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DIRECTORY
Showing 90 contests that match your search.
Lambda Literary
Genres: LGBTQ and Non-fiction
The Jeanne Córdova Prize honors lesbian/queer-identified women and trans/gender non-conforming nonfiction authors. It seeks to recognize writers who capture the depth and complexity of lesbian/queer life, culture, and history.
Top Prize:
$2,500
📅 Deadline: May 16, 2025 (Expired)
Unleash Press
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Unleash WIP Award supports writers in completing significant literary projects, offering $500, editorial feedback, coaching, and a feature in Unleash Lit.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.
💰 Entry fee: $35
📅 Deadline: July 15, 2025 (Expired)
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)
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Friends and family of Tom Grass
Genres: Fiction and Non-fiction
The Tom Grass Prize celebrates the spirit of adventure through short pieces of prose, inviting writers from all backgrounds to reflect on the theme of adventure. The prize honors Tom Grass, a multifaceted writer and traveler.
Additional prizes:
1st prize of £1,000 and two runners-up prizes of £500 each.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2025 (Expired)
WOW! Women on Writing
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The mission of this contest is to inspire creative nonfiction and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Your story must be true, but the way you tell it is your chance to get creative. We are open to all styles of essay
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: July 31, 2025 (Expired)
Intrepid Times
Genres: Non-fiction and Travel
Intrepid Times' 10th writing competition invites readers and wanderers to explore the books that have guided our lives and impelled our adventures. Write a non-fiction travel story of up to 2,000 words that describes following in the footsteps of your literary heroes.
Top Prize:
$300
Additional prizes:
Publication in Intrepid Times. Up to four runners-up will be published at standard rates.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: August 31, 2025 (Expired)
Arizona Authors
Genres: Children's, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Young Adult
The Arizona Authors Literary Contest is open to authors worldwide from January 1, 2025, to June 1, 2025. It accepts unpublished and published works across multiple categories, with a focus on literary merit.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Grand winner: $500 | 3x 1st: $200 | 3x 2nd: $125 | 3x 3rd: $75 | 3x 4th: $50 | 11x "Best of Subcategory" prizes: $25 each | Recognition in the Arizona Literary Magazine and various monetary prizes for winners and runners-up.
💰 Entry fee: $50
📅 Deadline: June 01, 2025 (Expired)
Santa Fe Writers Project
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Novel, and Novella
The SFWP Literary Awards recognize excellence in writing, offering a grand prize and runner-up awards, with a focus on publishing emerging authors.
Top Prize:
$1,500
Additional prizes:
$500 for two runners-up
💰 Entry fee: $30
📅 Deadline: September 15, 2025
Travelers' Tales, a division of Solas House, Inc.
Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel
The Solas Awards honor excellence in travel writing, with cash prizes and publication opportunities. Entries must be original, true stories with specific word count guidelines. The contest runs annually, with winners announced on March 1 each year.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Silver: $750 Bronze: $500 Certificates of merit for Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in other categories; $100 honorarium for publication in books.
💰 Entry fee: $35
📅 Deadline: September 21, 2024 (Expired)
Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW)
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
The 26th Annual Writing Contest is currently closed. The next contest will open on January 1, 2025. Categories and further details will be announced later.
Top Prize:
$150
Additional prizes:
2nd place: $100 3rd place: $50
💰 Entry fee: $7
📅 Deadline: February 28, 2025 (Expired)
Ireland Writing Retreat
Genres: Flash Fiction and Non-fiction
The WAWA challenges writers to explore the theme of 'Endings' through short stories of up to 500 words. Entries must not include the word 'endings' in the title or story itself. Winners will be announced in March 2025.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Winner can choose either 500 euro or a voucher worth 1,000 euro for any writing retreat in 2025. Top ten stories in each category will be published on the Ireland Writing Retreat website, including a bio and photo of the author.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: January 12, 2025 (Expired)
Sunspot Lit
Genres: Non-fiction and Poetry
The Geminga Contest 2025 invites submissions of tiny fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, and art. Submissions should honor the power of brevity, with specific word limits for each category. Accepted works will be published in upcoming editions of Sunspot Lit.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Publication for the winner, with publication also offered to runners-up and finalists.
