The Best Fiction Writing Contests of 2022
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
WriteFluence
A brand new challenge is here! After the success of Mrs. Rosewood’s antics last year, here’s Mr. Rosewood waiting for you to write about any of his days into a story. He could be bright, gloomy, witty, loveable, or always ready to fight. It’s your character, create him! Then, tell us a story about a day in the life of your Mr. Rosewood and get published in our next publication.
Publication in anthology
Publication, eCertificates and Author features
💰 Fee: $2
Deadline: April 15, 2022 (Expired)
Essay, Fiction, Short Story
View contestFanStory.com Inc.
Share a horror or thriller story to enter this writing contest. Write about anything but the object is to terrorize or thrill your reader. Cash prize!
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: October 27, 2022
Fiction, Horror, Short Story
View contestFanstory
Subscribe to Fanstory for $9.95 a month and enter as many contests as you like from their list of writing and poetry contests, updated daily. All participants receive feedback from a community of writers, and the winner of each contest receives a cash prize of up to $100.
Cash prizes of up to $100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestAnthology Magazine
Writers of short fiction are invited to enter the Anthology Short Story Award. Established to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication, it is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language. Stories submitted must be on the theme of ‘Memories’ and not exceed the maximum of 1,500 words.
$500
Publication in Anthology Magazine, one-year subscription
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: August 31, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestFiction Factory
We welcome previously unpublished stories (max 1,000 words) on any theme. Our judge is looking for freshness, originality and strongly drawn characters.
£200
£50, £25
💰 Fee: $7
Deadline: November 30, 2021 (Expired)
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Crime, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
View contestFiction Factory
This is a bi-annual competition. We welcome stories on any theme. The maximum wordcount is 3,000.
£300
£100, £50
💰 Fee: $8
Deadline: October 31, 2021 (Expired)
Fiction, Short Story
View contestFiction Factory
Have you completed the first draft of your novel? Are you ready to pass it on to a fresh pair of eyes, to see if you are on the right track? Is your all-important first chapter ready for submission to an agent? Whatever your plans, your first chapter must shine – it must grab your readers or quickly lose their interest.
£500
A reading by a top London Literary Agent plus publication
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Fiction, Novel
View contestGlobe Soup
We accept: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Each month has a theme. You have just 100 words to write something interesting, unique, and impactful based on the theme. Entry to your first contest is £3, after that you can enter all subsequent contests for free each month. You can get peer feedback on your entry too. The theme this month is: Yellow/Orange.
$133
Publication on our website
💰 Fee: $4
Deadline: March 14, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry
View contestSociety of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK)
This competition was created with the aim of promoting scientific outreach in a fun and engaging way, appropriate for primary school children. The ultimate goal of the contest is to promote scientific spirit and inspire the generations that will build our future. We hope to achieve this through the communication of scientific achievements, findings, methods, and anecdotes in the form of short stories.
$267
£150 and £100 runner ups
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: April 24, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story
View contestSunspot Lit
Authors and artists eligible. Sunspot Lit’s Geminga contest honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. $250 cash, publication for the winner, and publication offered to runners-up and finalists. Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission.
$250
Publication in digital and print
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: March 31, 2022 (Expired)
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestCreative Writing Ink
We're looking for short stories of up to 3000 words. Stories can be any theme, genre, or subject - the world is your oyster! Top prize is £1000, plus a free creative writing course of your choice and publication on our site. Two runners-up will receive £200 each."
$1,333
Free creative writing course, publication online
💰 Fee: $12
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Suspense, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestPassionate Ink
Contest is open to all erotic fiction works published the previous year (eg 2021). Erotic romance stories have HEA and the romantic relationship grows through sexual interaction. Erotic fiction entries do not require an HEA/HFN.
