Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.
Find the perfect editor for your next book
1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.
Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.
Find the perfect editor for your next book
1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.
DIRECTORY
Showing 356 contests that match your search.
Anthology Magazine
Genres: Memoir
Everyone has a story to tell. What’s yours? Authors are invited to share a unique life experience. Whether your memoir recounts a transformative journey, a poignant moment, or a life-altering event, we welcome your story. The Anthology Personal Memoir Competition is open to original and previously unpublished memoirs in the English language by writers of any nationality, living anywhere in the world.
Top Prize:
€500
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: August 31, 2024
New York Mills Regional Cultural Center
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The Great American Think-Off is an exhibition of civil disagreement between powerful ideas that connect to your life at the gut level. The Cultural Center, located in the rural farm and manufacturing town of New York Mills, sponsors this annual philosophy contest.
Top Prize:
$500
📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)
Gotham Writers
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
Each month we invite you to post a story on Twitter using #GWstorieseverywhere for a chance to win a free class. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag #GWstorieseverywhere.
Top Prize:
Gotham Writers Workshop
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2022 (Expired)
Columbia Journalism School
Genres: Non-fiction
The Mark Lynton History Prize, in the amount of $10,000, is awarded to a book-length work of history on any topic that best combines intellectual distinction with felicity of expression. Books must have been published in the United States between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
Top Prize:
$10,000
💰 Entry fee: $75
📅 Deadline: December 07, 2023 (Expired)
The Letter Review
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Letter Review Prize for Books is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Seeking most unpublished (we accept some self/indie published) novels, novellas, story collections, nonfiction, poetry etc. 20 entries are longlisted.
Top Prize:
$1000 USD shared by 3 winners
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Tales
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller
Can’t decide between the headstrong alpha or the hunky omega? Us either. We’re seeking stories featuring steamy werewolf romance, perfect for reading under a full moon. Whether you’re Team Jacob Black or Team Alcide Herveaux…we’re all Team Awoooo. Works up to 3,000 words will be considered.
Top Prize:
$600
Additional prizes:
2nd place: $300; 3rd place: $100
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2022 (Expired)
The Moth
Genres: Poetry
The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for a single unpublished poem. The prize is open to anyone, as long as the poem is previously unpublished, and each year it attracts thousands of entries from new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Top Prize:
€6,000
Additional prizes:
3x runners up: €1,000 | 8x further prizes of €250 | Publication online in Irish Times
💰 Entry fee: $16
📅 Deadline: December 31, 2023 (Expired)
Tupelo Press
Genres: Poetry
The Snowbound Chapbook Award includes a cash award of $1,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 25 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Manuscripts are judged anonymously and all finalists will be considered for publication.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication by Tupelo Press
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)
The Independent Author Network
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Crime, and Short Story
The Independent Author Network presents the 10th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 55 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes of $6,000 USD. Open to all English language print and eBooks available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.
Top Prize:
$2,500
Additional prizes:
$6,000.00 USD in total cash prizes
💰 Entry fee: $49
📅 Deadline: August 16, 2024
Tadpole Press
Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, and Travel
Can you write a story using 100 words or less? Pieces will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and how the story captures a new angle, breaks through stereotypes, and expands our beliefs about what's possible or unexpectedly delights us. In addition, we are looking for writing that is clever or unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling and complete story. The first-place prize has doubled to $2,000 USD.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: writing coach package
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Genres: Script Writing
The Scriptation Showcase is the screenwriting contest that circulates winners’ scripts to Hollywood directors, showrunners, and producers. 15 scripts get featured for one year in Scriptation, the Emmy® Award winning app used on film and TV productions. The earlier you apply, the lower the entry fee will be.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
1 Year Scriptation Showcase, 1 year industry pro access
💰 Entry fee: $74
📅 Deadline: July 24, 2022 (Expired)
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Genres: Fiction and Novel
AWP sponsors the Award Series, an annual competition for the publication of excellent new book-length works. The competition is open to all authors writing in English regardless of nationality or residence, and is available to published and unpublished authors alike.
Top Prize:
$2,500
Additional prizes:
Publication by New Issues Press
💰 Entry fee: $30
📅 Deadline: February 28, 2024 (Expired)
Academy of American Poets
Genres: Poetry
This $1,000 award recognizes a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the previous calendar year. Established in 1976, it is given annually. A noted translator chooses the winning book.