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2025 (Expired)
ChallengeUS
Genres: Non-fiction and Essay
The ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition engages youth globally to advocate for civic ideas, spotlighting promising leaders through scholarship prizes. Participants envision their future by 2050 and can join the Future Leaders Network.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Publication of submission, biographical article, Certificate of Special Achievement for 1st place winner. | Certificate of Achievement for honorable mentions.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: July 25, 2025 (Expired)
The Letter Review
Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Science Writing
The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction encourages writers to showcase original nonfiction works, including memoirs, essays, and journalism. It aims to support writers at all stages of their careers and promotes accessibility in publishing.
Top Prize:
$1000 USD shared by 2 to 4 winners
Additional prizes:
Publication by The Letter Review. Up to 20 writers are shortlisted.
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: October 01, 2025
Winning Writers
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Short Story
Welcome to the 31st annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $9,000 in prizes.
Top Prize:
$3,000
Additional prizes:
Two-year gift certificate from Duotrope; 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $300 each
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: May 01, 2025 (Expired)
Lazuli Literary Group
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Novella, and Script Writing
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 fee: $15
📅 Deadline: July 15, 2025 (Expired)
Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The Native Voices Award 2025 invites Indigenous storytellers from various communities to submit original, unpublished works in genres such as short stories, flash fiction, essays, scripts, or poetry. The contest focuses on themes rich in cultural depth.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $200, 3rd: $100, 4th: $50. Subsequent 6 finalists receive a $25 amazon gift card. 1st place also gets publication in Kinsman Quarterly and the anthology Native Voices, Vol. 2.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2025 (Expired)
Ploughshares
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Emerging Writer's Contest, held by Ploughshares since 1971, recognizes outstanding work by emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Winners are announced in the fall and their works are published in the Winter 2024-25 issue of Ploughshares.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
Publication in Ploughshares and a conversation with Aevitas Creative Management.
💰 Entry fee: $30
📅 Deadline: May 15, 2025 (Expired)
Sunspot Literary Journal
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Rigel 2025 writing contest is a writing contest organized by Sunspot Lit, seeking exceptional submissions in various formats including short stories, poetry, and artwork. The contest aims to highlight quality works across genres.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Publication offered to winner and select finalists.
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: February 28, 2025 (Expired)
Columbia Journalism School
Genres: Non-fiction
Two J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards, in the amount of $25,000, are given annually to aid in the completion of significant works of nonfiction on topics of American political or social concern. Recognizing that a nonfiction book based on extensive research often overtaxes the resources available to its author, the project envisions the Awards as a way of closing the gap between the time and money an author has and the time and money that finishing a book requires.
Top Prize:
$25,000
📅 Deadline: December 07, 2023 (Expired)
The Alpine Fellowship
Genres: Essay, Fiction, and Non-fiction
The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize is awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of 'Fear.' All genres are accepted, and entries must be in English. The competition aims to discover and support emerging writing talent globally.
Top Prize:
£3000
Additional prizes:
2nd: £1000 | 3rd: £1000
📅 Deadline: April 01, 2025 (Expired)
Wine Country Writers' Festival Society
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The contest is open to writers over 18 worldwide and includes categories for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each submission must adhere to specific formatting guidelines and word limits. Winners are selected through blind judging, and results are announced during the festival.
Top Prize:
$200 CAD per category
Additional prizes:
Second place: $100 Third place: $50 Winner also gets anthology publication, entry to next year's festival
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: June 02, 2024 (Expired)
Disruption Books
Genres: Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Novel
The First 100 Days Contest seeks innovative book ideas from authors committed to promoting good work amidst challenging times. Participants submit a one-page book overview and a sample manuscript of up to 5,000 words. Winning authors receive feedback and an editorial consultation.
