The Best Essay Writing Contests of 2023
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
CONNECT
Editing
Design
Marketing
Publicity
Ghostwriting
Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing ScholarshipsABOUT
About Reedsy Terms PrivacyGenre
- All
- Children's
- Christian
- Crime
- Essay
- Fantasy
- Fiction
- Flash Fiction
- Horror
- Humor
- LGBTQ
- Memoir
- Mystery
- Non-fiction
- Novel
- Novella
- Poetry
- Romance
- Science Fiction
- Science Writing
- Script Writing
- Short Story
- Suspense
- Thriller
- Travel
- Young Adult
Manage a competition? Submit it here
Join our short story competition
Submit a short story based on 1 of 5 weekly prompts. Winners get $250.
Showing 63 contests
Anthology Travel Writing Competition 2023
Anthology Magazine
The Anthology Travel Writing Competition is open to original and previously unpublished travel articles in the English language by writers of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. We are looking for an engaging article that will capture the reader’s attention, conveying a strong sense of the destination and the local culture. Max 1000 words.
Top prize
€500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $16
Deadline: November 30, 2023
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction, Travel
View contest2023 John Estey Student Writing Competition
American Writers Museum
"Give me a song of hope and a world where I can sing it.” – Pauli Murray, Dark Testament Pauli Murray (1910-1985) was difficult to define. They were a poet, a lawyer, a priest, a freight hopper, Eleanor Roosevelt’s friend, arrested for refusing to comply with bus segregation laws, a closeted member of the LBGTQ+ community, a professor, and so much more. Their work has influenced Supreme Court decisions, the Civil Rights movement, and countless individual people. This prompt is a quote from Murray’s collection of poems titled Dark Testament. It can be used as a first line, a last line, a jumping-off point, an inspiration for your students’ work. They can use the entire quote or portions of it to write a fiction or nonfiction story, poem, song, scene, short monologue or other form of writing. Submissions should be 1,000 words or less regardless of format.
Top prize
3x Elementary Grade winners: $500 | 3x Middle School winners: $1,000 | 3x High School winners: $2,000
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 05, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing
View contestAbstraction & Reasoning in AI
Lab42
The ARC Essay Challenge is a competition that desires the evolution of human-level abstraction and reasoning in AI agents. We are looking for interdisciplinary ideas in your essays that draw inspiration from fields such as biology, mathematics, philosophy, neuroscience, or any other to contribute to understanding and improving the adaptability of AI in new and unknown situations.
Top prize
$1,500
Additional prizes
2nd: $1000 | 3rd: $500 | Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 07, 2023
Genres
Essay, Science Writing
View contest100 Word Writing Contest
Tadpole Press
100 words per entry. Submit as many entries as you’d like. All ages. All genders. All nationalities. All writers welcome. The theme is using humor as healing.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: writing coach package 3rd: developmental or diversity editing package.
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: April 30, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, Travel
View contestInternational Essay Contest
Institute for Youth in Policy
Countless countries around the world suffer from a plethora of issues – economic hardship, social turmoil, political polarization, pandemic recovery, unreliable leadership, corrupt governance, warfare and conflict, the list goes on. If you were elected the leader of your country, what would you do to address the issues your country faces in order to build a more prosperous society?
Top prize
$250
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 15, 2023
Genres
Essay
View contestThe Scribes Prize
Fairfield Scribes
The Scribes Prize is looking for fiction & creative nonfiction stories of 90-110 words. Prizes include publication, award seals, and cash: $250 for gold, $125 for silver, $60 for bronze & 15 honorable mentions for $20 each. Simultaneous submissions & reprints welcome. Max 3 submissions per author. All entries will receive feedback from 2 editors.
Top prize
$250
Additional prizes
2nd: $125 | 3rd: $60 | Publication | Editor's deedback
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: September 01, 2023
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller
View contestEmerging Writer's Contest
Ploughshares
In the spirit of the journal 's founding mission, the Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest recognizes work by an emerging writer in each of three genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. One winner in each genre per year will receive $2,000 and publication in the literary journal. Authors are considered "emerging" if they haven 't published or self-published a book.
Top prize
3x $2000
Additional prizes
Publication in Ploughshares
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $24
Deadline: May 15, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestNarratively's 2023 Profile Prize
Narratively
Narratively is looking for profile pieces that tell the story of ordinary people or communities doing extraordinary things. The grand prize winner will receive $3,000, and the two finalists will receive $1,000 each. Guest judges are renowned journalists Gay Talese, Lisa Lucas and Rebecca Traister.
Top prize
$3,000
Additional prizes
$1000 for two other finalists
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: April 14, 2023
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction
View contestBacopa Literary Review
Bacopa Literary Review
Bacopa Literary Review is an annual international print journal published by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville. Our Bacopa Literary Review Editors’ blog shows the quality of writing we seek by highlighting work we respect from previous Bacopa issues as well as other sources.
