The Best Writing Contests of 2022
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
Hammond House
The theme for the 2021 competition - STARDUST - is intended to be inspirational, not restrictive, so please feel free to interpret it in any way you choose. Be creative, be unpredictable, be different; the judges are looking for intriguing ideas and fresh voices. Top prize of £100.
£100
Publication by Hammond House
💰 Fee: $12
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Poetry
View contestDream Quest One
The mission of this contest is to inspire, motivate and encourage anyone having the desire or love of poetry and writing, to continue doing so without fear of failure or success! Remember, in whatever you do, "it's okay to dream," for dreams do come true...
$500
$250 for 2nd place, $100 for 3rd place
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: August 31, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestDream Quest One
This poetry contest is open to everyone and international. We hope that you are inspired to display the beauty and art of poetry for the entire world to see your "gift of a dream."
$250
$125 for 2nd place, $50 for 3rd place
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: August 31, 2022
Poetry
View contestCoffee House Poetry
Poems may be submitted from any country & must be in English, must each be no longer than 45 lines, must show title & poem only, must not show poet’s name, must be the original work of the entrant (no translations) & must not have been previously published; no text alterations accepted after submission; no limit on number of poems or number of subsequent submissions.
£2,000
2nd £1000, 3rd £500
💰 Fee: $7
Deadline: September 26, 2022
Poetry
View contestWriter's of the Future
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience. Prizes of $1000, $750 and $500 are awarded every three months. From the four 1st Place winners each year, one story is selected as the grand prize winner and the author receives an additional $5000 cash prize.
$1,000
$750 for 2nd place, $500 for 3rd, £5000 annual grand prize
💰 Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, Science Fiction
View contestWinning Writers
Welcome to the 19th annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre. $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style.
$3,000
$200 for 10 honorable mentions
💰 Fee: $20
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Poetry
View contestHammond House
The theme for the 2021 competition - STARDUST - is intended to be inspirational, not restrictive, so please feel free to interpret it in any way you choose. Be creative, be unpredictable, be different; the judges are looking for intriguing ideas and addictive prose. Top prize of £1000.
£1000
Publication by Hammond House
💰 Fee: $12
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestHammond House
The theme for the 2021 competition - STARDUST - is intended to be inspirational, not restrictive, so please feel free to interpret it in any way you choose. Be creative, be unpredictable, be different; the judges are looking for honesty and emotion. Top prize of £100.
£100
Trailers made for top three places
💰 Fee: $12
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Script Writing
View contestDzanc Books
The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction recognizes daring, original, and innovative writing in novel form.
$5,000
Publication by Dzanc Books
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Fiction, Novel
View contestDzanc Books
The Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize celebrates imaginative and inventive writing in the short form. The winning submission will be awarded a $2,500 advance and publication by Dzanc Books.
$2,500
Publication by Dzanc Books
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestFlash 500
This quarterly open-themed competition has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. The results will be announced about six weeks after each closing date and the three winning entries each quarter will be published on the website.
£300
£200, £100
💰 Fee: $7
Deadline: May 30, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestBlack Lawrence Press
Twice each year Black Lawrence Press run the Black River Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook of poems or prose between 16-36 pages in length. The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers.
$500
Publication by Black Lawrence Press
💰 Fee: $17
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Poetry, Short Story, Fiction
View contestRotary Club of Stratford
English language submissions of original, unpublished works of up to 2,500 words will be accepted until October 31. Submissions are processed by a two-tiered system of readers and judges. Winners will be announced on December 10, 2021.
$500 (CAD)
2nd prize $250, 3rd prize $100.
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestÓ Bhéal
At around noon each Tuesday (GMT), from 12 April 2022 to 31 January 2023, five words are posted on the Ó Bhéal Five Words competition page. Entrants have one week to compose and submit poems that include all five words given for the week. The competition runs for 42 weeks, and a prize of 750 euro is awarded to one winner.
