The Best Non Fiction Writing Contests of 2022

Dandy Writers Short Story Contest

Dandy Writers

Submit a story of no more than 200 words. Your submission must be in line with the theme of the month. A writer is only permitted to submit one application per month. No more than one application. No plagiarism, even if it’s your work already published. Your work must be yours. Your data entered must be accurate. You must pay the entry fee. Note: Failure to comply with these rules will result to your application cancelled. And your entry fee will not be refunded. Thanks as you obey these rules.

True Story Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Share a true story from your life. Write a story that shares a moment, an object, a feeling, etc. This does not have to be a profound memory, but should allow readers insight into your feelings, observations and/or thoughts. Use at least 100 words. No poetry.

Non Fiction Writing Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

We are looking for personal essays, memoirs, and works of literary non-fiction on any topic. It doesn't matter if it's spiritual, political, intellectual, emotional, funny, serious, or an essay about your DVD player.

True Story Flash

FanStory.com Inc.

Share your flash fiction story. But for this contest we aren't looking for fiction. Rather share your true story with only 100 words. Cash prize!

The George Floyd Short Story Competition Vol2

Nottingham Writers' Studio

We’ll be taking stories of up to 5,000 words, on the theme of the environment and the ongoing climate crisis. Entrants can write in any genre. There is no fee to take part and we’re offering cash prizes to every successful applicant plus publication in our next anthology. 1st - £250 2nd - £125 3rd - £75 Runner up - £15

FemmeFluenza 2.0

WriteFluence

Become a published woman author by this International Women’s Day! Announcing our second exclusively-for-women-writers story-writing international contest FemmeFluenza 2.0 ‘Cos life is all about celebrating womanhood and surviving through various challenges it brings along! Theme: Survival stories through various challenges faced by women – be it prejudices, physical or emotional abuse, sexual harassment, corporate biases, denied education, breast cancer, female infanticide, gender discrimination, single-parenthood, divorce, social stigmas and taboos, etc.

Hispanic Culture Review – Literary and Photographic Contest 2021-2022

Hispanic Culture Review

If the past year has taught us anything, it is that circumstances are always changing. Just as the world inevitably changes around us, we, too, go through various cycles of transformation in our lifetimes. Our identities are not static but evolve as we experience life and confront obstacles that come our way. Who we are is not fixed but rather a reflection of ourselves at a certain point in time and the journey it took to get there. As Maya Angelou once stated, “we delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” This year, we invite you to reflect on the following questions: What does the phrase “ever-changing” mean for you or your community with respect to the journey of transformation? What has made you the person you are today? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation. The selected works will be published in our magazine, and winners will receive a monetary prize of $100 dollars and a certificate of recognition, and will be notified through email as well as on our Facebook page (Hispanic Culture Review GMU). Prizes will be issued in the Spring of 2022.

Story of the Year Contest

Storyshares

The annual Story of the Year Contest is back for the fifth year, and we are searching for fresh, diverse stories that are “easy to read and hard to put down. The 2021 competition will run from November 2, 2021 to February 1, 2022 and will feature 4 distinct categories. Winners will be announced April 5, 2022 to receive $5000 in cash prizes, in addition to publication in both digital and print form. Winning stories and those selected as runners-up will be included in the Storyshares library, which is currently serving tens of thousands of students in all 50 states and over 150 countries. This is an opportunity for writers to not only expose their work to a large, established network of readers, but moreover, for their words to become part of the mission to improve literacy outcomes for teens and young adults across the globe. This is an opportunity to change lives, and make a difference.

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Shuswap Association of Writers

Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (1,200 to 1,500 words), nonfiction (1,200 to 1,500 words), and poetry (up to three one-page poems). Besides the cash prize, winners will receive a registration package for the 2022 Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival, publication in the Word on the Lake anthology, and copies of the anthology in print and ebook.

SAWG 29th Writing Contest

San Antonio Writers Guild

Preliminary judging by trained SAWG members, final judging by successful professional writers or university-level writing instructors who specialize in the entries’ genres. Every entrant can obtain his/her preliminary and final score sheets. Genre winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) may correspond with their final judges. This is SAWG's 29th contest.

Clash of the Query Letters

Darling Axe Editing

A writing contest for querying authors! Our judge, Michelle Barker, will be asking herself one question: "does this query letter convince me that I'm in the hands of an adept novelist with a unique and engaging story to tell?" Optional feedback available.

100 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. You can write in any genre, but the theme is abundance. Give us a glimpse of something that reveals the abundance of this big, beautiful, unexpected life that we’ve got. Make us “see a World in a Grain of Sand.”

The Fountain Essay Contest

Fountain Magazine

We want to hear your COVID-19 story. What has the virus taught you about life? If you were not infected, what has your experience been like as an “outsider?” We encourage our contestants to explore this issue in a way that is most meaningful to them, and to do so while making sure to avoid speculative narratives and political polarization.

The Restless Books Prize For New Immigrant Writing

Restless Books

The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing was created in 2016 to honor outstanding debut literary works by first-generation immigrants, awarded for fiction and nonfiction in alternating years. The winner receives $10,000 and publication by Restless Books.

Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards

Writer's Digest

Whether you’re a professional writer, a part-time freelancer or a self-starting student, here’s your chance to enter the premier self-published competition exclusively for self-published books. This self-published competition spotlights today’s self-published works and honors self-published authors.

Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction

https://www.reedmag.org/gabriele-rico-challenge-for-nonfict

The Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction recognizes outstanding works of nonfiction. We are looking for creative nonfiction, such as personal essays or narratives, not scholarly papers or book reviews. All works should be stand-alone essays, not chapters of a longer work. Please limit prose submissions to 5,000 words.

2022 Short Memoir Competition

Globe Soup

We’re looking for the best Short Memoir of no more than 3,000 words. A short memoir is a piece of creative nonfiction in which the writer explores a single episode of their life or a small selection of vignettes, connected by a common theme. The theme for this year’s competition is 'Places that have made me, changed me, or inspired me'. All participants can get extensive feedback on their entry and take part in our free Monthly Micro Writing Contests.

Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA)

Ireland Writing Retreat

Welcome to the fifth ‘Wild Atlantic Writing Awards’ (WAWA) competition to welcome the New Year which we hope will provide challenge, diversion and enjoyment for you over the holidays and into next year as well. As with all our competitions, there will be two separate categories - flash fiction and creative nonfiction. And we’ve decided on an intriguing theme for both - TIME. ​

AWP Prize for Creative Nonfiction

Association of Writers & Writing Programs

AWP sponsors the Award Series, an annual competition for the publication of excellent new book-length works. The competition is open to all authors writing in English regardless of nationality or residence, and is available to published and unpublished authors alike.

The Iowa Review Awards

The Iowa Review

Each January since 2003, The Iowa Review has invited submissions to The Iowa Review Awards, a writing contest in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Winners receive $1,500; first runners-up receive $750. Winners and runners-up are published in each December issue.

Crazyhorse Prize Series

From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.

Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest

Book Pipeline

Launched in 2014, Book Pipeline connects writers worldwide with publishers, editors, agents, and the film industry. Through two submission platforms—Unpublished and Adaptation—the company seeks both new and established authors. For over 22 years, Pipeline has bridged the gap between up-and-coming writers and the industry through a unique, long-term, hands-on facilitation process. The result thus far has been $8 million in scripts sold to studios and networks since 1999.

Between Man and God

Arts Lounge NYC

In most West African countries, queer people live in constant fear, abused by both public and private agencies that refuse to acknowledge their rights to live and love freely. This contest and anthology celebrates their tenacity and their refusal to be silenced. Honorarium will be given to the top three best selected entries to acknowledge the excellency of their craft and to encourage visibility through writing. All shortlisted submissions will be published.

Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction

Lambda Literary

Lambda Literary’s Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction, in memory of the beloved activist and author, honors lesbian/queer-identified women and trans/gender non-conforming nonfiction authors. The award will go to a writer committed to nonfiction work that captures the depth and complexity of lesbian/queer life, culture, and/or history.

Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

Killer Nashville

The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award is committed to discovering new writers, as well as superlative books by established authors and, upon discovery, sharing those writers and their works with new readers. There are a large number of both fiction and non-fiction categories you can enter.

Desert Writers Award

Ellen Meloy Fund

The Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers grants one $5,000 award in the spring of each year. Only proposals for literary or creative nonfiction book projects will be considered. No fiction or poetry proposals will be reviewed.

Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition

Writer's Digest

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]

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Winning Writers

Welcome to the 30th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $8,000 in prizes.

WOW! Women On Writing Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

WOW! Women On Writing

WOW! is proud to introduce our newest essay contest! The contest is open globally. 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—from personal essay to lyric essay to hybrid essay, and beyond!

SFWP Literary Awards

SFWP

We are seeking fiction and creative nonfiction of every genre. The contest is open to authors who have not been published by a major press. We publish in English, but the contest is open to writers from anywhere in the world. The early-bird entry fee (December 15th-February 15th) will be $25.

Etched Onyx and the Story Discovery Podcast

Onyx Publications

Submitted works must be previously unpublished fiction, nonfiction, poetry or flash fiction. We are open to all styles, genres, and types of writing. We suggest you checkout our free archived editions to get a sense of what we publish. All stories published in the magazine also include a narration of the story and an author interview on our podcast. **Early Bird deadline 8th October, reduced fee of $7.50**

The Bird in Your Hands Prize

Thin Air Magazine

The Bird in Your Hands Prize is a contest that centers and celebrates BIPOC voices. This is a no-fee contest accepting poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in any form under 500 words. The winner of the contest will be awarded $1000, published in Thin Air Magazine, and interviewed for Thin Air Online.

Annual Contest Submissions

So to Speak Journal

So to Speak seeks work by writers who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer. Our mission is to amplify voices of BIPOC, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, women, neurodivergent people, people of different religions or none, migrants, refugees & immigrants (regardless of citizenship), and incarcerated writers. Free submissions for Black and Indigenous Writers.

Lazuli Literary Group Writing Contest

Lazuli 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.

Fall Travel Writing Contest

Nowhere Magazine

We are looking for young, old, novice and veteran writers to send us stories that possess a powerful sense of place. Stories can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry or essay.