Top Prize:
$1,000
📅 Deadline: February 15, 2024 (Expired)
Writing Battle
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller
Three days to write a 1000 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.
Top Prize:
Genre Winner (x4): $2,000
Additional prizes:
Genre Runner-up (x4): $500 | Feedback by industry professionals.
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)
International Welsh Poetry Competition
Genres: Poetry
The first Welsh Poetry Competition was set up by poet & writer Dave Lewis in 2007. Officially launched on St David’s Day at Clwb-Y-Bont, Pontypridd, 2007 the aim is to encourage and foster the wealth of creative writing talent that we know exists in Wales but currently languishes in the doldrums. The aim is to inspire people to capture life in the present day and to give a voice to a new generation of poets and writers. We are not interested in purely academic types of literature but would much rather see pure raw passion burst onto the creative writing scene in Wales.
Top Prize:
£500
Additional prizes:
2nd: £250 | 3rd: £100 | 17 runners-up: commended entries and future publication in anthology
💰 Entry fee: $7
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024
Goldfinch Books
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novel, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult
Goldfinch Books, an independent bookshop, café and event space in Alton, Hampshire, UK has announced a UK nationwide literary competition to coincide with the inaugural Alton Arts Festival. The Goldfinch Novel Award 2024 is a prize for emerging authors (aged 16+) with completed young adult or adult novels. This competition is open to authors in the UK and will have a prize of £300 for the winning novel, chosen by judge Kiya Evans, Associate Literary Agent at Mushens Entertainment.
Top Prize:
£300
Additional prizes:
Goldfinch Membership
💰 Entry fee: $14
📅 Deadline: May 15, 2024
Anthology Magazine
Genres: Non-fiction
The Anthology Nature Writing Competition is created to celebrate the beauty of the natural world, inspire literary excellence and encourage Anthology’s readers to explore the great outdoors. Whether it’s the wonder of life right in your own garden, an encounter with wildlife, the serenity of a forest, a reflection on environmental challenges, or the healing power of nature, we welcome your stories.
Top Prize:
€500
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: September 30, 2024
Onyx Publications
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller
Our contest provides a First, Second, and Third prize for both prose and poetry. There are no themes or special requirements so just send us your best work. We recommend you read through previous editions or listen to the works and author interviews on our Story Discovery Podcast to get a sense of the range of creativity we enjoy.
Top Prize:
$500 + publication and author interview on Story Discovery podcast
Additional prizes:
2nd: $150 | 3rd: $75
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: May 05, 2024
Pulp Literature Press
Genres: Fiction
This contest is for previously unpublished short fiction between 250 and 2500 words in length. Multiple entries welcome. Total entries limited to 300. Show us your most scintillating treasures in the form of short fiction up to 2500 words in length and you could be the one bringing home $300 CAD to line your nest!
Top Prize:
$230
Additional prizes:
Publication in Pulp Literature
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: October 15, 2024
Academy of American Poets
Genres: Poetry
Offered since 1954, the James Laughlin Award is given to recognize and support a second book of poetry forthcoming in the next calendar year. Along with $5,000, the winner receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency in Miami Beach, Florida, and distribution of the winning book to approximately one thousand Academy of American Poets members. Submissions are accepted January 1 through May 15 each year.
Top Prize:
$5,000
Additional prizes:
Distribution of book to Academy of American Poets members
📅 Deadline: May 15, 2024
Write the World
Genres: Essay and Non-fiction
The writer and activist Bill McKibben describes Environmental Writing as "the collision between people and the rest of the world." This month, peer closely at that intersection: How do humans interact with their environment? Given your inheritance of this earth, the world needs your voices now more than ever.
Top Prize:
Best entry: $100
Additional prizes:
Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50
📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024 (Expired)
Inspiring Fiction
Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Thriller
Inspiring Fiction’s first crime and speculative fiction short story contest is on the theme ‘Secrets’. The winner and shortlisted entries will be published in the fourth issue of Tangled Web Magazine.
Top Prize:
£100
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $6
📅 Deadline: July 31, 2023 (Expired)
Jane Austen Society of North America
Genres: Children's and Essay
JASNA conducts an annual student Essay Contest to foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen's works in new generations of readers. Students world-wide are invited to compete for scholarship awards in three divisions: high school, college, and graduate school.
