The Best Writing Contests of 2023
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
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Manage a competition? Submit it here
Join our short story competition
Submit a short story based on 1 of 5 weekly prompts. Winners get $250.
Showing 639 contests
Lighthouse Poetry Series
Cleveland State University Poetry Center
The Cleveland State University Poetry Center welcomes submissions for the Lighthouse Poetry Series. The Lighthouse Poetry Series publishes contemporary poetry from poets with any history of publication. The winner will receive $1,000, publication, and a standard royalty contract. This year’s contest will be judged by Randall Mann.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
Royalty contract
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $28
Deadline: March 31, 2021 (Expired)
Genres
Poetry
View contestRattle Poetry Prize
Rattle
The annual Rattle Poetry Prize offers $15,000 for a single poem to be published in the winter issue of the magazine. Ten finalists will also receive $500 each and publication, and be eligible for the $5,000 Readers’ Choice Award, to be selected by subscriber and entrant vote.
Top prize
$15,000
Additional prizes
Published in the Winter 2020 issue of Rattle
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: July 15, 2021 (Expired)
Genres
Poetry
View contestZizzle Literary Flash Fiction Contest
Zizzle Literary
Every week during our submission period, we’ll post one-sentence dialogue writing prompts on our social media platforms. Choose a dialogue prompt that inspires you and write a story that includes the prompt.
Top prize
Additional prizes
1000
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: March 15, 2021 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction
View contestWomen's National Book Association Writing Contest
Women's National Book Association
Do you want to show the world your writing? Then enter the 2020 WNBA Writing Contest! You can enter your work in four categories: fiction, creative nonfiction, flash prose, and poetry.
Top prize
$250
Additional prizes
Publishication in an anthology
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: December 01, 2020 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestShort Story Competition 2021
Exeter Writers
Exeter Writers runs an annual short story competition. The competition began in 2009 and is very popular, receiving entries from all over the world. The maximum word count is 3,000.
Top prize
$900
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $9
Deadline: February 28, 2021 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Short Story
View contestChalk Circle Short Story Competition
Chalk Circle
Whether you are creating a dystopian nightmare, revelling in absurdist humour, or writing stories to celebrate what you love, or have discovered, and fear to lose, we invite you to submit your story to our inaugural short story competition. The word limit is 2,000.
Top prize
$240
Additional prizes
Publication on website or anthology
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $7
Deadline: August 31, 2020 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Short Story
View contestThe Milt Kessler Poetry Award
Binghamton University
$1,000 Award for a book of poems written in English, 48 pages or more in length, selected by our judges as the strongest collection of poems published in 2019.
Top prize
$1,000
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: February 01, 2020 (Expired)
Genres
Poetry
View contestAtlantis Short Story Contest
Atlantis Short Story Contest
In its seventh year, the Atlantis Short Story Contest accepts entries from unpublished authors around the world who write their short stories in English and do not exceed the length of 2,500 words. They are looking for short stories that create exciting new worlds with dynamic characters.
Top prize
$300
Additional prizes
In-depth feedback
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $9
Deadline: February 25, 2018 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Short Story
View contestNelson Algren Short Story Award
Chicago Tribune
The 2018 Nelson Algren Literary Awards is sponsored by Chicago Tribune. Stories must be written in English, double-spaced, and no longer than 8,000 words. A total of 10 prizes will be made available during Contest: One Grand Prize: $3,500, Four Finalist Prizes: $1,000, Five Runner-up Prizes: $500.
Top prize
$3,500
Additional prizes
Publication in Printers Row
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: February 07, 2018 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Short Story
View contest
