Best Writing Contests in 2025

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

The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction invites writers to break traditional writing rules while crafting compelling stories. Participants have 60 hours to produce a story of up to 500 words in response to prompts. The contest is held quarterly, with cash prizes totaling AU$4,000 each round.

Genres: Non-fiction

The Shiny Dime Writing Challenge is designed to help writers distill their ideas into concise, impactful writing. Over ten weeks, participants will learn to focus on their topic, create memorable phrases, and share their insights with a community of writers.

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

The contest theme is 'Hecho a mano', focusing on the creativity of handmade works. Categories include photography, poetry, and narrative/essay/academic investigation. Selected works will be published, and winners will receive monetary prizes and certificates of recognition.

Genres: Christian

The Foundation Awards are designed for unpublished works from attendees of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Participants must be registered for the entire conference and follow specific guidelines for submission.

Genres: Poetry

The Diode Editions Chapbook Contest is an annual competition open to English-language poets. The contest is currently closed, with winners for the 2024 contests to be announced by August 1, 2024. Multiple publications may be selected during this contest.

Genres: Poetry

The TWFest Poetry Contest is designed for emerging writers, focusing on original, unpublished poetry. The contest includes a grand prize and finalists' recognition.

Genres: Fiction and Romance

This contest is aimed at unpublished authors focusing on historical romance narratives. It promotes creativity by allowing submissions that adhere to specific genre standards, such as historical accuracy and romantic plots.

Genres: Children's

The Betty Award is a writing contest for children ages 8-12, celebrating young authors since 2006. The contest encourages imagination and creativity, allowing entries in any topic as long as they are age-appropriate.

Genres: Poetry

The Fiction Factory Poetry Competition invites poets to submit original works on any topic, with a maximum length of 40 lines. The competition aims to celebrate creativity and diversity in poetry.

Genres: Poetry

The competition runs for 42 weeks from April 9, 2024, to January 28, 2025. Each week, five words will be provided for poem submissions, which must incorporate all the words.

Genres: Children's

The Amazing Women’s Edition Contest invites students in grades K to 8 to create books that feature the theme of 'Local Heroines'. Each entry must include art and text created solely by the students. The contest aims to promote literacy and creativity among youth.

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

The SFWP Literary Awards recognize excellence in writing, offering a grand prize and runner-up awards, with a focus on publishing emerging authors.

Genres: Mystery and Novel

The competition is open to writers aged 18 or older who have not published a mystery novel. It aims to discover new talents in traditional mystery writing. All submissions must be original works of at least 60,000 words that follow the guidelines. The winner will be announced after April 2025.

Genres: Poetry

An annual prize for unpublished poems written by adults for children aged 7–11. The prize aims to celebrate poetry that appeals to younger audiences.

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

The contest celebrates the art of flash fiction. It invites writers to explore themes of transformation, inspired by Kafka's legacy, as part of the centenary commemoration of his work. The prize aims to provide opportunities for both emerging and established writers.

Genres: Poetry

Participants must write a 2-4-2 syllable poem consisting of three lines: the first line has 2 syllables, the second line has 4 syllables, and the last line has 2 syllables. The subject can be anything. All entries will receive feedback.

Genres: Memoir, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

gThe Indie Author Project Annual Contest aims to recognize indie authors and provide them visibility through library support. It encourages submissions from indie-published authors in various genres and offers significant prizes.

Genres: Poetry

The Poetry International Prize is an annual contest to award a cash prize of $1000 and publication for a single poem of any length. Submissions are accepted via Submittable and all entries are considered for publication.

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

The Hudson Prize is awarded annually for an unpublished collection of poems or prose. It is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner receives book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book.

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 and Non-fiction

“Home” holds a special place in our lives. Our earliest memories form inside its walls; we utter our first words and take our first steps there. Does everyone feel the same about home? Is it where you were born or where you earn your bread? Is home a physical place? In a world that moves faster than ever and is confined to small screens, how do perceptions about "home" change? Where is home for people who are forced to leave their homes? Where is your home?

Genres: Poetry

The Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize is awarded annually for a poet's first full-length book of poetry. The prize includes $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press. The winner will also participate in a reading at Kent State with the judge.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The competition seeks the best unpublished short mystery story of up to 3,500 words, adhering to Margery Allingham's definition of a great mystery. It is open to both published and unpublished authors worldwide.

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

The Goldilocks Zone contest invites submissions for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and graphic novels, seeking works that combine craft with audience appeal. The prize includes cash and publication for winners and runners-up.

Genres: Children's, Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, and Young Adult

This is the second annual short story contest by Dreambridge Publishing, featuring the anthology theme 'In My Element' with elements of alchemy. The chosen writers will work with editors to prepare their stories for publication.

Genres: Script Writing

The TWFest One-Act Play Contest is aimed at emerging or previously unpublished playwrights, encouraging original work not previously published or performed. It promotes new voices in playwriting while providing opportunities for recognition and publication.

Genres: Horror and Fiction

The Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award is a biannual contest seeking full-length supernatural or magic realist short stories. The winning stories are published on June 1 and Halloween. The award is open to any story with a supernatural theme, not limited to traditional ghost stories.

Genres: Poetry

A national poetry and art competition initiated by a 14-year-old youth co-founder to allow students to express feelings about racial injustice, specifically focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement. The contest aims to promote diversity and inclusion through literary arts.

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.

Genres: Novella and Short Story

The Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction, requiring eligible authors to have published a book-length collection or at least three short stories/novellas in commercial magazines. Manuscripts are judged anonymously by national writers.

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.'

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

The Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction by a new or emerging writer. All works published in the magazine each year are considered, and previously unpublished works may also be submitted. The prize includes a cash award and recognition in the literary community.

Genres: Fiction and Romance

The National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (NERFA) celebrates published romance novels and novellas, judged by romance readers. It aims to promote excellence in romantic fiction.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The Native Voices Award 2025 invites Indigenous storytellers from various communities to submit original, unpublished works in genres such as short stories, flash fiction, essays, scripts, or poetry. The contest focuses on themes rich in cultural depth.