Best Fiction Writing Contests in 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Young Adult

The Writing MAGIC contest invites authors to write a short story under 500 words about anything magical. Open to all age groups, stories can be fiction or non-fiction. The contest aims to celebrate creativity and share magical experiences.

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The African Diaspora Awards invite submissions of original, unpublished works in various genres. Winners will receive cash prizes and publication opportunities. The contest emphasizes themes related to African cultures.

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

The Genre Smash Short Story Challenge invites writers to create a story combining two randomly assigned genres from a list. Participants will have a maximum of 5,000 words to submit their entries. The winning story will be published on the website.

Genres: Children's, Fiction, and Young Adult

The Bath Children's Novel Award is an international writing prize for unagented emerging writers. It seeks novels for children or teens, chapter books, and picture book texts. The winner receives £5,000, a trophy, and feedback for listees.

Genres: Fiction

The John Steinbeck Award for Fiction recognizes exceptional works of fiction. Aesthetically, they are open to most styles and approaches, including experimental and literary. All works should be stand-alone short stories, not chapters of a longer work.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, and Short Story

The Passionate Plume Contest is aimed at supporting erotic fiction authors, offering various categories for both published and unpublished writers. It encourages creativity and provides a platform for authors to showcase their work.

Genres: Poetry and Fiction

The Heartland Review publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. The contest is open to established and emerging writers. Submissions are free, and the next open calls will begin in December 2024. A contributor copy is provided to published authors.

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Swamp Pink Prizes celebrate excellence in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each winner receives $2,000 and publication in an upcoming issue of Swamp Pink. The contest is open for submissions throughout January.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Young Adult

The Bath Novel Award is a £5,000 international prize for adult and YA manuscripts across various genres, aimed at unagented writers who are unpublished, self-published, or independently published.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The BBC National Short Story Award encourages submissions of short stories up to 8,000 words. The contest promotes the art of storytelling and awards notable literary contributions.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, and Science Fiction

Fiction Potluck is a quarterly writing competition open to fiction writers globally, featuring a guest judge who sets a unique challenge each period. The current challenge theme is 'Sci-Fi Western', with submissions of up to 6,000 words due by August 20. The competition is free to enter, and winners receive prizes including a two-year Duotrope service subscription (valued at $100).

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Poetry

HFR will accept contest submissions in poetry and fiction between Feb 1-29, 2024. This year’s poetry judge is Diana Khoi Nguyen, author of Ghost Of and Root Fractures. This year’s fiction judge is Venita Blackburn, author of How to Wrestle a Girl and Dead in Long Beach, California. There will be two prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review (online in summer 2024 and in the fall/winter 2024 print issue) for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each category will receive $250 and publication. All entries are considered for publication.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Non-fiction

The Pinch Literary Awards recognize excellence in poetry, fiction, and flash nonfiction. Each award offers cash prizes and publication in The Pinch journal. Submissions are judged blind, with various entry windows throughout the year.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Short Story

The WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest aims to inspire creativity and recognition for writers. Open to all genres of flash fiction, it has been running since 2006 and has awarded over $100,000 in cash prizes to participants. The contest allows entries globally, and submissions must be in English.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Short Story Competition is organized by Exeter Writers, aiming to encourage and showcase emerging writing talent. This competition invites entries from writers of various backgrounds.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

This competition invites submissions of the first chapter of a novel along with a synopsis. The focus is on originality and engaging storytelling. The winner will receive feedback from a literary agent and a substantial cash prize.

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.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The HG Wells Short Story Competition, founded by Reg Turnill, promotes writing and celebrates HG Wells' literary legacy. It encourages entries based on this year’s theme: 'The Fool.'

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Enter our 91st Annual Writing Competition for the chance to have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. [$20 for a poetry entry, $30 for a manuscript entry]

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

A solar flare is short-lived but has a huge amount of energy. Sunspot Lit is looking for a noteworthy flare of creative energy through short stories, poems, or graphic novels.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Thriller, and Mystery

The Adventure Writers Competition (AWC) celebrates adventure writing, accepting action/adventure novels. The 2024 contest finalists have been announced, and submissions for the 2025 competition will be open from January 1 to April 30, 2025. The AWC aims to promote and recognize quality adventure writing through a rigorous judging process.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

The James Jones First Novel Fellowship, established in 1992, honors the spirit of honesty and insight in modern culture exemplified by James Jones. The fellowship awards a prize for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel.

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

Established in 1984, this award connects emerging writers with the New York City literary community, facilitating professional advancement through a network of agents, editors, and authors. The winners receive an honorarium, a public reading, and participation in a residency program.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Young Adult, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

The Chapter One Prize aims to celebrate novelists by finding the best opening chapter of an unpublished novel-in-progress written in English. The contest is open to writers worldwide, aged 18 and above.

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

The Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition is held quarterly, encouraging original short stories based on a provided prompt. The latest competition had a theme of '7.12am' and featured multiple prize-winning entries. The organization aims to support writers, especially those with low incomes and neurodivergent backgrounds.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Gail Honeyman was shortlisted in our competition and went on to write Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, winning the Costa debut novel award. All the winning and highly commended pieces are entered into the Sunday Times Audible competition, top prize £30,000. UK based writers are entered into the BBC short story competition. That's not all, literary agent A.M. Heath reads all the shortlist and considers representation. Long story short? You are 5,000 words away from success.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Novel, Romance, Thriller, and Young Adult

The HNS 2024 First Chapters Competition is for the first three chapters of an unpublished historical novel, aiming to promote excellence in storytelling. The competition coincides with the HNS UK 2024 conference, with winners announced at the gala dinner.

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

The Writing Peers Summer Short Story Prize is designed to celebrate and promote the art of storytelling. Details about the contest, including submission guidelines, themes, and criteria, are crucial for participants.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The competition is open globally, with a deadline of April 30, 2024. The top prize is £1,000, with additional prizes for second (£300) and third (£200) places. Entry fees are £10 for one entry, £19 for two, and £27 for three, with £1 from each entry donated to the charity First Story. Winning entries will be published online and in an anthology.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, and Short Story

The Folly Short Story Prize encourages entertaining, comedic, and well-crafted stories, aiming to engage readers with original works. The winner receives a cash prize and publication in Folly Journal.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Science Fiction

The Iridescence Award is a contest for short stories and poetry by BIPOC authors, focusing on themes of the supernatural, extraterrestrial, or paranormal. The contest aims to promote underrepresented voices in literature and provides cash prizes along with publication opportunities.

Genres: Fiction

The Dave Williamson National Short Story Competition is open to Canadian writers aged 18 and older, encouraging diversity and inclusion across all communities. Submissions are accepted in any fiction genre, with a word limit between 2,500 and 4,500 words. Winners will be published in the Guild's anthology, _Beyond Boundaries_.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

The Letter Review Prize aims to celebrate new writing and support writers globally. It offers various categories including Short Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Unpublished Books, awarding the best entries with monetary prizes and publication opportunities.

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

The Winter Flash Fiction Battle is an engaging contest where writers compete by creating stories based on given prompts. Participants write a story of up to 1000 words within three days. The contest emphasizes community feedback and professional judging.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction invites submissions of flash fiction stories that may be previously published or unpublished, with a maximum length of 1,000 words. The contest aims to celebrate narrative storytelling.