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2025 Book Prize
Unleash Press
Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, and Short Story
The 2025 Book Prize awards a winning manuscript with a $1,000 advance and a standard contract from Unleash Press. Accepts novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction. The competition is open now until December 1, 2024.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Standard publishing contract for the winner. Finalists will be considered for publication.
💰 Entry fee: $35
📅 Deadline: July 15, 2025
Passionate Plume
Passionate Ink
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Plume Contest is aimed at supporting erotic fiction authors, offering various categories for both published and unpublished writers.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.
Top Prize:
Engraved award
Additional prizes:
Publication in the Passionate Ink Charity Anthology
💰 Entry fee: $40
📅 Deadline: February 14, 2025 (Expired)
The Caledonia Novel Award
Alice Lutyens, literary agent at Curtis Brown
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The Caledonia Novel Award aims to support unpublished and self-published novelists across all genres for adults and young adults.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.
Top Prize:
$1,500
Additional prizes:
Exclusive framed award designed by Edinburgh artist Lucy Roscoe. Highly Commended prize: £500 Special prize: a free place on a writing course at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre
💰 Entry fee: $28
📅 Deadline: October 15, 2024 (Expired)
SFWP Literary Awards
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: July 15, 2024 (Expired)
HNS 2024 First Chapters Competition
Historical Novel Society
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Novel, Romance, Thriller, and Young Adult
The competition invites unpublished first three chapters of historical novels up to 15,000 words. It aims to promote excellence in storytelling. The overall winner will be announced at the HNS UK 2024 conference.
Top Prize:
£1,000
Additional prizes:
Category winners: £500 and HNS UK 2024 conference ticket. Competition trophy and feedback from judges.
💰 Entry fee: $40
📅 Deadline: February 15, 2024 (Expired)
Bridport Novel Award
Bridport Arts Centre
Genres: Fiction and Novel
The Bridport Novel Award invites submissions of original, unpublished novels. Authors must submit an opening of 5,000 to 8,000 words along with a 300-word synopsis. It's open to writers aged 16 and over from the UK and Ireland, including those living abroad.
Top Prize:
£1500
Additional prizes:
£750 for the runner up and three prizes of £150
💰 Entry fee: $29
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2025
James Jones First Novel Fellowship
Wilkes University
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.
Top Prize:
$12,000
Additional prizes:
First runner-up: $3,000; Second runner-up: $2,000.
💰 Entry fee: $33
📅 Deadline: March 15, 2025 (Expired)
Best Indie Book Award
Best Indie Book Award
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Best Indie Book Award (BIBA) is an international literary contest that recognizes outstanding achievements by independently published authors. Entries are limited to indie published books, including those from small presses and self-published authors, judged on various writing skills.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
A physical trophy or plaque
💰 Entry fee: $65
📅 Deadline: August 01, 2025
International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition
Vine Leaves Press
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.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication of the winning manuscript in 2026. Runners up will also be considered for publication.
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: July 01, 2025
The Masters Review Novel Excerpt Contest
The Masters Review
Genres: Fiction and Novel
The contest invites submissions of self-contained novel excerpts up to 6,000 words, focusing on strong voice, characters, and narrative arcs. The grand prize includes $3,000, online publication, and a consultation with a literary agent.
Top Prize:
$3,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | Online publication + an hour-long consultation with a literary agent.
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: November 01, 2024 (Expired)
Chapter One Prize
Gutsy Great Novelist
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.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: $500 | 3rd: $250. Honorable mentions may also be awarded.
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: March 03, 2025 (Expired)
