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The Best Writing Contests of 2023

Writing competitions curated by Reedsy

Genre

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Showing 625 contests

Infrastructure Threat Contest

CAPTRS

CAPTRS is building the “Universe of Threats,” which will be used to prepare decision makers for future threats. This second Universe of Threats contest invites applicants to submit a ground truth and short story about a threat to one or multiple of the 16 defined critical infrastructure sectors. Submissions should specify the sector(s) experiencing the threat, the details and origin of the threat, and considerations for the unfolding response. Ground Truth maximum word count is 1,000 and essay word count is 2,500.

Top prize

$5,000

Additional prizes

2nd: $2,500 (up to 2 winners) | 3rd: $1,000 (up to 5 winners) | Publication

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: September 30, 2023

Genres

Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story

The Moth Nature Writing Prize

The Moth

The Prize will be awarded to unpublished pieces of prose or poetry which best combine exceptional literary merit with an exploration of the writer’s relationship with the natural world. Judged by Kathleen Jamie.

Top prize

€1,000 + 1 week at Circle of Misse in France

Additional prizes

2nd: €500 | 3rd: €250

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $17

Deadline: September 30, 2023

Genres

Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry

The Aryamati Poetry Prize

Fly on the Wall Press

In its fifth year, the Aryamati Prize seeks poets who write for social change and peace. Past winners have included Katrina Dybzynska, Pippa Little, Jenny Mitchell and Sundra Lawrence. The prize will publish both a pamphlet winner and a full collection winner. The Aryamati Poetry Prize is thrilled to announce poet Maura Dooley as a judge for 2023.

Top prize

Traditional publishing contract for 2024 publication

Additional prizes

10 Fly on the Wall books worth £100, in any format

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $14

Deadline: August 28, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

Native Voices Award

Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

Indigenous storytellers (Native American, First Nation Australian, Indian, Polynesian, etc.) may submit original, unpublished work in English; short stories, essays, onstage scripts, poetry, or visual art.

Top prize

$500

Additional prizes

2nd: $250 | 3rd: $100 | 6 Finalists: $25 gift card

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: October 31, 2023

Genres

Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, Short Story

Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction

Letter Review

The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction (0 - 5000 words) is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Winners are published and every entry is considered for publication. 20 entries are Longlisted.

Top prize

$1000 (shared by 3 winners)

Additional prizes

Publication

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $20

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction

Letter Review Prize for Manuscripts

Letter Review

The Letter Review Prize for Manuscripts (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction) is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Three Winners are awarded and have extracts published. 20 entries are Longlisted. Winners receive letter of recommendation for publishers.

Top prize

$1000 (shared by 3 winners)

Additional prizes

Publication

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $25

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult

Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction

Letter Review

The Letter Review Prize for Flash Fiction (0-5000 words) is open to writers from anywhere in the world and has no theme or genre restrictions. Winners are published and every entry is considered for publication. 20 entries are Longlisted.

Top prize

$1000 (shared by 3 winners)

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $20

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Flash Fiction, Short Story

The Letter Review Prize for Poetry

Letter Review

The Letter Review Prize for Poetry (up to 70 lines) is open to writers from anywhere in the world and has no style or subject restrictions. Winners are published and every entry is considered for publication. 20 entries are Longlisted.

Top prize

$800 (shared by 3 winners)

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $15

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

She Writes Press and SparkPress Towards Equality in Publishing (STEP)

SparkPoint Studio

Since 2018, we’ve been proud to play a role in the much-needed elevation of writers of color by awarding 2-3 authors of color publishing packages per year as part of our She Writes Press and SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing (STEP). The purpose of this contest is to support inclusivity across our lists, and to fortify our own mission to give voice to women writers.

Top prize

Publishing package valued at $9500

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $0

Deadline: August 15, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fiction, Non-fiction, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Novel, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult

Southword Editor’s Poetry Award

Munster Literature Centre

Each entrant for their €20 entry fee will receive a complementary postage-free, one-year subscription to Southword. Poems will be read and judged anonymously. The winning poet will have their three poems published in Southword.

Top prize

€1,000

Additional prizes

Published in Southword

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $22

Deadline: September 30, 2023

Genres

Poetry

Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition

Munster Literature Center

The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country. One of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published. Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as "highly commended".

Top prize

€1,000

Additional prizes

Chapbook publication with 50 free copies, 2nd prize €500

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $27

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

Screenplays 2023

Zoetrope

The mission of the American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition is to find and promote new and innovative voices in cinema. The competition considers feature-length film scripts, as well as pilot scripts for television/streaming services. Every script is read closely by a select handful of professional readers, and the American Zoetrope staff and Francis Ford Coppola choose a winner from among the ten finalists.

