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Avenue Writing Contest
Blake Chasen and Emma Needell
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, and Romance
The Avenue Writing Contest invites participants to create interactive narratives in four categories: Romance, Fantasy, Progression Fantasy + LitRPG, and D&D. Entries are crafted using the Avenue Creator Studio, where participants develop episodes that allow reader choices to influence the story.
Top Prize:
$250
Additional prizes:
2nd: $150 3rd: $100 Winners will also be featured on Avenue’s app, website, and social media. Prizes apply for each category.
📅 Deadline: May 22, 2024 (Expired)
Chapter One Prize
Gutsy Great Novelist
Genres: Fiction, Novel, Young Adult, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller
The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. Winners will be announced March 29, 2024.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: $500 |3rd: $250
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)
The Rubery Prize
Rubery Book Awards
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult, and Romance
The Rubery Prize is an international award for indie writers and self-published authors. It aims to recognize outstanding works and elevate authors' profiles. Authors can submit self-published books or those from independent presses.
Top Prize:
£2000
Additional prizes:
Category winners receive £200
💰 Entry fee: $60
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2025
100 Word Writing Contest
Tadpole Press
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, and Travel
The 100 Word Writing Contest is an international contest hosted by Tadpole Press that encourages creativity across all genres. It welcomes entries from writers of all ages and backgrounds, aiming to diversify literature and promote unique narratives.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
Publishing and marketing package
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024 (Expired)
Summer Nanofiction Battle
Writing Battle
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Summer Nanofiction Battle is a peer-powered short story competition where writers compete using prompts, receive feedback, and are judged by industry professionals.
Top Prize:
$1,500
Additional prizes:
Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 Feedback by industry professionals
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: August 02, 2024 (Expired)
Spring Microfiction Battle
Writing Battle
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)
Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
Grist Magazine
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Imagine 2200 contest invites writers to envision equitable climate progress stories, showcasing creative solutions and community resilience. It emphasizes hope and the potential for positive change through fiction.
Top Prize:
$3,000
Additional prizes:
Second place: $2000 Third place: $1000 Ten $300 awards for finalists. Opportunity for the winner to participate in Oregon State University's Environmental Writing Fellowship and Residency, including a four-week writing residency.
📅 Deadline: June 24, 2024 (Expired)
Winter Flash Fiction Battle
Writing Battle
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller
Three days to write a 1000 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.
Top Prize:
Genre Winner (x4): $2,000
Additional prizes:
Genre Runner-up (x4): $500 | Feedback by industry professionals.
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)
Parsec Short Story Contest
Parsec Inc.
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, and Short Story
The Parsec Short Story Contest aims to encourage non-professional writers to explore speculative fiction in genres like science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The theme for 2025 is 'ROOTS', and submissions should relate to this theme. The contest has no entry fee and supports young writers through a special Youth Story Prize.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
2nd: $100 | 3rd: $50
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2025
Genres: Children's, Crime, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, and Young Adult
The I Am Writing Competition offers multiple categories for writers to showcase their talent, with prizes for various genres including crime, historical, and romance. Each category allows entrants to submit the first 3,500 words of their work along with a synopsis where required.
Top Prize:
$250
Additional prizes:
30-minute consultation with genre expert
💰 Entry fee: $13
📅 Deadline: May 28, 2024 (Expired)
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, Short Story, and Novella
Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. 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 novels should be 4 pages or less.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Publication in digital and print
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)
Historical Fiction Challenge
Globe Soup
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
For this short story challenge, all participants will be randomly assigned a period in history. As soon as you receive your assignment, you'll have until the closing time to research, write, and submit a short story of no more than 4,000 words, set during this historical period.
Top Prize:
$1,131
💰 Entry fee: $17
📅 Deadline: October 28, 2022 (Expired)
Future Scholar Foundation Short Story Competition
Future Scholar Foundation
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story
A monthly short story competition for elementary and middle school students, with prompts and a maximum word count of 350. Winners have their work published and receive gift cards.
Top Prize:
$25
Additional prizes:
1st place: $25 Amazon gift card 2nd place: $15 Amazon gift card 3rd place: $5 Amazon gift card All winners are published in the Hall of Fame.
📅 Deadline: January 28, 2025
The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books
The Letter Review
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The contest is aimed at unpublished works including novels, novellas, poetry collections, and nonfiction books. It is judged blind and winners can choose to publish an extract. The prize is awarded every three months with a total prize pool of $4,000 USD.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Optional publication of excerpt + letter of recommendation
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: January 01, 2025
Autumn 2024 Short Story Battle
Writing Battle, Inc.
Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and Thriller
A competitive writing platform for storytellers featuring stories judged by industry professionals. The Autumn Battle involves writing a 2000-word story in seven days.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
$2000 prize for 4x Genre Winners; $500 prize for 4x Genre Runner-ups.
💰 Entry fee: $39
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)
Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize
Gotham Writers Workshop
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the Selected Shorts series at Symphony Space, NYC. It celebrates short stories by having them read aloud by actors. The contest is judged by Carmen Maria Machado, and the winner's work will be performed live and published on Electric Literature.
Top Prize:
$1000 + free 10 week course with Gotham Writers
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)
Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
Not Quite Write
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, and Young Adult
A quarterly flash fiction competition challenging writers to create an original piece based on two prompts and one anti-prompt. The entries are judged blindly, and winners are announced on the podcast.
Top Prize:
$1,000 AUD
Additional prizes:
2nd place: AU$500 3rd place: AU$200 Honorable mentions are awarded AU$50 each, and two wildcard prizes of AU$50 each.
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: July 21, 2024 (Expired)
Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2024
Oxford Flash Fiction
Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult
The contest celebrates the art of flash fiction. It invites writers to explore themes of transformation, inspired by Kafka's legacy, as part of the centenary commemoration of his work. The prize aims to provide opportunities for both emerging and established writers.
Top Prize:
£1000
Additional prizes:
2nd Prize: £200 | 3rd Prize: £100 | New Voice Prize: £200
💰 Entry fee: $9
📅 Deadline: August 31, 2024 (Expired)
Best Stories on Human Impact of Climate Change
Secant Publishing
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)
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)
Season Themes
HAVOK Publishing
Genres: Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller
Season Themes is a flash fiction contest that invites authors to create stories inspired by monthly themes and prompts. Each theme features a specific character prompt that authors must incorporate into their stories, allowing for creative interpretations across various genres.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Publication in an anthology. Potential for larger gift card wins.
📅 Deadline: January 17, 2025
2024 Spring Prose & Poetry Contest
Onyx Publications
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller
The contest awarded prizes for both prose and poetry categories, with multiple winners for each.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Second place: $150 Third place: $75 Winner also gets publication and author interview on Story Discovery podcast.
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: May 05, 2024 (Expired)
