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DIRECTORY

Best Writing Contests in 2025

Showing 425 contests that match your search.

The One Page Poetry Contest

One Page Poetry

Genres: Poetry

One Page Poetry is dedicated to the art of expressing a poetic theme on a single page, whether your poem is four lines or forty, whether yours is a love poem, inspirational poem, philosophical poem, or just one that is fun or whimsical. We welcome any and all poetic forms, as long as they fit on a single page.

Top Prize:

$2,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: $1000 | 3rd: $500

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

An international writing contest for original, unpublished short stories. Winners are selected anonymously by a judge.

Top Prize:

€3,000

Additional prizes:

2nd prize: a week at Circle of Misse plus open travel stipend | 3rd prize: €1,000

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

HG Wells Short Story Competition

HG Wells Competition

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The HG Wells Short Story Competition, founded by Reg Turnill, promotes writing and celebrates HG Wells' literary legacy. It encourages entries based on this year’s theme: 'The Fool.'

Top Prize:

Under 21: £1,000 Over 21: £500

Additional prizes:

All shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology. Shortlisted authors receive a copy of the anthology and a certificate.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: July 08, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Flash Fiction

The Weird West Quick Draw contest invites submissions of flash fiction set in the weird west genre, which combines traditional western elements with speculative fiction. The contest opens for entries on July 1, 2025, and closes on July 15, 2025.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

2nd: $50 | 3rd: $25 | Publication in Apex Magazine issue 151 for the first prize winner, and publication on the Reach Your Apex website for second and third prize winners.

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2025

Genres: Children's

The Celebration Day writing competition encourages students aged 5-18 to research and retell stories of inspiring people from history. This year, the optional theme focuses on sporting heroes. Submissions can be written articles or audio pieces.

Additional prizes:

iPad and a published story on The Day's website.

📅 Deadline: May 16, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel

This competition invites original, unpublished travel articles in English, not exceeding 1,000 words. Open to writers of any nationality. An engaging article capturing the destination and local culture is sought. Entries are accepted from both new and established writers.

Top Prize:

€300

Additional prizes:

Publication in Anthology magazine

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2025

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The contest honors George Dila, a friend of the magazine and its original fiction editor. It invites submissions of previously unpublished flash fiction under 1,000 words.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Publication in Third Wednesday magazine

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: August 15, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Plaza Short Story Prize invites entries for short stories up to 5000 words. The prize includes cash rewards and publication in an anthology, aiming to discover and promote new literary talent.

Top Prize:

$5,000

Additional prizes:

1st Prize: £4000 / $5000; 2nd Prize: £300 / $360; 3rd Prize: £100 / $120. Top 10 entries published in anthology.

💰 Entry fee: $18

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2025 (Expired)

The Heartland Review Open Calls

The Heartland Review

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, and Non-fiction

The Heartland Review invites submissions for fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry during open calls. Works accepted are published in the spring issue of the journal. The contest emphasizes original, unpublished works, and submissions must adhere to specific formatting guidelines.

Additional prizes:

1 contributor copy for published authors; gift cards for poetry prize winners ($400 for first, $240 for second, $100 for third)

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: August 01, 2025

Genres: Fiction and Novel

This competition invites unpublished novelists to submit an opening chapter (up to 3,000 words) along with a synopsis (max 750 words). Works must be original and not previously published. The competition is judged by Headline Publishing.

Top Prize:

£500

Additional prizes:

2nd Place: £200

💰 Entry fee: $13

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction

BOMB Magazine's 2025 Fiction Contest invites submissions for a chance to win a $1,000 prize and publication. The contest is judged by Kelly Link, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and MacArthur Fellow.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication in BOMB Magazine

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: April 15, 2025 (Expired)

Environmental Writing Competition 2025

Write the World in partnership with Patagonia

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The competition invites young writers aged 13-19 to craft a piece of creative nonfiction on their environment, blending fact with storytelling. The prompt emphasizes reflection on personal and global environmental challenges.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Winner receives $100; Runner-Up and Best Peer Review each receive $50.