Engraved award
Newsletter/Social Media promotion
💰 Fee: $40
Deadline: March 21, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, Short Story
View contestDrapers Guild
We accept stories of any length, written in English, that fit the theme "Fiction about a Stranger"
$100
Publication on Drapers Guild Website
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: February 15, 2023
Fiction
View contestVoice.Club
Express yourself in a supportive, family-friendly community, as you develop your writing skills. Voice.club is a family-friendly platform where creators can express themselves in a supportive environment. Our recurring writing contests have attracted talented writers from all over the world. This month, our prompt is “Time”. Sometimes it passes too quickly, sometimes not quickly enough. We spend it, waste it, measure it, stretch it, save it – but we never have quite enough of it. Time may be our most precious commodity. It is free, and yet infinitely precious. We invite you to write a story of 350 words or less with a theme of “Time”. The contest page even has links to some of our past winners, to inspire you! Our team will select the Grand Prize Winner and two Runners Up. There will be also be a public voting component to select three other winners, so there are two paths to winning! Join our free club and receive valuable feedback from a supportive community, make new friends and improve your writing. You may even be published in our eBooks Collection!
$50 USD / $25 USD - Amazon Gift Cards
Publication Online, Alexa and eBooks
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: March 12, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story
View contestWasafiri
The competition is organised by Wasafiri, a quarterly British literary magazine. The prize is judged in three categories: Fiction, Poetry, and Life Writing. Fee is per entry: £10 for a single entry, £16 for a double entry. No entry may exceed 3,000 words. This year, the Prize will be chaired by Marina Salandy-Brown, who will be joined by a panel of multi-award-winning judges: Mary Jean Chan (judging Poetry), Preti Taneja (judging Fiction), and Francesca Wade (judging Life Writing). The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 cash prize and will be published in Wasafiri’s print magazine. Shortlisted writers will have their work published on Wasafiri’s website. Entries must not have been previously published in any form (excluding live performances or shares on personal blogs or on social media).
$1,000
Publication in printed magazine and online + mentoring
💰 Fee: $14
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestThe Christy Award
The Christy Award® was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture. Since that time, the Christys have been a focal point for the writers and publishers in our community, symbolizing the best aspirations and accomplishments of writers who write from a perspective of faith and who create stories with matters of belief at their core.
Award
💰 Fee: $175
Deadline: March 31, 2022 (Expired)
Christian, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Romance, Young Adult
View contestFanStory.com Inc.
Share your Western story for this writing contest. Share your story that has a clear western theme. Your old west story can earn you a cash prize.
$100
Winning stories will be features on the FanStory.com welcome page.
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: November 29, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestLorian Hemingway
Writers of short fiction may now enter the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. The competition has a history of literary excellence, and Lorian Hemingway and her small judging panel are dedicated to enthusiastically supporting the efforts and talent of writers of short fiction whose voices have yet to be heard.
$1,500
Second and third-place winners receive $500 each
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: March 15, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Short Story
View contestGenesee Valley Council on the Arts
The New Deal Writing Competition is a short story competition where the writer is asked to use a painting chosen by the staff of GVCA as inspiration for their short story. The application portal for submissions will be open from March 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021.
$200
Publication in Artsphere Magazine
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: April 01, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Short Story
View contestPloughshares
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.
$2,000
Publication in Ploughshares
💰 Fee: $24
Deadline: May 15, 2022 (Expired)
Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestWinston-Salem Writers
Each entry must be original work and previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions will be accepted, but authors must notify Flying South immediately and withdraw from the contest if their work is accepted elsewhere. Prizes include publication in Flying South 2022, Best in Category, and President's Favorite.
$1,000
Publication in Flying South 2022
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry
View contestLazuli 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.
$500
Publication in "AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought"
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: May 22, 2022
Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Novella, Script Writing
View contestWOW! Women On Writing
Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 - 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants.
$400
Interview on WOW! Blog, $25 Amazon gift card
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Flash Fiction, Fiction, Short Story
View contestBath Flash Fiction Award
In addition to winning cash prizes, entrants have the opportunity to appear in our print and digital anthology collections. Our books are published by the award-winning small press Ad Hoc Fiction, and are available to buy from their own independent bookshop as well as worldwide from Amazon. 300 word limit.