Top prize
£200 in 6 categories
Additional prizes
$100 Honorable mention in 6 categories
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: April 16, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Essay, Flash Fiction, Humor
View contestYoung Sports Journalist Competition 2023
Pitch magazine
Pitch magazine is pleased to announce the launch of the Young Sports Journalist competition 2023! We are seeking well-argued articles from students aged 14-24 for this competition.
Top prize
£150 in each category
Additional prizes
Publication | Work experience at The Times and FIPP
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 07, 2023
Genres
Essay
View contestGeminga: $250 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art
Sunspot Lit
Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. It was named, in part, for a transcription of gh’è minga, meaning “it’s not there.” With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novelsshould be 4 pages or less.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication in digital and print
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: March 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestKing of Essay
Papers Owl
To all TV shows nerds: we're incredibly excited to announce a competition for the best essay based on the TV series you are keen on. This is a new challenge for folks who may be under budget and interested in winning subscriptions on streaming services (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney).
Top prize
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, or Disney+ subscription for 6 months
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 15, 2023
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestWrite By The Sea Writing Competition
Write By The Sea
Flash Fiction (700 words), Short Story (2,500 words), Poetry (40 lines) Memoir/Personal Essay (1,000 words). The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of €500, a beautiful hand-crafted WBTS 2023 Writing Competition trophy and a free weekend pass to Write By The Sea festival 2023. All four winning pieces will be published on the Write By The Sea website.
Top prize
€500
Additional prizes
2nd: €200 | 3rd: €300
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $11
Deadline: June 04, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Poetry, Short Story
View contestAurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award
Trio House Press
We seek un-agented full-length creative nonfiction manuscripts including memoir, essay collections, etc. 50,000 - 80,000 words.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: August 31, 2023
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction
View contestSouthword Literary Essay Competition
Munster Literature Centre
The competition is open to original, unpublished, personal essays between 2500 ‒ 5000 words. We’re looking for personal, confessional essays which border on memoir ‒ gripping essays full of memories and feelings. The best indicator of the kind of thing which interests us is what we have published in past issues; essays by Kim Addonizio, Sandra Beasley, Simon Van Booy, Carlo Geblér, Thomas Lynch, Anthony Walton, Helen Mort and Kim Moore.
Top prize
€1,000
Additional prizes
8 Runners-Up: €500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $22
Deadline: February 28, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay
View contestEco Friendly Writing Contest
Howard's New Beginnings
The aim of the contest is to share eco-friendly ideas. Tell us something you think helps make the planet become more eco-friendly such as an eco-friendly product or packaging, a recipe for a natural product, or a waste-management tip. Up to 500 words. Any writer from anywhere can submit an entry. Contest deadline is April 22 2023, Earth Day.
Top prize
$150
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: April 22, 2023
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction, Science Writing
View contestThe 2023 Bloom Writing Contest
The European Society of Literature
The 2023 Bloom Writing Contest is a writing competition that seeks to find hidden talent in the literary scene. The contest will place heavy emphasis on works of deep meaning, aesthetic beauty and literary quality—just as Harold Bloom did. The 2023 Bloom Writing Contest accepts submissions of all types, whether it be an essay, a poem, a short story.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $3
Deadline: May 01, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Poetry
View contestAtlas Shrugged Essay Contest
Ayn Rand Institute
The Atlas Shrugged novel essay contest is open to all students globally. Atlas Shrugged is a heroic mystery novel written by Ayn Rand. Choose a prompt and write a 800-1,600 word essay.
Top prize
$10,000
Additional prizes
2nd: $2,000 (x3) | 3rd: $1,000 (x5) | 25 finalists: $100 | 50 semifinalists: $50
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: November 06, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Mystery, Novel, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestGreat American Think-Off
New York Mills Regional Cultural Center
The Great American Think-Off, now in its 30th year, is an exhibition of civil disagreement between powerful ideas that connect to your life at the gut level. People of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to submit an essay of no more than 750 words for a chance to win one of four $500 cash prizes and participate in the live debate to ultimately answer the question, determined by audience vote.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Participation in live debate
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 01, 2023
Genres
Essay
View contestAnnual Student Essay Contest
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Essay contest open to all students in the following four divisions: 5th – 6th grade, 7th – 8th, 9th – 10th, and 11th – 12th (or equivalent ages/school years). This is an excellent opportunity for young people to comment on the current world as they see it and make the case for a democratic society.
Top prize
$1,000
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: February 27, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay
View contestBrink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing
Brink
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 requirements
💰 Fee: $22
Deadline: February 15, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Writing, Short Story
View contestHispanic Culture Review Contest 2022-2023
Hispanic Culture Review
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 requirements
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction
View contestswamp pink Prizes
crazyhorse
From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.