📅 Deadline: May 26, 2025 (Expired)

Claymore Award

Killer Nashville

Genres: Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Suspense, and Thriller

The Claymore Award assists new and rebranding English-language fiction authors with potential publishing opportunities, including agent representation, book deals, and media adaptations. The contest emphasizes the importance of getting the first 50 pages of an unpublished work noticed by industry professionals.

Top Prize:

$0

Additional prizes:

Top three finalists receive discounted admission to next year's Killer Nashville conference. Winners may receive publishing contracts and significant exposure to agents and publishers.

💰 Entry fee: $54

📅 Deadline: April 01, 2025 (Expired)

SFPA Poetry Contest

Science Fiction Poetry Association

Genres: Poetry

The SFPA Poetry Contest promotes speculative poetry, rewarding quality works while raising funds for the organization. The contest includes categories for poems of varying lengths—Dwarf (1-10 lines), Short (11-49 lines), and Long (50+ lines). 2024's judge is Stephanie M. Wytovich.

Top Prize:

$150

Additional prizes:

Second: $75 Third: $25 Winners are published on the SFPA website.

💰 Entry fee: $3

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2025

The Iowa Review Awards

The Iowa Review

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Iowa Review Awards is an annual writing contest accepting submissions in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. It has been held every January since 2003, and winners are published in the December issue.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

First runners-up receive $750

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Storytrade Book Awards celebrate literary excellence in small and independent publishing, featuring over 70 categories for fiction and nonfiction. The awards spotlight outstanding books and provide industry recognition for authors.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

$1,000 for each Book of the Year (Fiction & Nonfiction). Medals, book stickers, and digital seals for Winners and Finalists

💰 Entry fee: $75

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2025 (Expired)

A Very Short Story Contest

Gotham Writers Workshop

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Write a great short story in ten words or fewer. The contest is inspired by the story of Hemingway’s six-word story. Entries must be original and unpublished. Judging is based on originality and quality. The winner will be notified by mid-June.

Top Prize:

$0

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: May 30, 2025 (Expired)

Black River Chapbook Competition

Black Lawrence Press

Genres: Poetry

Twice each year Black Lawrence Press will 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. The winner will receive book publication, a $500 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes are awarded on publication.

Top Prize:

$500

💰 Entry fee: $18

📅 Deadline: June 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Cranked Anvil Flash Fiction Competition invites writers to submit stories with a maximum length of 500 words. The competition runs quarterly, with deadlines in February, May, August, and November. Up to three entries can be submitted per participant per quarter.

Top Prize:

£100

Additional prizes:

2nd: £50 + publication online

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The competition is open globally, with a deadline of April 30, 2024. The top prize is £1,000, with additional prizes for second (£300) and third (£200) places. Entry fees are £10 for one entry, £19 for two, and £27 for three, with £1 from each entry donated to the charity First Story. Winning entries will be published online and in an anthology.

Top Prize:

£1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd: £300 | 3rd: £200

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)

Heart Fiction Battle

Writing Battle

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

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Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 Feedback by industry professionals

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: August 02, 2024 (Expired)

Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry

Lynx House Press

Genres: Poetry

The Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry is awarded for an unpublished, full-length volume of poems by a U.S. author, along with foreign nationals living and writing in the U.S. and U.S. citizens abroad. The prize includes $2000 and publication.

Top Prize:

$2,000

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $28

📅 Deadline: June 16, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Novella, and Script Writing

We are not concerned with genre distinctions. Send us the best you have; we want only for it to be thoughtful, intelligent, and beautiful. We want art that grows in complexity upon each visitation; we enjoy ornate, cerebral, and voluptuous phrases executed with thematic intent.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Publication in "AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought"

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 24, 2024 (Expired)

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Shuswap Association of Writers

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Essay, Memoir, and Short Story

The contest is part of the annual Word on the Lake Writers Festival, encouraging submissions in short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Entries must be unpublished and original, with a maximum of 2,000 words for fiction/nonfiction and three one-page poems. Winners are published in the anthology.