Top prize

$5,000

Additional prizes

Considered for representation

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $50

Deadline: September 05, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Script Writing

Big Writers, Little Ears

Travelnitch

We are actively seeking students in Grades 7-12 who love to write! Turn your own passion for travel into an inspiring story for our younger listeners. Whether it’s a fact-based narrative or creative fiction, this is an opportunity to gain real-life experience as a travel writer and show the world what you can do.

Top prize

Publication and recorded for Bedtime Stories podcast

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: August 20, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Story, Young Adult

Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation

Stephen Spender Trust

The leading annual competition for poetry in translation. Submit an English translation of a published poem from any language (max. 60 lines), together with a commentary of no more than 300 words. Open to adults aged 19+ from all over the world. Newcomers to poetry translation welcome!

Top prize

£1000

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $13

Deadline: July 14, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

Oxford Poetry Prize 2023

Oxford Poetry Magazine

Oxford Poetry hosts the annual Oxford Poetry Prize, awarded for a single poem in the English language. The guest judge for 2023 is Will Harris.

Top prize

£1000

Additional prizes

2nd: £200 | 3rd: £100

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $13

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

Dawn of AI Short Story Contest

Booksie

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been covered extensively in the news lately with the release of Chat GPT and Google Bard. AI, long the subject material for science fiction is now becoming a reality. Will AI be a force for good for humanity, creating new products, medical breakthroughs, and helping us improve our standard of living? Or will it lead to a dystopian future where humanity is enslaved or even exterminated by new AI overlords? The goal of this contest to explore these potential themes in a short story that is no more than 1,500 words.

Top prize

$300

Additional prizes

2 runner-ups: $50

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $6

Deadline: October 15, 2023

Genres

Short Story

Inspiring Fiction's Crime and Speculative Fiction Contest

Inspiring Fiction

Inspiring Fiction’s first crime and speculative fiction short story contest is on the theme ‘Secrets’. The winner and shortlisted entries will be published in the fourth issue of Tangled Web Magazine.

Top prize

£100

Additional prizes

Publication

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $6

Deadline: July 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

All In The Mind

SaveAs Writers

SaveAs Writers invite entries of poetry and prose for their annual competition. 2023 celebrates the centenary of the publication of Freud’s The Ego and the Id. We hope that the theme of ‘all in the mind’ inspires you to write about the role of the unconscious in our daily experience and our culture. How do hidden forces motivate human beings in our spiritual, emotional, and mental lives?

Top prize

£200 for both Poetry & Prose

Additional prizes

2nd: £100 | 3rd: £50 for both Poetry & Prose

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $4

Deadline: September 30, 2023

Genres

Fiction, Poetry

Inception 2023

Sunspot Lit

Beginnings have the power to spark passion or curiosity. They might immediately connect a specific place and time with an emotional tone. The best openings offer a feeling, atmosphere, action, or image that is gripping, and hints at more to come. For Sunspot Lit’s Inception contest, send your best opening. There are no restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece or collection from which the excerpt comes. Word limit is 250 for prose, 25 words for poetry.

Top prize

$500

Additional prizes

Publication in digital and print editions

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $10

Deadline: July 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult

Flash Fiction Competition

Pigeon Review

This year's Flash Fiction competition centers around the theme of "home". What it means to you, how you understand it, and the emotions "home" evokes within you.

Top prize

$125

Additional prizes

2nd: $100 | 3rd: $75

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $5

Deadline: July 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller

AIIRA Writing Contest

AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture

AIIRA is seeking essays speculating on how AI will change careers within the next decade, as well as fiction stories depicting a day in the life of a job transformed by AI technology. Submissions should address how AI will help future professionals perform their jobs more efficiently as well as what job duties will become redundant due to AI.

Top prize

$550

Additional prizes

2nd: $400 (x2) | 3rd: $250

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: September 30, 2023

Genres

Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Science Writing, Short Story

Eunice Williams Nonfiction Prize

HerStry Literary Magazine

HerStry has long been a place for women identifying and nonbinary folks to tell their stories. We are a brave space for brave stories. Now, we’d like to amplify your stories even more with our contest and prize. There is no theme to adhere to for this contest, simply nonfiction written by you, about you. Give us your best work, the stuff of your heart. Our stories are what make us, tell yours.

Top prize

$400

Additional prizes

2nd: $250 | 3rd: $100

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $15

Deadline: December 15, 2023

Genres

Memoir, Non-fiction

Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction

Reed Magazine

The Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction recognizes outstanding works of nonfiction. We are looking for creative nonfiction, such as personal essays or narratives, not scholarly papers or book reviews. All works should be stand-alone essays, not chapters of a longer work. Please limit prose submissions to 5,000 words.

