Best Writing Contests in 2025

Genres: Essay, Memoir, and Non-fiction

The Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award is an annual contest launched by Trio House Press, focused on creative nonfiction manuscripts. The award aims to recognize innovative and distinct works in this genre.

Genres: Poetry

The Poetry.com Contest is a monthly competition that invites poets to submit original, unpublished poems for a chance to win cash prizes and gain recognition. Participants can vote for nominees, making it a community-driven contest. How are winners chosen? Our contest boasts a clever twist: poems remain anonymous whilst applicants vote on what they believe should be the winning entry.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The Tusculum Review Nonfiction Chapbook Prize is an annual contest that highlights nonfiction essays. In 2024, the prize was awarded to Mirela Musić for her essay 'The Nature of Alaska: An Introduction to Familiar Plants, Animals & Outstanding Natural Attractions.' The winning work will be published in the 20th Anniversary Issue of _The Tusculum Review_ in November 2024.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The Unleash WIP Award supports writers in completing significant literary projects, offering $500, editorial feedback, coaching, and a feature in Unleash Lit.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Romance, and Short Story

The Booksie 2024 Short Story Contest invites writers to submit original short stories, with a maximum length of 5,000 words. The contest offers a grand prize of $500, along with badges for winners encoded on the blockchain. The contest aims to promote creativity and originality across all genres.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Welcome to the 31st annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $9,000 in prizes.

Genres: Children's and Short Story

The Youth Writing Contest is an annual event organized by the Vancouver Writers Fest for students in British Columbia. It accepts short stories and personal essays, with two categories for different grade levels. It's supported by the Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Novel

The Nimrod Literary Awards are hosted by the Nimrod International Journal to honor outstanding writing in fiction and poetry. Each year, the awards feature a first prize of $2,000 and a second prize of $1,000, along with publication opportunities for winners.

Genres: Fiction and Novella

The Weatherglass Novella Prize 2025 is dedicated to celebrating the novella form. The winner will have their work published by Weatherglass Books, with the judging by acclaimed author Ali Smith.

Genres: Short Story, Flash Fiction, and Novella

The Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction is an esteemed competition for unpublished collections of fiction. The contest is open for submissions of flash fiction, short stories, or novellas, with a total manuscript length of 100 to 200 book pages.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

The First 5 Pages Prize encourages writers to submit the first five pages of their unpublished work. The contest aims to inspire writers to polish their starting pages, crucial for capturing the attention of agents and editors. It welcomes entries from writers aged 16 and above, focusing on various genres. The prize promotes beautiful writing and offers support to aspiring authors.

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.

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

The Letter Review Prize aims to celebrate new writing and support writers globally. It offers various categories including Short Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Unpublished Books, awarding the best entries with monetary prizes and publication opportunities.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Poetry

A creative writing contest inviting participants worldwide to submit entries in response to prompts. The competition consists of three rounds, each with its own theme and deadline.

Genres: Christian and Poetry

For over fourteen years, the Poetry of the Sacred contest encourages poets to explore spiritual themes. It focuses on literary excellence, authenticity, and spiritual tenor in submissions.

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

The Swamp Pink Prizes celebrate excellence in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each winner receives $2,000 and publication in an upcoming issue of Swamp Pink. The contest is open for submissions throughout January.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Novel, and Poetry

The BCALA Self-Publishing Literary Awards honors the best self-published ebooks by African American authors in the U.S. across fiction and poetry genres. The awards focus on the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.

Genres: Christian

The Christian Author Awards recognize outstanding new Christian authors who have published independently. The awards honor exceptional books that align with a Christian worldview and promote them through various means, including media announcements and advertising.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Young Adult

An annual contest for unpublished and unagented writers of children's fiction, focusing on originality and diverse voices. The competition seeks full-length novels suitable for readers aged 7-18.

Genres: Poetry

The Donald Hall Prize for Poetry awards $5,500 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press. The prize honors the best unpublished collection of poems and is judged by a prominent poet.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story

The competition invites elementary and middle school students to submit short stories (maximum 350 words) based on a monthly theme. Winners receive recognition and prizes, including Amazon gift cards and publication in the Hall of Fame.

Genres: Flash Fiction

We seek work that actively pushes boundaries, that forces us to question traditions and tastes. If your work takes risks, we want to read it. We like strong narratives that make us feel something and stories we haven’t seen before. We accept work, written in English, from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcome speculative writing and experimental literature. Strange is good. Strange with a strong character arc is even better. Keep it weird, folks.

Genres: Fiction and Non-fiction

Established in 2015, this prize honors outstanding debut literary works by first-generation immigrants. The prize alternates yearly between fiction and nonfiction, highlighting themes of identity and migration.

Genres: Children's

The Black Voices in Children’s Literature Writing Contest aims to celebrate and elevate black voices in children's literature. It encourages submissions that reflect diverse perspectives and experiences.

Genres: Poetry

The NPS Open Competition invites submissions of book-length poetry manuscripts from U.S. residents and American citizens abroad. Winners receive cash prizes and publication.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Novel, Romance, Thriller, and Young Adult

The competition invites unpublished first three chapters of historical novels up to 15,000 words. It aims to promote excellence in storytelling. The overall winner will be announced at the HNS UK 2024 conference.

Genres: Novel

The Publishing Laboratory at the University of New Orleans seeks to promote innovative publicity and broad distribution for authors. They accept submissions for unpublished novels and short story collections. A selected author is awarded a $10,000 advance on royalties and a publishing contract.

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

The To Hull and Back Humorous Short Story Competition is a biennial contest focused on humorous writing. It celebrates imaginative short stories from writers globally. The current competition is open until June 30, 2025, with multiple cash prizes and publication opportunities in an anthology.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The contest invites participants to write a story of exactly 100 words on topics like envy, eyeglasses, nightmares, or turtles. It is open to all ages, including international writers. Winning stories will be published in an e-zine.

Genres: Flash Fiction

The contest invites writers globally to submit flash fiction between 250 and 750 words. It emphasizes creativity with an open prompt and aims to support women writers. Critiques are available for an additional fee.

Genres: Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

The 2024 International Literary Prize invites writers to submit entries in four categories: Short Stories, Poetry, Scriptwriting, and Songwriting. The contest emphasizes anonymity in submissions and offers cash prizes, publication opportunities, and feedback options.

Genres: Flash Fiction and Short Story

The Flash Fiction Competition 2024 invites young writers aged 13-19 to submit original works of flash fiction. Participants can explore diverse themes and styles while gaining feedback from peers and experts.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Thriller

This contest invites submissions of short stories exploring the theme of 'Freedom' within the genres of crime, speculative, and fantasy fiction. Winning entries will be published in a special issue combining Tangled Web Magazine and Mirk Fantasy Magazine.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, and Science Fiction

The Writers of the Future Contest, initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983, supports new writers in science fiction and fantasy, judged by leading authors. Winners receive cash prizes and recognition. The contest encourages original works and offers a platform for upcoming writers.

Genres:

Established in 2001, this annual prize highlights an outstanding chapbook, providing a $1,000 advance, publication, and ten copies of the book. Submissions are accepted from poets writing in English, with guidelines detailing eligibility and manuscript requirements.