Top Prize:

$200 CAD

Additional prizes:

2025 festival registration package + certificate for online writing course

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2025 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

Established in 1998, this award honors poet Benjamin Saltman and is for previously unpublished original poetry collections. The competition is open to all poets.

Top Prize:

$3,000

Additional prizes:

Book publication by Red Hen Press

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2024 (Expired)

The Peseroff Prize

Breakwater Review

Genres: Poetry

The Peseroff Prize honors Joyce Peseroff's contributions to poetry and literature. It is an annual contest that invites submissions of previously unpublished poems.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication in spring issue

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

The Bedford Competition

The Bedford Competition

Genres: Poetry and Short Story

The Bedford Competition runs annual international short story and poetry competitions open to anyone over 17 years. Winning entries are published in an anthology.

Top Prize:

£2000

Additional prizes:

2nd Prize £300 | 3rd Prize £200 | Cygnature Prizes £200 | Bedford Prizes £100

💰 Entry fee: $11

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2025

Flying South

WS Writers

Genres: Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Flying South contest invites submissions in three categories: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry. Each entry should be original and previously unpublished. Winners are awarded cash prizes, and all finalists are published in the annual issue.

Top Prize:

$400

Additional prizes:

2nd Place: $200 3rd Place: $100 All finalists receive one copy of the current issue.

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2025 (Expired)

Creative Writing Award for Poetry

Aesthetica Magazine

Genres: Poetry

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award celebrates outstanding writers in poetry and short fiction. It aims to support new literary talent and showcases entries that reflect upon the changing world and challenge traditional boundaries of form and technique.

Top Prize:

£2,500

Additional prizes:

Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual, one-year subscription to Granta and Mslexia, and various courses.

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2025

Genres: Short Story

The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition is dedicated to supporting new voices in short fiction. It has a history of over 43 years and emphasizes original, unpublished stories. Winners are highlighted on the competition's website.

Top Prize:

$1,500

Additional prizes:

Second place: $500 Third place: $500 Honorable mentions also awarded Publication of the winning story on the competition website

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 01, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The Stephen Spender Prize is an annual award recognizing excellence in poetry translation, encouraging participants to translate poems from any language into English. It is open to various age groups including adults and students in the UK and Ireland. The contest aims to celebrate linguistic diversity and foster creative translation.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Second: £500 Third: £250 Various cash prizes for youth categories.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: July 31, 2024 (Expired)

Debut Dagger

Crime Writer's Association

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Suspense, and Thriller

The Emerging Author Dagger is an international competition for unpublished crime novelists. It accepts submissions of a crime novel opening (max. 3,000 words) and synopsis (max. 1,500 words). The contest is open to those who have never had a publishing contract for a novel and do not have a literary agent when the competition closes.

Top Prize:

$500

Additional prizes:

Shortlisted entries shown to agents and publishers

💰 Entry fee: $41

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2025 (Expired)

Cricket Magazine Contest

Cricket Magazine

Genres: Children's

The contest invites children to submit original art related to a camp theme. It emphasizes creativity and originality, encouraging participants to depict their ideal camping experiences.

Additional prizes:

Winning entries will be published in the November/December 2024 issue of Cricket Magazine.

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: July 25, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is an annual competition for short stories. Further details on submission and eligibility are outlined on the main prize page.

Top Prize:

$6000 AUD

Additional prizes:

2nd: $4000 AUD 3rd: $2500 AUD

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024 (Expired)

Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award

Claremont Graduate University

Genres: Poetry

The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award honors a poet for a single volume of poetry published between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. It is the world's largest monetary prize for poetry, valued at $100,000. The award aims to support poets in their mid-career, allowing them to focus on their craft without financial burdens.

Top Prize:

$100,000

Additional prizes:

The Kate Tufts Discovery Award offers $10,000 for a first book of poetry.

📅 Deadline: July 01, 2024 (Expired)

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