Best Novel Writing Contests in 2025

Genres: Fiction and Novel

Simon & Schuster UK are launching an opportunity that’s exclusively open to un-agented, currently not under contract fiction writers of colour. The winner will receive a two-book UK publishing contract with S&S UK with a six-figure advance.

Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Novel

The competition aims to give marginalized voices the opportunity to establish literary legacies. It accepts unpublished creative nonfiction manuscripts and assesses entries based on originality, creativity, and writing quality.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Romance

The Maggie Award for Excellence aims to encourage and reward the mastery of romance writing by prepublished authors. Each entry receives two critiques from published authors, and finalists are reviewed by industry agents and editors.

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

The Goldfinch Books Novel Award is a competition for emerging novelists. It invites submissions of 3,000 words from completed novels. The winner receives a £500 cash prize and an invitation to join the Goldfinch writer community.

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

The Chapter One Prize is an international writing contest for unpublished novelists. It aims to find the best opening chapter of a novel-in-progress written in English. Submissions open on February 3, 2025, and close on March 3, 2025.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Novel

The IndieReader Discovery Awards (IRDA) focus on recognizing outstanding self-published books in various genres, providing authors with exposure and opportunities for representation by literary agents. Each entry receives a professional review, and winners gain significant prizes, including cash awards, reviews, and promotional opportunities.

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: Mystery and Novel

The competition is open to writers aged 18 or older who have not published a mystery novel. It aims to discover new talents in traditional mystery writing. All submissions must be original works of at least 60,000 words that follow the guidelines. The winner will be announced after April 2025.

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.

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, Non-fiction, Novel, and Poetry

The BCALA Self-Publishing Literary Awards honors the best self-published ebooks by African American authors in the U.S. across fiction and poetry genres. The awards focus on the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Story, Essay, Memoir, and Novel

Established in 2018, the Women's Prose Prize honors previously unpublished, original prose work including novels, short story collections, memoirs, and essay collections. It is open to all women writers, with a fair evaluation process ensuring anonymity during judging.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Young Adult

The Caledonia Novel Award aims to support unpublished and self-published novelists across all genres for adults and young adults. The 2025 competition encourages diverse submissions, offering significant prizes to help cultivate new talent.

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.