, it has featured renowned judges and offers cash prizes for outstanding works.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Up to three prizes may be awarded.

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: November 01, 2025

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

The competition invites short story submissions of up to 8,000 words from writers of all genres. It aims to encourage creativity and provide feedback opportunities. Participants retain ownership of their work, with the winner receiving a cash prize along with chances to win in a bonus draw.

Top Prize:

£2,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: £1000 | 3rd: £500 | £1,500 Bonus Prize Draw shared among multiple winners

💰 Entry fee: $16

📅 Deadline: December 16, 2025

Human Rights Essay Contest for High School Students

Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation

Genres: Essay

The contest invites high school students to respond to a prompt regarding human rights. Essays should not exceed 2500 words and must include a cover page with specific details.

Top Prize:

$5,000

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: December 10, 2025

The Hope Prize

Hope Prize

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Short Story

The Hope Prize is an international short story competition focused on original stories of hope, open to writers aged 18 and over, with entries accepted in English. The prize encourages bold self-expression and aims to spotlight charities making impactful changes.

Top Prize:

$10 000 AUD

Additional prizes:

2nd: $2000 AUD | 3rd: $1000 AUD | Shortlisted stories will be published in a Simon & Schuster anthology.

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

Genres: Fiction and Romance

The Crowned In Drama contest focuses on creating original audio series in the romance genre, specifically Historical and Regency Romance. Participants must complete 100k words by the deadline and follow specific guidelines to be eligible for prizes.

Top Prize:

$5,000

Additional prizes:

1st: $5000, certificate, community & social media promotion | 2nd: $2500 | 3rd: $1250, all with similar promotional benefits.

📅 Deadline: November 07, 2025

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction invites submissions of stories that may be previously published or unpublished. True stories are accepted if written in a narrative style. The contest emphasizes the importance of storytelling.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Winner also receives a bronze medallion and publication in The Lascaux Review

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2026

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, 2025

TWFest Fiction Contest

Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival

Genres: Fiction

The TWFest Fiction Contest aims to promote new work from emerging writers. It is open to previously unpublished short stories up to 7,000 words.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

Domestic airfare & French Quarter accommodations, VIP Festival pass for 2026 festival, public reading, publication in French Quarter Journal, photo & bio on the website for ~1 year, interview feature. Top finalists receive a $100 LitPass for the Festival.

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: October 15, 2025

Emerging Author Dagger

Crime Writer's Association

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Suspense, Thriller, Crime, and Short Story

The Emerging Author Dagger is an international competition for unpublished crime novelists. It seeks submissions of a crime novel opening (max. 3,000 words) and a synopsis (max. 1,500 words) from writers who have never had a publishing contract for a full-length novel. The prize includes a cash prize of £500 and opportunities for shortlisted entrants to showcase their work to agents and publishers.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Shortlisted entries shown to agents and publishers

💰 Entry fee: $41

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2026

Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize

The Heartland Review Press

Genres: Poetry

The contest honors the legacy of Joy Bale Boone, an influential American poet and activist. All entries must be original works in English, with a submission window from July 1 to October 1, 2025, for publication in Spring 2026. The winners will be announced before Christmas 2025.

Top Prize:

$400 gift card

Additional prizes:

2nd: $240 gift card | 3rd: $100 gift card

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: October 01, 2025

The Bookworm Contest

Skribble.ca

Genres: Fiction

The bookworm contest want to see fantastic opening lines with a twist: mention the word "bookworm". May the best three crawl to the top!

Top Prize:

$200 CAD

📅 Deadline: October 28, 2025

Genres: Short Story

This inaugural competition invites writers to submit original short stories. The competition aims to celebrate creativity following the Chipping Norton Literary Festival's closure. Entries are open to all writers.

Additional prizes:

2nd: £250 | 3rd: £100 | Top 12 stories will feature on FictionJunkies.com.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2025

Discover the finest writing contests of 2025 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 2025 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 2025

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 2025

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.

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