The Best Essay Writing Contests of 2023
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
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Showing 77 contests
Dissolution
Bergen International Literary Festival
Write your story about the climate crisis in a poem or a personal essay.
Top prize
€2,000
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $0
Deadline: October 15, 2023
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Writing, Young Adult
View contestThe Goldilocks Zone
Sunspot Literary Journal
Sunspot Lit seeks a story, essay, excerpt from longer prose pieces, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal. Feedback for fiction and nonfiction submissions available for additional fee.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $12
Deadline: September 30, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, Short Story
View contestIndignor Play House Annual Short Story Competition
Indignor House Publishing
Indignor House Publishing is proud to announce that our annual writing competition (INDIGNOR PLAYHOUSE Short Story Annual Competition) is officially open with expected publication in the fall of 2024. Up to 25 submissions will be accepted for inclusion in the annual anthology.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
2nd: $250 | 3rd: $150
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $20
Deadline: March 31, 2024
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestPivotal Essay Contest
Pivotal
Pivotal is an essay contest for high school students around the world run in partnership with Oxford University's Global Priorities Institute on the world’s most pressing problems. Students will write a 2000-word essay on one of three prompts relating to future generations, AI policy, and ethics.
Top prize
$15,000
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $0
Deadline: October 10, 2023
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction
View contestNative Voices Award
Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc
Indigenous storytellers (Native American, First Nation Australian, Indian, Polynesian, etc.) may submit original, unpublished work in English; short stories, essays, onstage scripts, poetry, or visual art.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
2nd: $250 | 3rd: $100 | 6 Finalists: $25 gift card
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: October 31, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, Short Story
View contestLetter Review Prize for Nonfiction
Letter Review
The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction (0 - 5000 words) is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Winners are published and every entry is considered for publication. 20 entries are Longlisted.
Top prize
$1000 (shared by 3 winners)
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $20
Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction
View contestLetter Review Prize for Manuscripts
Letter Review
The Letter Review Prize for Manuscripts (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction) is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Three Winners are awarded and have extracts published. 20 entries are Longlisted. Winners receive letter of recommendation for publishers.
Top prize
$1000 (shared by 3 winners)
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $25
Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestInception 2023
Sunspot Lit
Beginnings have the power to spark passion or curiosity. They might immediately connect a specific place and time with an emotional tone. The best openings offer a feeling, atmosphere, action, or image that is gripping, and hints at more to come. For Sunspot Lit’s Inception contest, send your best opening. There are no restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece or collection from which the excerpt comes. Word limit is 250 for prose, 25 words for poetry.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication in digital and print editions
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $10
Deadline: July 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestAIIRA Writing Contest
AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture
AIIRA is seeking essays speculating on how AI will change careers within the next decade, as well as fiction stories depicting a day in the life of a job transformed by AI technology. Submissions should address how AI will help future professionals perform their jobs more efficiently as well as what job duties will become redundant due to AI.
Top prize
$550
Additional prizes
2nd: $400 (x2) | 3rd: $250
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: September 30, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Science Writing, Short Story
View contestPublic Roads Student Writing Competition
Federal Highway Administration/Public Roads Magazine
Public Roads is proud to announce its first Student Writing Competition, designed to encourage high school and college students interested in or actively pursuing STEM majors to demonstrate their knowledge by writing an article that relates to the transportation industry.
Top prize
Published in Winter 2023 Issue of Public Roads Magazine
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: July 21, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction, Science Writing
View contestUniverse of Threats Essay Contest
CAPTRS
CAPTRS has launched a pathogen threat scenario writing contest, which will be part of their work to build a catalog of pathogen threat scenarios that will be used to hone pandemic preparedness strategies and train future decision-makers. Submissions may not exceed 2,500 words, and will be judged on creativity, plausibility of the pathogen threat, complexity of cascading societal factors, difficulty posed for current pandemic response capabilities and quality of writing.
Top prize
$10,000
Additional prizes
2nd: $5,000 (up to 2 winners) | 3rd: $1,000 (up to 5 winners)
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: July 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story
View contestCreative Nonfiction Competition
Write the World
The teenage years are an in-between time, the stage linking our childhood to adulthood. It’s a time of internal transitions, as we find out more about who we are and who we want to be in the world. This month, use the tools of creative nonfiction to write about your own experience of this passage into adulthood.