Top prize
$2,000
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: January 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestAIIRA Writing Contest
AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture
We invite contestants to submit writing that imagines the world in the year 2050 and explores the relationship between humans, technology, and their food: what will food look, taste, and feel like; where will it come from; who will produce and transport it; and how will we access and consume it? The world you bring to light should be believable and probe the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the future of agriculture. Your submission can be fiction or creative non-fiction, but keep in mind that the strongest submissions will use research to support the reality described. Contestants must be undergraduate students to submit to this contest.
Top prize
$2,000
Additional prizes
2nd: $1,500 | 3rd: $1,000
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: December 31, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Science Writing, Short Story
View contestMedical Student Essay Contest
Hektoen International Journal of the Medical Humanities
Students currently enrolled in a medical school or program are encouraged to submit to our Medical Student Essay Contest. Essays can be on any topic as it relates to medicine. Art, history, and literature topics are preferred.
Top prize
$3,500
Additional prizes
Runner-ups: $2,500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 15, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Memoir
View contestThe Goldilocks Zone
Sunspot Lit
Inspired by the search for Goldilocks Zone planets, Sunspot Lit is looking for one short story, CNF, artwork, poem, graphic novel, or script that combines excellence with appeal. Literary and genre works accepted; feedback available.
Top prize
$200
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $9
Deadline: December 19, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestCreative Writing Contest-CWC11
Dharma Inc. Intl.
What are the changes you would like to see, to make the world a better place? Our world is seeing a lot of changes. What are the beneficial ones, which ones are harmful? Which changes, from what you have seen, will make things better?
Top prize
$900
Additional prizes
2nd: $300 | 3nd: $100
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: December 04, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Essay
View contestNational Essay Contest
U.S. Institute of Peace
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) partners with the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) on the annual National High School Essay Contest. The contest engages high school students in learning and writing about issues of peace and conflict, encouraging appreciation for diplomacy’s role in building partnerships that can advance peacebuilding and protect national security.
Top prize
$2,500
Additional prizes
Runner-up: $1,250
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 03, 2023
Genres
Essay
View contestThe Nervous Ghost Press Book Prize
Nervous Ghost Press
The 2021 Nervous Ghost Press Book Prizes are open to outstanding works of poetry and prose by anyone living in the United States of America. All work and all writers, from any point in their careers, are welcome to submit their work and get a chance of publication. Please submit a completed a manuscript (50,000-100,000 words for prose, 48-128 pages for poetry).
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
Publication and a Californian reading tour
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Humor, Young Adult
View contestClimate Change Writing Competition
Write the World
This month, dear writers, ahead of COP27, help us raise the voices of young people in this urgent fight. In a piece of personal narrative, tell the world’s leaders gathering in how climate change impacts you. How has this crisis changed your environment, your community, your sense of the future? Storytelling, after all, plays a critical role in helping us grasp the emergency through which we are all living, igniting empathy in readers and listeners—itself a precursor to action.
Top prize
$100
Additional prizes
Runner-up: $50
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: October 18, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction
View contestLeiby Chapbook Contest
The Florida Review
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Florida Review is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative. Submit a manuscript of up to 45 pages with a $25 entry fee by December 31. All entries are considered for publication. All entrants receive a 1-year subscription. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: December 31, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novella, Short Story
View contestInception 2022: $250 for Best Opening
Sunspot Lit
Beginnings weight one moment with a particular power. A poem handles this differently than flash fiction, a novel, a graphic novel or an art series. Send your best opening. No restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece or collection from which the excerpt comes. Publication will be offered to runners-up and finalists.
Top prize
$250
Additional prizes
Publication in digital and print editions
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $8
Deadline: October 09, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestWorld Historian Student Essay Competition
World History Association
The World Historian Student Essay Competition is an international competition open to students enrolled in grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools, and those in home-study programs. Membership in the World History Association is not a requirement for submission. Past winners may not compete in the same category again.
Top prize
$500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 01, 2023
Genres
Children's, Essay
View contestAnnual Contest Submissions
So to Speak Journal
So to Speak seeks work by writers who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer. Our mission is to amplify voices of BIPOC, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, women, neurodivergent people, people of different religions or none, migrants, refugees & immigrants (regardless of citizenship), and incarcerated writers. Free submissions for Black and Indigenous Writers.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication for winner and runner-up
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $9
Deadline: November 14, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestLazuli Literary Group Writing Contest
Lazuli Literary Group
We are not concerned with genre distinctions. Send us the best you have; we want only for it to be thoughtful, intelligent, and beautiful. We want art that grows in complexity upon each visitation; we enjoy ornate, cerebral, and voluptuous phrases executed with thematic intent.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication in "AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought"
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: February 22, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Novella, Script Writing
View contest
