Best Writing Contests in 2024

Genres: Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fiction

The contest encourages creativity by providing a main genre and a twisted subgenre, along with unique prompts. Participants can reroll their subgenre and prompts to inspire their story writing. It promotes community interaction through writing groups and feedback mechanisms.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

Our quarterly flash fiction competition is open for entries all year round. The competition is open to any theme or genre, and your story must be a maximum of 500 words (not including the title). You can enter up to two stories in each quarterly competition ($3 to enter one story, $5 for two).

Genres: Short Story

The competition centered on the theme 'Myth', inviting entries in poetry and prose. The contest closed in August 2022, and it welcomed both national and international submissions.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Thriller, and Mystery

Any novels between 50,000 and 200,000 words that are in the realm of action/adventure/thriller/mystery - and chocked-full of adventure - are welcome. New and previously published books welcome, though you must have sold or given away less than 10,000 books of the title(s) you enter. We do not accept sci-fi, fantasy, horror or young children's books. See our website for info on rules and entering.

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

The Rigel 2024 writing contest invites submissions in various formats, including prose, poetry, art, and graphic novels, with a focus on creative expression across genres. The contest aims to support diverse voices and original works.

Genres: Mystery and Novel

Welcome to the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery Set in the Southwest Competition! 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), as defined by the guidelines below, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a mystery novel.

Genres: Poetry

The First Book Award is a $5,000 first-book publication prize. The winning manuscript, chosen by an acclaimed poet, is published by Graywolf Press. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center, in the Umbrian region of Italy.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, and Short Story

The 2025 Book Prize awards a winning manuscript with a $1,000 advance and a standard contract from Unleash Press. Accepts novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction. The competition is open now until December 1, 2024.

Genres: Poetry

The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, established in 1981, is awarded for a first full-length book of poems. The prize includes a cash award and publication as part of the Pitt Poetry Series.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Young Adult

The Writing MAGIC contest invites authors to write a short story under 500 words about anything magical. Open to all age groups, stories can be fiction or non-fiction. The contest aims to celebrate creativity and share magical experiences.

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

The Spring Microfiction Battle is part of the Writing Battle series, where participants write stories based on prompts. Participants receive feedback from peers and industry judges.

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

The contest is aimed at unpublished works including novels, novellas, poetry collections, and nonfiction books. It is judged blind and winners can choose to publish an extract. The prize is awarded every three months with a total prize pool of $4,000 USD.

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

SWF is proud to launch the First 5 Pages Prize to mark our 5th anniversary. Dazzle us with your brilliance. Delight us with your wit. Deceive us with your dastardly plot-twists. There will be one Grand Prize winner chosen from all entries. The winner will receive: $1000 cash, a ticket to SWF22, a pitch meeting with an agent conducted over Zoom, two night’s accommodation at a boutique hotel, and a full developmental edit donated by Reedsy, the industry’s leading platform for writing services.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The Stories of Inspiration contest invites nonfiction essays (500-1200 words) that highlight resilience in marginalized communities. Selected entries will be published quarterly in Kinsman Quarterly's magazine, with winners receiving a cash prize and publication.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

Why not enter the Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition? Send us your first chapter + a 1 page synopsis (if your first chapter is more than 5000 words, send it with the 5000 word point clearly marked). First Prize: £500 + an appraisal and a reading by a top London Literary Agent. All short-listed entrants will receive a free appraisal. Appraisals: For an extra fee, £20, we will write a comprehensive appraisal of your chapter. Results will be published in July, 2024

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

Enter our 91st Annual Writing Competition for the chance to have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. [$20 for a poetry entry, $30 for a manuscript entry]

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

Awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of the Alpine Fellowship 2023 - Flourishing. The winner of the Writing Prize will receive a cash prize, and the runners up will receive travel expense support that must be used to attend our 2023 symposium which will be held from 10th-13th August 2023 in Fjällnäs, Sweden

Genres: Poetry

Submit up to three poems and a $10 entry fee. There are no restrictions on content or form: it 's all poetry. Poems should be previously unpublished. The winner and finalists will be published in Breakwater Review.

Genres: Flash Fiction and Poetry

The contest invites submissions in visual art, poetry, and flash fiction. It aims to showcase innovative and authentic art while promoting diversity. Winners and runners-up will be featured on the website and in a Fall anthology.

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Participants write a short story using ten words or fewer, inspired by the famous six-word story attributed to Hemingway. The submission must be original and unpublished, with entries judged based on originality and quality.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Fish Flash Fiction Prize is an opportunity to attempt one of the most interesting and rewarding tasks – to create, in a tiny fragment, a completely resolved and compelling story in 300 words or less. The top ten stories will be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2022.

Genres: Poetry

Write a 2-4-2 syllable poem: 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second, 2 in the last. Subject can be anything. Winner receives feedback and a cash prize.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The challenge: write a story using 100 words on one of four topics. Open to all ages with a special prize for authors 14 years or younger. The contest supports nonprofit literacy programs.

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

The contest invites participants to explore the theme of freedom through crime, speculative, and fantasy fiction. Winning entries will be published in a special bumper issue of Tangled Web Magazine and Mirk Fantasy Magazine.

Genres: Poetry

The Paz Prize for Poetry awards a $2,000 prize every other year for the publication of an unpublished book of poetry originally written in Spanish by an American resident. The winning manuscript will be translated into English and published in a bilingual edition.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Young Adult

The Bath Novel Award is a £5,000 international prize for emerging writers of adult fiction. Submit the first 5,000 words plus a one-page synopsis of your novel for adults or young adults. Shortlisted entrants will receive feedback on their full manuscript and all listees will receive editorial director feedback on their extract and synopsis.

Genres: Poetry

Welcome to the 20th 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.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

The Anthology Flash Fiction Competition is open to original and previously unpublished flash fiction on any theme in the English language by writers of any nationality. We are looking for writing that is clever and unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling story. Max 250 words.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

The Minds Shine Bright Confidence Writing Competition explores the theme of confidence in fiction. It includes categories for short stories, poetry, flash fiction, and scripts. The competition aims to support writers and promote creative writing.

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel

The Solas Awards honor excellence in travel writing, with cash prizes and publication opportunities. Entries must be original, true stories with specific word count guidelines. The contest runs annually, with winners announced on March 1 each year.

Genres: Poetry

The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest aims to inspire and encourage poets and writers worldwide, showcasing their creativity. The contest is open to all, allowing multiple entries in both poetry and writing categories.

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

The Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition is held quarterly, encouraging original short stories based on a provided prompt. The latest competition had a theme of '7.12am' and featured multiple prize-winning entries. The organization aims to support writers, especially those with low incomes and neurodivergent backgrounds.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Novel

Where talented authors meet publishing professionals with the power to make a difference in the success of their books. Every author who enters a title in the IR Discovery Awards will receive a verdict, written by an IndieReader reviewer and based on their assessment after reading the complete book.

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

An international contest to find original short stories focused on the human impact of climate change. Emphasis on emotional narratives rather than scientific theories. Open to writers aged 18 and above.