Top prize

$1,333

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $20

Deadline: November 01, 2023

Genres

Non-fiction, Short Story

The Atom Learning Young Author Award

Atom Learning

The theme for 2023 is 'If I were in charge for a day…'. Entrants must submit a creative response to this theme no more than 500 words. All entrants must be aged between 7–11 on the day the competition closes (10th September 2023). Submissions must be written by the child and must not be supported by an adult. We’re looking for aspiring writers, not perfect wordsmiths!

Top prize

A trip to Disneyland Paris for a family of 4

Additional prizes

Chromebook worth £250 | More prizes for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: September 10, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fiction, Children's

Travel Writing Award

Ottawa Tourism

Ottawa Tourism offers an annual $500 CAD prize for outstanding travel writing featuring Canada’s Capital Region. Eligible entries include items in English or in French that have appeared in magazines, newspapers, or online media in 2023 that highlight Ottawa as a travel destination.

Top prize

$500 CAD

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: February 02, 2024

Genres

Travel

First Crime Novel Competition

Macmillan Publishers

The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any Published Mystery Novel (including self-published works and ebooks.)

Top prize

$10,000 advance

Additional prizes

Publication

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: December 15, 2023

Genres

Fiction, Novel

National Youth Foundation "I Matter" Contest

National Youth Foundation

Founded by Black women with a vision for change, the mission of the National Youth Foundation is to promote diversity, inclusion and gender equality through innovative literary programs. The “I Matter” poetry contest was launched by a 14-year old student who took action to educate the world about why Black Lives Matter. The contest calls upon students across the country to submit poems on this important topic.

Top prize

$500

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: July 23, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Children's, Poetry

Miami University Novella Prize

Miami University

The Miami University Novella Prize is awarded annually to a novella-length manuscript of original fiction (18,000–40,000 words). The winner receives $1,000, a standard contract, publication and 20 copies of the book.

Top prize

$1,000

Additional prizes

Publication through the University of Miami Press

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $25

Deadline: August 30, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fiction, Novella

Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction

University of North Texas Press

The University of North Texas Press announces the 2024 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. The winner of this annual award will receive $1000 and publication by UNT Press. Entries will be judged by an eminent writer.

Top prize

$1,000

Additional prizes

Publication by UNT Press

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $25

Deadline: June 30, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Flash Fiction, Novella, Short Story

Narrative Prize

Narrative Magazine

The Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative. The submission system is open all year.

Top prize

$4,000

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $27

Deadline: June 15, 2024

Genres

Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story

Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award

Tufts Poetry Awards

Kate Tufts – widow of Kingsley Tufts, and creator of the award – had said she wanted to create a prize “that would enable a poet to work on his or her craft for awhile without paying bills.” The legacy created with the Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards will continue to inspire countless generations of poets and lovers of poetry.

Top prize

$100,000

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: June 30, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

Kate Tufts Discovery Award

Claremont Graduate University

The Kate Tufts Discovery Award was created in 1994, a year after the inception of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. It is presented to a first book by a poet of genuine promise. The Kate Tufts Discovery Award offers a hefty prize of $10,000. The work submitted must be a first book of poetry published between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Manuscripts, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted.

Top prize

$10,000

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: FREE

Deadline: June 30, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry

SFPA Poetry Contest

Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA)

The annual SFPA Speculative (Dwarf/Short/Long) Poetry Contest is open to all poets, including non-members of the SFPA. Awards will be given across 3 categories.

Top prize

$150

Additional prizes

2nd: $75 | 3rd: $25 | Publication

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $3

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Poetry, Fiction

Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction

Scottish Arts Trust

The Edinburgh Flash Fiction Award is open to writers worldwide, published and unpublished, and for stories on any topic up to 250 words. Chief judges are the celebrated authors Zoe Strachan and Louise Welsh. The top twenty authors will be given free tickets to our annual Flash Bash at the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh, where everyone will present their stories and the prize-winners will be announced.

Top prize

£2000

Additional prizes

2nd: £300 | 3rd: £150 | Golden Hare Award: £500

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $8

Deadline: August 31, 2023 (Expired)

Genres

Fiction, Flash Fiction

Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest

Moment Magazine

The Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest encourages writers to unpublished short fiction related to Judaism or Jewish culture or history. Established in 2000, judges and special guests for this international annual contest have included Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Pinsky, Walter Mosley, Nicole Krauss, Erica Jong, Jonathan Safran Foer, Geraldine Brooks, Andre Aciman and Dara Horn.

Top prize

$1,000

Additional prizes

Publication in Moment Magazine

Entry requirements

💰 Fee: $25

Deadline: September 30, 2023

Genres

Fiction, Short Story

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