£1000
£300 for 2nd, £200 for 3rd
💰 Fee: $12
Deadline: June 05, 2022
Fiction, Flash Fiction
View contestF(r)iction
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. Each entry should be between 1,001 and 7,500 words.
$1,000
Considered for publication in F(r)iction
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: April 28, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Short Story
View contestF(r)iction
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. You may submit up to three entires for $12. A single entry is $10. Each entry can be up to 1,000 words long.
$300
Considered for publication in F(r)iction
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: April 28, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Flash Fiction
View contestUnleash 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.
$1,000
Publishing contract
💰 Fee: $35
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Short Story
View contestIML Publications, LLC
We are looking for high quality, 50-page double submissions + 1 page synopsis of memoir and fiction. Finalists will be asked for complete manuscripts 1 month later and will be judged by author Jacqueline Gay Walley.
$1,000
Possible published book
💰 Fee: $35
Deadline: June 15, 2022
Fiction, Memoir
View contestTadpole Press
100 words per entry. Submit as many entries as you’d like. All ages. All genders. All nationalities. All writers welcome. This year's theme is the power of words. The words we write, the words we say, the words we keep to ourselves. They make a difference in the lives of those around us. How can you use your words to instill a sense of calm, of hope, of community? To remind one another of the beauty of diversity. To encourage us to support, love, and inspire one another.
$1,000
2nd: writing coach package 3rd: developmental or diversity editing package.
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: April 30, 2022 (Expired)
Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestBiopage
Biopage is hosting a writing contest to remind people the benefits of writing. Each story (or once chapter of your stories) is limited to 5,000 characters or roughly 1,000 words. You can write about good life experience, or bad, embarrassing, frightening ones. You can win $300, and five runners-up can win $100 each.
$300
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: July 31, 2022
Fiction, Short Story, Flash Fiction
View contestThe Moth Magazine
The Moth Short Story Prize is an international prize, open to anyone from anywhere in the world, as long as their story is original and previously unpublished. The Prize will be judged this year by Ali Smith, the author of many works of fiction, including five collections of short stories and, most recently, the seasonal quartet, Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. Her work has won many awards.
€3,000
€1,000, writing retreat at Circle of Misse
💰 Fee: $18
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestWriting Battle
Writing Battle is a screenwriting competition for writers, by writers. Light on battle. Heavy on fun and friendship (but still somewhat battle-like). Receive prompts, write a script, then judge each other's stories. Win cash and get feedback from your peers. Join the battle!
$1,500
Feedback by industry professionals. Guaranteed feedback by at least 5 of your peers.
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: May 03, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Script Writing
View contestWriting Battle
Writing Battle is a creative writing competition for writers, by writers. Light on battle. Heavy on fun and friendship (but still somewhat battle-like). Receive prompts, write a short story, then judge each other's stories. Win cash and get feedback from your peers. Join the battle!
$5,000
Feedback by industry professionals. Guaranteed feedback by at least 5 of your peers.
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: August 05, 2022
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story
View contestSix Word Wonder
To win, write a six word story, poem, memoir, or joke. Free to enter, with the chance to get your tiny creation published, and you crowned as the Six Word Wonder - winning $100. Last year's contest had over 3,300 entries, with over 100 short-listed. Every writer gets six free entries to play with.
$100
Publication in next book in the Six Word Wonder series
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: November 30, 2022
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Short Story
View contestGrist
The Imagine 2200 contest calls for short stories that envision the next 178 years of equitable climate progress. We seek cultural authenticity, rich characters with intersecting identities, and stories that challenge the status quo (which accepts extraction, oppression, and violence).
$3,000
2nd: $2000, 3rd: $1000; finalists will receive $300.
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: May 05, 2022 (Expired)
Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller
View contest