€750
€500, €250
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Poetry
View contestGrindstone Literary
The 2022 Grindstone International Novel Prize is open to authors from all around the world, and is aimed at discovering and elevating new and unsung authors. Authors may submit finished or part-finished manuscripts providing they are not currently represented by an agent. We forward all longlisted works to some of the best agencies in the UK such as Curtis Brown Books, Conville and Walsh, Janklow & Nesbitt, the Paper Literary Agency, the Good Literary Agency, and so many more. A full list can be found on our Affiliated Agents Page.
$1,300
Cash prizes and manuscripts forwarded to UK agencies
💰 Fee: $26
Deadline: October 01, 2022
Fiction, Novel
View contestDarling 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?"
$560
$200 for second place, $100 for third
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestPreservation Dental sponsor of Short on Words writing contest
Short on Words- the short story, poetry writing contest is calling on authors of all ages! The annual contest is celebrating its tenth anniversary- ninth edition and is currently receiving submissions from around the country with a new online submission tool - NEW this year. The competition is calling on aspiring authors of all ages to create unique prose about one of ten photographs taken by Dr. William Demray, founder of Preservation Dental in Northville. Preservation Dental is again sponsoring the competition, in conjunction with Northville’s annual Arts & Acts Festival.
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: April 22, 2022 (Expired)
Poetry, Short Story
View contestCANTERBURY FESTIVAL
Open to entries on any subject and in any format, we look forward to an array of poems from across the world! Poems must be no longer than 60 lines and entrants must be over 18. The first prize for the Poet of the Year is £200, second place receives £100 and third receives £50. A longlist of around 35 poems is chosen from the entries and these are included in the annual Poet of the Year anthology – available to purchase from the Festival Office and online from October. From the longlist, a shortlist of around 15 poems are selected and the poets are invited to read them at the Awards Evening on October 6 where the winners will be announced. We are delighted that this year’s event will be held by Zoom, allowing poets from around the world to attend.
$260
Publication in anthology
💰 Fee: $5
Deadline: June 03, 2022
Poetry
View contestIntrepid Times
Write an original, factual, first-person travel story about a time you made a decision or took a risk while traveling that got you lost, landed you somewhere you didn’t intend, or led to a new discovery, realization, or connection. Editors will be looking for originality, voice, and a satisfying story that captures attention and makes use of imagery to pull the reader along at every step.
$150
Runners up: $50 | Publication on Intrepid Times
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: April 30, 2022 (Expired)
Non-fiction, Travel
View contestFanStory.com Inc.
Write an essence poem. This is a poem of two lines with six syllables per line, each containing an internal rhyme and an ending rhyme.
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: December 05, 2022
Poetry
View contestMid-America Romance Authors
Any traditionally or self-published author with an original copyright date of 2021! Entry must have a minimum length of 40,000 words. Categories: Category Romance (includes all novels intended for series lines); Contemporary Single Title Romance; Historical Romance; Romantic Suspense; Paranormal Romance; Erotic Romance; Young Adult Romance/New Adult Romance; Inspirational Romance. Eligibility: Open to any traditional/self- published author with an original copyright date of 2021. All books must be perfect bound. Multiple entries allowed in same or different category (separate fees apply); however, the same entry may not be entered in more than one category. Contest will have no more than five finalists from all categories. First round will be judged by readers. Final judging will be judged by a bookseller.
$100
Trophy and publicity on the Mid-America Romance Authors' Website, social media, and in the RWR
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: May 23, 2022 (Expired)
Romance
View contestFanStory.com Inc
Share a minute poem to enter this poetry contest. It's a fun poem to write. It has three stanzas. Each stanza has the same 8-4-4-4 syllable count. So the first line has eight syllables. All other lines in the stanza have four. Cash prize to the winner!
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: November 22, 2022
Poetry
View contestFanStory.com Inc.
Share a true story about your life. Write about any event that happened in your life that you would like to share. Cash prize to the winner.
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: November 12, 2022
Non-fiction, Short Story
View contestFusilli Writing
Free flash fiction competition for stories up to 200 words with a twist. Competition always open, with a winner announced and published online after 100 entries received (story count on website). Feedback and the PDF ‘An introduction the writing good flash fiction’ offered for (£5 or equivalent).