Top Prize:
$1,000 scholarship
Additional prizes:
Two nights’ lodging for JASNA’s Annual General Meeting
📅 Deadline: June 02, 2022 (Expired)
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story
CAPTRS is building a catalog of threats, called the “Universe of Threats,” which will be used to prepare decision makers for future threats. We invite you to submit a 2,500 word or less story describing a threat scenario related to natural disasters, including floods, wildfires, hurricanes or another natural disaster of your choosing.
Top Prize:
$5,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: $2,500 | 3rd: $1,000 | Publication on CAPTRS website
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)
crazyhorse
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)
Shuswap Association of Writers
Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Essay, Memoir, and Short Story
Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (up to 2,000 words), nonfiction (up to 2,000 words), and poetry (up to three one-page poems).
Top Prize:
$200 CAD
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $11
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)
Genres: Travel
Have you been marked by travel? If so, tell us how. Engaging with the genre of creative nonfiction, seize upon memorable incidents from your travel history — study abroad, domestic travels, even your discovery of Northfield. Entertain us. Make us laugh. Move us. Help us travel with you.
Top Prize:
$200
📅 Deadline: April 07, 2024 (Expired)
Bridport Arts Centre
Genres: Fiction and Novel
Your novel doesn't have to be finished. We initially need only 5,000 to 8,000 words plus a 300 word synopsis. If you're long listed we'll ask for a total of 15,000 words, including your original word count. Shortlisted? Then we need a total 30,000 words, again including your original entry and long listed word count. It all adds up to an incredible opportunity.
Top Prize:
£1500
Additional prizes:
£750 for the runner up and three prizes of £150
💰 Entry fee: $29
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024
First Coast Romance Writers
Genres: Fiction and Romance
The National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award celebrates published romance novels and novellas and is judged by romance readers. All entries must have an original copyright date of 2021 and must have been available for purchase in the United States beginning in 2021.
Top Prize:
NERFA Winner web logo and trophy
💰 Entry fee: $40
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)
Globe Soup
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
For this short story challenge, all participants will be randomly assigned a genre pairing. As soon as you receive your ‘smashed’ genres you'll have until the closing time to write and submit a short story of any length up to 5,000 words, that perfectly and seamlessly combines both genres into one amazing short story.
Top Prize:
£1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $11
📅 Deadline: October 23, 2023 (Expired)
Berggruen Institute
Genres: Essay
The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition, in the amount of $25,000 USD for the English and Chinese language category respectively, is given annually to stimulate new thinking and innovative concepts while embracing cross-cultural perspectives across fields, disciplines, and geographies. Inspired by the pivotal role essays have played in shaping thought and inquiry, we are inviting essays that follow in the tradition of renowned thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Top Prize:
$25,000
Additional prizes:
Publication in Noema Magazine
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024
HG Wells Competition
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, and Short Story
There are two different competitions in 2024: one for those 21 and under, and one for those over 21. The competition for those 21 and under is free to enter and has a prize of £1,000 for the winning entry. All shortlisted entries will also be published in a quality, professionally published paperback anthology.
Top Prize:
Under 21: £1,000 | Over 21: £500
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: July 08, 2024
Killer Nashville
Genres: Fiction and Novel
Every year, the Killer Nashville Claymore Award assists new and rebranding English-language fiction authors get published, including possible agent representation, book advances, editor deals, and movie and television sales. While we cannot guarantee that winners and finalists of this award will receive publication, dozens of winners & runners-up of the Claymore award have gone on to find great success in their careers and many of them attribute that success to this award.
Top Prize:
Publishing contract
Additional prizes:
Discounted admission to Killer Nashville, introductions to agents/editors
💰 Entry fee: $40
📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)
Bridport Arts Centre
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
It may be the sprint of creative writing but that doesn’t mean you can rush the creative process. Take us somewhere fast then let your story marinade in the reader's mind. Make every one of your 250 words count. There is no minimum number of words, just like there is no limit to your imagination. They say lightning doesn't strike twice but we want to feel the electricity in your story right from the beginning through to the very end.
Top Prize:
£1000
Additional prizes:
£500 for 2nd, £250 for 3rd
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024
Academy of American Poets
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.
Top Prize:
$5,000
Additional prizes:
Publication by Graywolf Press
💰 Entry fee: $35
📅 Deadline: October 01, 2021 (Expired)
Enter your email address to save your shortlist so that you don't lose it!
By continuing, you will also receive Reedsy's weekly publishing tips and access to our free webinars.
We sent over your shortlist. Thank you for using Reedsy's Writing Contest Directory, happy publishing! 🙌
Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.
Enter your email or get started with a social account: