Discover the finest writing contests of 2019 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays and more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. Manage a contest? Submit it here
We invite you to look back at 2018 and write about it. Specifically, we want you to tell us a true story from your life in 2018…in only 18 words. Whoever writes the 18-word memoir that most captivates us will win a free Gotham class of his or her choosing.
📆 Deadline February 18, 2019 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $0
Genres: Memoir,
Gotham Writing Workshop
Entries are now open for 2018/19. We are seeking stories and poems on any theme. Children’s prizes funded by the Rawlet Trust. Best entries could appear in the anthology to follow. Three categories: Ages 16+ (above school age and beyond) – 1,500 words limit – £4 entry; Secondary School (years 7 – 11) – 1,000 words limit - FREE entry; Primary school (up to and including year 6) – 500 words limit - FREE entry.
📆 Deadline April 30, 2019 – 💰 Entry Fee: $0
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Short Story,
$100
We invite you to participate in the Seventh Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Competition. Two prizes will be awarded: $3000 for the winner and $800 for the runner up. Topics might include art, history, literature, education, etc. as they relate to medicine. Essays should be under 1600 words.
📆 Deadline April 15, 2019 – 💰 Entry Fee: $0
Genres: Essay, Non-fiction,
$3,000
Publication in Hektoen International Journal
Stories Through The Ages - Generations Plus 2019 is open to adults born 1965 and later. There is no prompt for the contest. Authors may write about any topic. The entry fee is $25 ($20 if submitting more than one story). The word count for this contest is 900 - 4000 words. Cash prizes of $500, $200 and $100 will be awarded.
📆 Deadline April 15, 2019 – 💰 Entry Fee: $25
Genres: Short Story,
$500
Stories Through The Ages - Baby Boomers Plus 2019 is open to people born 1964 or earlier. There is no prompt for the contest. Authors may write about any topic. The entry fee is $25 ($20 if submitting more than one story). The word count for this contest is 900 - 4000 words. Cash prizes of $500, $200 and $100 will be awarded.
📆 Deadline April 15, 2019 – 💰 Entry Fee: $25
Genres: Short Story,
$500
Publication in anthology.
Each year Altair Australia Pty Ltd will accept all stories that challenge either the way we see ourselves in the future, or how the world is represented in the future. This vision could be a science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, thriller, crime view, or a contemporary view following the lives of people as they adjust to the new, or who are entrenched in the modern way we have yet to experience.
📆 Deadline July 01, 2019 – 💰 Entry Fee: $5
Genres: Short Story,
$500
Publication in The Blend International Journal
The weather outside is frightful, but stories are delightful. Especially stories that transport us. So, our February contest theme is: Paradise. Contestants may submit either a short story or a travel essay, of no more than 3,000 words. As always, interpret as you will.
📆 Deadline February 24, 2019 – 💰 Entry Fee: $1
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Story,
$456
Publication on Join Our Story website
20 short story writers will be awarded for their works. The top 5 writers will be featured on The Short Story Project.
📆 Deadline January 31, 2019 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $17
Genres: Fiction, Short Story,
$5,000
Our contest theme is “new beginnings." The prize will be awarded to the story that best captures the theme while demonstrating the principles of good storytelling presented in our self-paced course, Better Storytelling - currently available at no cost. The amount of enthusiasm expressed toward the story during the reading period will inform the judgment within.
📆 Deadline January 24, 2018 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $1
Genres: Fiction, Short Story,
$345
All submissions must be original, previously unpublished work of the author; entered only through procedures detailed above; up to 3,000 words in length and in English. The prize will be awarded to the story that best captures the theme while demonstrating the principles of good storytelling.
📆 Deadline January 24, 2019 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $1
Genres: Fiction, Short Story,
$345
The Red Hen Fiction Award is for a fresh and original story of fiction with a minimum of 150 pages. The awarded manuscript is selected through an annual submission process which is open to all authors. Award is $1000 and publication of the awarded manuscript by Red Hen Press.
📆 Deadline August 31, 2017 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $25
Genres: Fiction,
$1,000
Publication by Red Hen Press
The aim of this program is to select a poet who is at an artistic and personal crossroads, comparable to that faced by Robert Frost when he moved to Franconia in 1915, when he was not yet known to a broad public.
📆 Deadline January 05, 2019 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $28
Genres: Poetry,
$2,000
We are looking for stories about families of all configurations. It's fine to draw heavily on real-life experiences, but the work must read like fiction and all stories accepted for publication will be presented as fiction.
📆 Deadline January 02, 2019 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: $18
Genres: Fiction, Short Story,
$2,500
Publication in Glimmer Train Stories
The On Teaching Poem Prize is a $1,000 prize, given to honor the best unpublished poem written about K_12 teaching and/or teachers. The winning poem is published in the Academy of American Poets popular Poem-a-Day series during May and published on Poets.org. A finalist will also be chosen and awarded $500.
📆 Deadline January 01, 2019 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: FREE
Genres: Poetry,
$1,000
Publication in "Poem-a-Day" series
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity. Awards are given for fiction, poetry and nonfiction.
📆 Deadline December 31, 2018 (Expired) – 💰 Entry Fee: FREE
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry,
$10,000
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