Publication on website
Social media promotion
💰 Fee: $0
Deadline: December 31, 2022
Flash Fiction
View contestWriteFluence
A brand new challenge is here! After the success of Mrs. Rosewood’s antics last year, here’s Mr. Rosewood waiting for you to write about any of his days into a story. He could be bright, gloomy, witty, loveable, or always ready to fight. It’s your character, create him! Then, tell us a story about a day in the life of your Mr. Rosewood and get published in our next publication.
Publication in anthology
Publication, eCertificates and Author features
💰 Fee: $2
Deadline: April 15, 2022 (Expired)
Essay, Fiction, Short Story
View contestFanStory.com Inc.
Share a horror or thriller story to enter this writing contest. Write about anything but the object is to terrorize or thrill your reader. Cash prize!
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: October 27, 2022
Fiction, Horror, Short Story
View contestFanStory.com Inc.
A Lune is a 5-3-5 contest. That means the first line has five syllables. The second line of your poem will have three. And the final line will have five again. Your poem can rhyme. Write about anything. Cash prize!
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: November 16, 2022
Poetry
View contestFanStory.com Inc
A sonnet is a poem with a specific structure. It has 14 lines and a specific rhyme scheme. The topic is open! Write about anything for this poetry contest. Just follow the rules on how to write a sonnet. To read the rules and for an example view the contest announcement. Cash prize for the winner of this contest.
$100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: November 06, 2022
Poetry
View contestFanstory
Subscribe to Fanstory for $9.95 a month and enter as many contests as you like from their list of writing and poetry contests, updated daily. All participants receive feedback from a community of writers, and the winner of each contest receives a cash prize of up to $100.
Cash prizes of up to $100
💰 Fee: $10
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Short Story
View contestAnthology Magazine
Entries are now invited for the Anthology Poetry Award. Established to recognise and encourage excellence in the craft of poetry writing and to provide a platform for publication, it is open to original and previously unpublished poems in the English language. Poems submitted must be on the theme of ‘Freedom’ and should not exceed 40 lines.
€500 and a one year subscription to Anthology magazine
Publication in Anthology Magazine, one-year subscription
💰 Fee: $17
Deadline: October 31, 2022
Poetry
View contestAnthology Magazine
Writers of short fiction are invited to enter the Anthology Short Story Award. Established to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication, it is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language. Stories submitted must be on the theme of ‘Memories’ and not exceed the maximum of 1,500 words.
$500
Publication in Anthology Magazine, one-year subscription
💰 Fee: $15
Deadline: August 31, 2022
Fiction, Short Story
View contestFiction Factory
We welcome previously unpublished stories (max 1,000 words) on any theme. Our judge is looking for freshness, originality and strongly drawn characters.
£200
£50, £25
💰 Fee: $7
Deadline: November 30, 2021 (Expired)
Fiction, Flash Fiction, Crime, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
View contestFiction Factory
This is a bi-annual competition. We welcome stories on any theme. The maximum wordcount is 3,000.
£300
£100, £50
💰 Fee: $8
Deadline: October 31, 2021 (Expired)
Fiction, Short Story
View contestFiction Factory
Have you completed the first draft of your novel? Are you ready to pass it on to a fresh pair of eyes, to see if you are on the right track? Is your all-important first chapter ready for submission to an agent? Whatever your plans, your first chapter must shine – it must grab your readers or quickly lose their interest.
£500
A reading by a top London Literary Agent plus publication
💰 Fee: $25
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Fiction, Novel
View contestFiction Factory
Fiction Factory welcomes submissions to its first ever poetry competition, judged by novelist and poet: Helen Cox. Five shortlisted poets will receive a supportive critique on their poem. One winner from that shortlist will receive £100 cash prize, receive feedback on five poems they have written and benefit from an hour-long mentorship Zoom call about their poetry with the judge.
£100
Feedback on poems and a Zoom mentorship call
💰 Fee: $4
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Poetry
View contest