Top Prize:
Editorial consultation and feedback on up to 100 pages.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2025 (Expired)
Geneva Writers Group
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The GWG Literary Prize 2025 invites writers to explore hope and resilience through candid writing. Categories include fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry, all reflecting the theme of hope.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
1st: 100CHF, 2nd: 50CHF, 3rd: 25CHF. Each winner and runner-up also receives 1 free workshop each.
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: March 03, 2025 (Expired)
Cleveland Foundation
Genres: Novel, Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognize outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and cultural diversity. Established in 1935 by Edith Anisfield Wolf, it remains the only American book prize focused on these themes.
Top Prize:
$10,000
Additional prizes:
Winners receive $10,000 and are honored at a ceremony in Cleveland.
📅 Deadline: December 31, 2025
Trio House Press
Genres: Essay, Memoir, and Non-fiction
The Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award is an annual contest launched by Trio House Press, focused on creative nonfiction manuscripts. The award aims to recognize innovative and distinct works in this genre.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: May 15, 2025 (Expired)
Sunspot Literary Journal
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
The Goldilocks Zone contest invites submissions for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and graphic novels, seeking works that combine craft with audience appeal. The prize includes cash and publication for winners and runners-up.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: May 01, 2025 (Expired)
Hope Prize
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Short Story
The Hope Prize is an international short story competition focused on original stories of hope, open to writers aged 18 and over, with entries accepted in English. The prize encourages bold self-expression and aims to spotlight charities making impactful changes.
Top Prize:
$10 000 AUD
Additional prizes:
2nd: $2000 AUD | 3rd: $1000 AUD | Shortlisted stories will be published in a Simon & Schuster anthology.
💰 Entry fee: $30
📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025
Killer Nashville
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, and Thriller
The Silver Falchion Award honors the best books published in 2024 across various genres, including mystery, thriller, suspense, and romance. The competition aims to recognize quality storytelling and is open to all published authors.
Top Prize:
$250
💰 Entry fee: $85
📅 Deadline: April 01, 2025 (Expired)
Gulf Coast Writers Association
Genres: Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA) organizes an annual writing contest to celebrate and recognize talented writers across various genres. Participants can submit original works in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry. The contest promotes writers' creativity and provides valuable feedback from experienced judges.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
Second place: $75 Third place: $50 For each category
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2025 (Expired)
Swamp Pink
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.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
Publication in an upcoming issue of Swamp Pink
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2025 (Expired)
Winning Writers
Genres: Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Children's, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult
The North Street Book Prize focuses on self-published or hybrid-published books, offering significant cash prizes and marketing services to enhance visibility. The contest has been running for 11 years and encourages entries across various genres.
Top Prize:
$10,000
Additional prizes:
$1,000 for top winner in each category | $300 for honorable mentions
💰 Entry fee: $85
📅 Deadline: July 01, 2025 (Expired)
Write the World in partnership with Patagonia
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The competition invites young writers aged 13-19 to craft a piece of creative nonfiction on their environment, blending fact with storytelling. The prompt emphasizes reflection on personal and global environmental challenges.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Winner receives $100; Runner-Up and Best Peer Review each receive $50.
📅 Deadline: May 26, 2025 (Expired)
Fish Publishing
Genres: Memoir, Non-fiction, and Short Story
The Fish Short Memoir Prize invites entries of personal memoirs, with the aim of being published in the Fish Anthology 2025. It's open to writers of any nationality and no prior publication is needed.
Top Prize:
€1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd and 3rd: Online writing course + €300 | 3rd: €300
💰 Entry fee: $18
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2025 (Expired)
South Warwickshire Literary Festival
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Flash Fiction
The competition features an open theme and includes four categories: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, and Poetry. Each category has a defined maximum word count. Winners will be acknowledged at the festival and have the opportunity to read their entries.
Top Prize:
£75
Additional prizes:
£75 for first prize in each category, plus the opportunity to read the winning entry at the festival. £25 for commended entries in each category.
💰 Entry fee: $4
📅 Deadline: March 28, 2025 (Expired)
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