Top prize
Best Entry: $100
Additional prizes
Runner up: $50 | Best Peer Review: $50
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: July 18, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction
View contestAfrican Diaspora Award
Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc.
Submissions are open for Kinsman Quarterly’s African Diaspora Award. Top winners receive prizes up to $500 USD and publication within the Black Diaspora anthology. No entry fee required. Those eligible should submit an original, unpublished work in English that features themes of the African diaspora by July 15, 2023.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
2nd: $250 | 3rd: $100 + Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: July 15, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Romance, Script Writing, Short Story, Young Adult
View contestThe Heartland Review Open Calls
The Heartland Review Press
Submit one piece of fiction or creative nonfiction of topic or category to include flash in a Word document through Submittable (link on website). No pdfs. Include a short cover letter and bio. Simultaneous submissions accepted, but writers must withdraw if published elsewhere. We read the first 50 pieces of fiction and 50 of creative nonfiction submitted each month during the open call.
Top prize
Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: November 15, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestRigel 2023
Sunspot Literary Journal
Sunspot Lit seeks one short story, CNF, artwork, poem, graphic novel, script, or excerpt that outshines the rest. Literary and genre works accepted. Feedback available for additional fee. See guidelines for details. Enter through Sunspot’s Submittable or through Duotrope.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $10
Deadline: May 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, Short Story
View contestQuill and Keyboard Teen International Writing Competition
Quills and Keyboard
We are made of students hosting a contest for teen & YA authors. There are 15 categories, from journalism to a section for novelists’ favorite chapters. Qualified judges will send feedback on each piece. We partnered with many writing organizations such as Teen Author Boot Camp and Newpages and recognized by non-profits such as Polyphony Lit.
Top prize
Publication in Under the Madness and Skipping Stones
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 20, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contest2024 Book Prize
Unleash Press
Writers are invited to submit novels, short story collections and creative nonfiction manuscripts. The Editors' Prize winner receives a publication contract with Unleash Press and $1000 prize, along with 10 printed copies of the final book. We may also offer publication contracts to additional outstanding manuscripts.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
Publishing contract
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $35
Deadline: December 15, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Short Story, Non-fiction
View contestWeekly Writing Competition
the archipelago
the archipelago is looking for great works of fiction, poetry, and personal essay. Eligibility: One piece per entry. One entry per person for each week (you can submit your writing for each round of competition repeating every week). The writing must be previously unpublished (including online). All entries must be in English. 700 - 1000 maximum word count for stories. 150 maximum lines for poetry. Submission Dates: April 10 - July 10
Top prize
$150 AUD
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 10, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestHigh School Academic Research Competition
Columbia Undergraduate science journal
The SARC is an exciting opportunity for students, aged 13-18 years old, who are looking for ways to exercise their research skills and have their works published in preparation for college. In SARC 2023, you will conduct research and write a 2-page essay on ANY topic of your choice -whether it be the sciences, a social issue in your community, or anything! The competition takes place across May through June 2023 and is 100% virtual, removing geographical barriers!
Top prize
$1,000
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $15
Deadline: May 27, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Science Writing
View contestMr. Rosewood Short Story Contest
WriteFluence
After the success of Mr. Rosewood’s antics last year, and Mrs. Rosewood’s a year before the last; here’s Mr. and Mrs. Rosewood waiting for you to write about any of their days into a story. We are excited to announce our latest short-story writing contest. This time, we challenge you to write a captivating story about a day in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Rosewood.
Top prize
Publication in anthology
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $2
Deadline: June 15, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Short Story
View contestAnthology 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
đź’° 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
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 05, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 07, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: $10
Deadline: April 30, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 15, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: $5
Deadline: September 01, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: $24
Deadline: May 15, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: $20
Deadline: April 14, 2023 (Expired)
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
ÂŁ200 in 6 categories
Additional prizes
$100 Honorable mention in 6 categories
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $0
Deadline: April 16, 2023 (Expired)
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
ÂŁ150 in each category
Additional prizes
Publication | Work experience at The Times and FIPP
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 07, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° 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
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 15, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: $11
Deadline: June 04, 2023 (Expired)
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
đź’° Fee: $25
Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction
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
đź’° Fee: $5
Deadline: April 22, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction, Science Writing
View contest
