Best Writing Contests in 2025

Genres: Poetry and LGBTQ

The Hastings Book Festival Poetry competition invites entries of innovative writing. Judged by Jessica Mookherjee, the competition offers monetary prizes and mentoring opportunities for winners.

Genres: Fiction

The STAR Award is designed for published women's fiction authors. It has two categories: a general category for all full-length published works and an 'Outstanding Debut' category for authors' first published work. Each category winner receives a $500 prize, along with a trophy and recognition. The contest is limited to the first 50 entries per category.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The Great American Think-Off is an annual philosophical essay contest that invites participants to submit essays on significant questions of life. The contest culminates in a live debate where finalists present their arguments, and the audience votes on the best perspective.

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

Established in 2018, the Women's Prose Prize honors previously unpublished, original prose work including novels, short story collections, memoirs, and essay collections. It is open to all women writers, with a fair evaluation process ensuring anonymity during judging.

Genres: Romance

The Carla Crown Jewel of Books contest is for traditionally or self-published authors with an original copyright date of 2022. Finalists are announced in late October and the winner on or about November 30, 2024.

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: Fiction, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

The contest invites submissions of inspiring and uplifting stories, aiming to highlight the benefits of writing amidst global issues. Each story can be up to 5,000 characters (about 1,000 words). Winners are determined by writing quality and community votes.

Genres: Memoir

The Anthology Personal Memoir Competition invites entries for personal memoirs, encouraging emerging writers to share their stories. The winner will be published in Anthology magazine.

Genres: Script Writing

The Scriptation Showcase offers a competitive platform for screenwriters, featuring their scripts to industry professionals. The competition includes two main categories: Screenplay and Short Script, with professional readers analyzing submissions.

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: Fiction and Short Story

An open-themed contest accepting all genres, including those written by or for children. Stories must be between 1,000 and 3,000 words with strong characters and plots.

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: 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 Free Verse Prize is a new poetry prize, which supports the Free Verse Poetry Book and Magazine Fair. The judge is poet and former Poetry Book Fair director, Chrissy Williams. Poems can be on any theme, and should have fewer than 40 lines.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Bridport Flash Fiction Prize invites writers to submit stories of up to 250 words. It aims to celebrate the art of brevity in storytelling. The winning entries receive the opportunity for publication and recognition.

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: Travel

This contest invites participants to share travel experiences through creative nonfiction. It encourages engaging storytelling to connect with readers. The submission window is from November 14, 2024, to April 6, 2025.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Poetry

The Hayden's Ferry Review Fiction & Poetry Contest accepts submissions of poetry and fiction. Winners receive cash prizes and publication. The judges for 2025 are Gwen Kirby for fiction and Hieu Minh Nguyen for poetry.

Genres: Essay, Fiction, and Non-fiction

This bi-annual contest recognizes emerging writers with submissions of previously unpublished fiction or nonfiction up to 6,000 words. Judged by Colin Barrett, it awards $3,000 for first place, $300 for second, and $200 for third, along with agency reviews for finalists.

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

The contest is part of the annual Word on the Lake Writers Festival, encouraging submissions in short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Entries must be unpublished and original, with a maximum of 2,000 words for fiction/nonfiction and three one-page poems. Winners are published in the anthology.

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: Fantasy, Fiction, and Romance

The Avenue Writing Contest invites participants to create interactive narratives in four categories: Romance, Fantasy, Progression Fantasy + LitRPG, and D&D. Entries are crafted using the Avenue Creator Studio, where participants develop episodes that allow reader choices to influence the story.

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

High-quality unpublished manuscripts in memoir, fiction, and non-fiction are sought for this competition. The contest is designed to amplify the voices of contemporary writers.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Travel

The Fiction Factory Short Story Competition invites writers to submit stories of up to 3,000 words. The competition is open to all genres excluding Children's and Young Adult Fiction. Winning stories will be published on the website and potentially in an anthology.

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.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Suspense, and Thriller

The Emerging Author Dagger is an international competition for unpublished crime novelists. It accepts submissions of a crime novel opening (max. 3,000 words) and synopsis (max. 1,500 words). The contest is open to those who have never had a publishing contract for a novel and do not have a literary agent when the competition closes.

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

The Bacopa Literary Review is an annual international print journal seeking engaging and original submissions across multiple genres. The contest includes various categories with specific guidelines to encourage diverse forms of writing.

Genres: Poetry

This is the inaugural Chapbook Contest inviting poets and prose writers to submit works celebrating Appalachia. Submissions must embody Appalachian themes and can include previously published works. The contest offers a $200 prize, publication of the winning chapbook, author copies, and a digital e-book.

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 and Short Story

Gail Honeyman was shortlisted in our competition and went on to write Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, winning the Costa debut novel award. All the winning and highly commended pieces are entered into the Sunday Times Audible competition, top prize £30,000. UK based writers are entered into the BBC short story competition. That's not all, literary agent A.M. Heath reads all the shortlist and considers representation. Long story short? You are 5,000 words away from success.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Letter Review Prize for Short Stories is part of a broader contest that includes categories for essays, nonfiction, poetry, and unpublished books. Winners are typically announced every three months and all submissions are considered for publication.

Genres: Poetry

The Ambroggio Prize is a $1,000 publication prize for a poetry manuscript originally in Spanish with an English translation. It honors American poets whose first language is Spanish and is awarded annually since 2017.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction recognizes daring, original, and innovative novels. It is open to all writers, including those with agents. Submissions must be unpublished and include a synopsis, author bio, and contact info.

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.