The Best Writing Contests of 2023
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
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Showing 562 contests
Brouhaha - The short story writing contest
WriteFluence
We are looking for original, unpublished pieces of fiction, with a maximum word count of 3,000 words. The theme for this contest is “Brouhaha,” and we encourage all writers to interpret this theme in their own unique way. All genres are welcome.
Top prize
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $2
Deadline: April 15, 2023
Genres
Short Story
View contestGemini Magazine Short Story Contest
Gemini Magazine
Entries may be any subject, style, or length. Entries must be previously unpublished but those from personal blogs will be considered.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: $100 | 3 honorable mentions: $25 | Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $8
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story
View contestNarratively's 2023 Profile Prize
Narratively
Narratively is looking for profile pieces that tell the story of ordinary people or communities doing extraordinary things. The grand prize winner will receive $3,000, and the two finalists will receive $1,000 each. Guest judges are renowned journalists Gay Talese, Lisa Lucas and Rebecca Traister.
Top prize
$3,000
Additional prizes
$1000 for two other finalists
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: April 14, 2023
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction
View contestBacopa Literary Review
Bacopa Literary Review
Bacopa Literary Review is an annual international print journal published by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville. Our Bacopa Literary Review Editors’ blog shows the quality of writing we seek by highlighting work we respect from previous Bacopa issues as well as other sources.
Top prize
£200 in 6 categories
Additional prizes
$100 Honorable mention in 6 categories
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: April 16, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Essay, Flash Fiction, Humor
View contestElegant Literature's Contest For New Writers
Elegant Literature
One of the largest awards open to unpublished writers, and the only one closed to professionals. We are the first magazine to pay pro rates and only accept submissions from new writers, paying new authors over $50,000 last year. One new writer receives the grand prize. We also choose the best stories, pay the authors above-professional rates, and publish them in our magazine. March head judge is Creag Munroe.
Top prize
$3,000
Additional prizes
Paid publication, 25 x $20 USD | Free entry to Novelist Accelerator | Now Novel Package
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: April 01, 2023
Genres
Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult, Flash Fiction, Science Writing
View contestNew Deal Writing Competition
Genesee Valley Council on the Arts
GVCA is excited to announce the eighth annual New Deal Writing Competition! This competition challenges writers to use a painting chosen by the staff at GVCA as inspiration for a short story. This year’s painting is “Small Town” by Edmund Yaghjian, an oil painting.
Top prize
$200
Additional prizes
2nd: $100 | 3rd: $50
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: April 01, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Short Story
View contestYoung Sports Journalist Competition 2023
Pitch magazine
Pitch magazine is pleased to announce the launch of the Young Sports Journalist competition 2023! We are seeking well-argued articles from students aged 14-24 for this competition.
Top prize
£150 in each category
Additional prizes
Publication | Work experience at The Times and FIPP
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 07, 2023
Genres
Essay
View contestGeminga: $250 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art
Sunspot Lit
Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. It was named, in part, for a transcription of gh’è minga, meaning “it’s not there.” With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novelsshould be 4 pages or less.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
Publication in digital and print
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestNew Writers Poetry Competition 2023
New Writers
The New Writers Poetry Competition 2023 is open to published and unpublished poets from around the world. There is no specific theme but poems should be no longer than 40 lines. NewWriters.org.uk will donate £1.00 from each entry to First Story (a creative writing charity in the UK).
Top prize
£1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: £300 | 3rd: £200
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $13
Deadline: July 12, 2023
Genres
Poetry
View contestKing of Essay
Papers Owl
To all TV shows nerds: we're incredibly excited to announce a competition for the best essay based on the TV series you are keen on. This is a new challenge for folks who may be under budget and interested in winning subscriptions on streaming services (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney).
Top prize
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, or Disney+ subscription for 6 months
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 15, 2023
Genres
Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contest7 Day Story Writing Challenge
Globe Soup
Register now for our next 7-day story writing challenge. A secret theme, a randomly assigned genre and just 7 days to write a story of no more than 2,000 words. Our 7 day story writing challenges take place throughout the year. The challenges are free and you can even get feedback on your story. Take part in one challenge or take part in all of them!
Top prize
£500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: May 14, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story
View contestFirst Pages Prize
First Pages Prize
This international prize is open to unagented writers anywhere in the world for the first five pages (1,250 words) of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. This year we will award three prizes in BOTH fiction and creative nonfiction! In addition to cash awards, winners receive developmental mentoring, consultation with a literary agent, and publicity.
Top prize
$2,000
Additional prizes
Developmental Mentoring & Agent Consultation
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: April 10, 2023
Genres
Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestQueen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize
Wasafiri
Exceptionally international in scope, the prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category (fiction, poetry and life writing) will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication, and will be published in Wasafiri’s print magazine. Shortlisted writers will have their work published on Wasafiri’s website.
Top prize
£1000 (x3)
Additional prizes
Mentoring & Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $12
Deadline: June 30, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Poetry, Memoir, Non-fiction
View contestThe Mysterious Case
NEOVEL
The theme of this contest is "The Mysterious Case". The main character or characters of your entry must have a suspenseful investigation with a mystery in the plot. This change must occur in the story before the end of the fourth chapter and must be mentioned in your book description.
Top prize
€500
Additional prizes
2nd: €250 | 3rd: €100
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 02, 2023
Genres
Crime, Fiction, Novel
View contestThe 2023 Ink Across Borders Prize
The European Society of Literature
This competition is seeking out literary talent in Africa, Asia, and other typically underrepresented parts of the world. We want to build bridges between the West and the East, the North and the South. To ensure writers from these places have the opportunity to gain international attention, we’re launching The 2023 Ink Across Borders Prize.
Top prize
€200
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $2
Deadline: May 14, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story
View contestThe Synopsis Skirmish—a contest for querying authors
Darling Axe Editing
Summarize your novel in 500 words for a chance at a $1000 CAD prize pool! Our judge, Michelle Barker, will be asking herself one question: "Does this synopsis convince me that I'm in the hands of an adept novelist with a unique and engaging story to tell?"
Top prize
$700 CAD
Additional prizes
2nd: $200 CAD | 3rd: $100 CAD
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $4
Deadline: May 31, 2023
Genres
Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestNature and Place Poetry Competition
The Rialto
The Rialto working in association with the RSPB, BirdLife International, Cambridge Conservation Initiative and The University of Leeds Poetry Centre. Poems are invited that deal with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Ian McMillan.
Top prize
£1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: £500 | 3rd: £250
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: March 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Poetry
View contestThe Pinch Literary Awards & Page Prize
The Pinch Literary Journal
The 2023 Pinch Literary Awards accepts poetry and fiction. The 2023 Page Prize accepts non-fiction.
Top prize
$2000 for poetry & fiction winners
Additional prizes
$1000 for Page Prize winner
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Non-fiction
View contestAdrienne Rich Award for Poetry
Beloit Poetry Journal
Submit 1-3 unpublished poems on any subject in any style up to a maximum of 10 pages per entry. (We enjoy long poems!)
Top prize
$1,500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: April 30, 2023
Genres
Poetry
View contestThe Bath Novel Award
The Bath Novel Awards
The Bath Novel Award is a £3,000 international prize for emerging writers of adult fiction. Submit the first 5,000 words plus a one page synopsis of your novel for adults or young adults. Shortlisted entries will receive manuscript feedback and literary agent introductions.
Top prize
£3,000
Additional prizes
£1800 for one longlistee
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $35
Deadline: May 31, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Novel, Young Adult
View contestNorth Street Book Prize
Winning Writers
Submit a self-published or hybrid-published book, up to 200,000 words in length. One grand prize winner will receive $10,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, three months of Plus service (a $207 value) and a $500 account credit from Book Award Pro, and 3 free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $525 value)
Top prize
$10,000
Additional prizes
$1,000 for top winner in each category | $300 for honorable mentions
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $75
Deadline: June 30, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Children's, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestWrite By The Sea Writing Competition
Write By The Sea
Flash Fiction (700 words), Short Story (2,500 words), Poetry (40 lines) Memoir/Personal Essay (1,000 words). The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of €500, a beautiful hand-crafted WBTS 2023 Writing Competition trophy and a free weekend pass to Write By The Sea festival 2023. All four winning pieces will be published on the Write By The Sea website.
Top prize
€500
Additional prizes
2nd: €200 | 3rd: €300
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $11
Deadline: June 04, 2023
Genres
Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Poetry, Short Story
View contestDave Williamson National Short Story Competition
Manitoba Writers' Guild
Open to writers across Canada. Short prose in English, 2,500-5,000 words in any fiction genre. We actively encourage submissions from all writers who are 18 years of age or older.
Top prize
$1,000 CAD
Additional prizes
2nd: $600 CAD | 3rd: $400 CAD
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: March 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction
View contestChapter One Prize
Gutsy Great Novelist
The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. Winners will be announced March 31, 2023.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: $500 |3rd: $250
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: March 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Novel, Young Adult, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller
View contestRomance on the Road
Intrepid Times
Write an original, factual, first-person travel story about a time you experienced romance while traveling. Feel free to explore romance in all of its manifestations, but ensure that your travel story builds itself around the context of a place or experience. Editors will be looking for originality, voice, and a satisfying story arc that captures attention and makes use of imagery to pull the reader along at every step.
Top prize
$200
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 19, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Non-fiction, Romance, Travel
View contestAurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award
Trio House Press
We seek un-agented full-length creative nonfiction manuscripts including memoir, essay collections, etc. 50,000 - 80,000 words.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: August 31, 2023
Genres
Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction
View contestSouthword Literary Essay Competition
Munster Literature Centre
The competition is open to original, unpublished, personal essays between 2500 ‒ 5000 words. We’re looking for personal, confessional essays which border on memoir ‒ gripping essays full of memories and feelings. The best indicator of the kind of thing which interests us is what we have published in past issues; essays by Kim Addonizio, Sandra Beasley, Simon Van Booy, Carlo Geblér, Thomas Lynch, Anthony Walton, Helen Mort and Kim Moore.
Top prize
€1,000
Additional prizes
8 Runners-Up: €500
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $22
Deadline: February 28, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay
View contestFemmeFluenza 3.0
WriteFluence
This is our third exclusively-for-women-writers story-writing international contest. ‘Cos life is all about celebrating womanhood and surviving through various challenges it brings along! Theme: Separation. Word count: 1000 – 2500 words. Author eligibility: Writers of age 16 and above, from all across the globe. All entries must be in English. Only original works that have not been published in print, digital or online publications will be considered.
Top prize
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $2
Deadline: February 20, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Short Story
View contestInternational Welsh Poetry Competition 2023
International Welsh Poetry Competition
The first Welsh Poetry Competition was set up by poet & writer Dave Lewis in 2007. The aim is to inspire people to capture life in the present day and to give a voice to a new generation of poets and writers. We are not interested in purely academic types of literature but would much rather see pure raw passion burst onto the creative writing scene in Wales.
Top prize
£500
Additional prizes
2nd: £250 | 3rd: £125
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $8
Deadline: June 04, 2023
Genres
Poetry
View contestInternational Poetry Book Awards 2023
Poetry Book Awards
The Poetry Book Awards is an annual, international book award given to the best poetry books produced by indie writers, self published authors or books published by small, truly independent presses. We are proud to be a Welsh based international awards programme, open to all indie authors and self published poets globally.
Top prize
£400
Additional prizes
2nd: £200 | 3rd: £100 | Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $44
Deadline: July 31, 2023
Genres
Poetry
View contestNextTribe Short Story Contest for Women (Over 45)
Next Tribe Inc
We believe women age 45+ have much fuel to write good stories, so our contest is exclusively for this demographic.
Top prize
$500
Additional prizes
2 runners up: $100 | Publication in NextTribe
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: May 08, 2023
Genres
Short Story
View contestDesperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction
Desperate Literature
The aim of the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is both to celebrate the best of new, boundary-pushing short fiction and to give winners the most visibility possible for their writing. This year, the stories of 2000 words or fewer will be judged by Ottessa Moshfegh, Tiffany Tsao, and Mariana Enriquez.
Top prize
€1,500 + a 7-day stay at the Civitella Ranieri artist’s residency in Umbria, Italy
Additional prizes
2nd and 3rd place: €750
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $22
Deadline: April 16, 2023
Genres
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story
View contestEco Friendly Writing Contest
Howard's New Beginnings
The aim of the contest is to share eco-friendly ideas. Tell us something you think helps make the planet become more eco-friendly such as an eco-friendly product or packaging, a recipe for a natural product, or a waste-management tip. Up to 500 words. Any writer from anywhere can submit an entry. Contest deadline is April 22 2023, Earth Day.
Top prize
$150
Additional prizes
Publication
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: April 22, 2023
Genres
Essay, Non-fiction, Science Writing
View contestFlash Memoir
Writer Advice
WriterAdvice seeks flash memoir, a personal life story running 750 words or less.
Top prize
$150
Additional prizes
Publication in our e-zine
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: March 02, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Memoir
View contestBooksie 2023 Poetry Contest
Booksie
Booksie is looking to crown its 2018 Poet Laureate. The poetry can be of any type, length, or content, but it must be your own. The poetry can be serious or whimsical, fact or fiction, but it should strike a chord that makes us sit up and take notice. We're looking for poems that say something and make a reader sit up and think. You may submit as many entries as you like.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
$150 to two runners-up
Entry requirements
💰 Fee: $7
Deadline: June 15, 2023
Genres
Poetry
View contest
