Best Writing Contests in 2024

Genres: Short Story

An annual short story competition dedicated to Seán Ó Faoláin, one of Ireland’s notable story writers. The competition is open to original, unpublished, and unbroadcast short stories in English.

Genres: Poetry

The theme for this poetry contest is "faith". We are looking for poems that in some way pertain to this theme. It doesn't matter if it's spiritual, political, intellectual or emotional as long as faith is clearly represented.

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 11th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards is an international contest open to all authors, featuring 75 categories across fiction and non-fiction. Winners receive cash prizes and recognition.

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The Paz Prize for Poetry awards a $2,000 prize every other year for the publication of an unpublished book of poetry originally written in Spanish by an American resident.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 and Poetry

Poetry manuscripts should not exceed 10 pages, single or double-spaced (minimum of seven pages). Fiction manuscripts should not exceed 25 pages and must be double-spaced. Fiction manuscripts may include stories and/or excerpts from novels.

Genres: Horror

The spooky season is almost upon us. We're looking for your creepiest horror stories. The ones that make us lay awake in bed at night gnashing our teeth, wondering about the sound coming from under the bed. The story can be a maximum of 5,000 words. There is no minimum.

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: Non-fiction

The J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, in the amount of $10,000, is given annually to a book­-length work of narrative nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern that exemplifies the literary grace, commitment to serious research and original reporting that characterized the distinguished work of the award’s namesake.

Genres: Children's, Fiction, and Young Adult

The Bath Children's Novel Award is an international writing prize for unagented emerging writers. It seeks novels for children or teens, chapter books, and picture book texts. The winner receives £5,000, a trophy, and feedback for listees.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, and Science Fiction

Fiction Potluck is a quarterly writing competition open to fiction writers globally, featuring a guest judge who sets a unique challenge each period. The current challenge theme is 'Sci-Fi Western', with submissions of up to 6,000 words due by August 20. The competition is free to enter, and winners receive prizes including a two-year Duotrope service subscription (valued at $100).

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: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Short Story, and Thriller

The contest invites participants to craft a chilling first line for a scary story, with a maximum of 31 words. The winner receives a free Gotham class of their choice.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers. $500 prizes will be awarded in both the fiction and poetry categories, and the winning manuscripts will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. Runners-up will receive $1000. A selection from the winning work is published in Provincetown Arts.

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: Flash Fiction and Short Story

The Flash Fiction Competition invites teens aged 13-19 to explore their storytelling skills. Participants can share original flash fiction pieces and gain recognition from guest judges. This competition is part of a monthly series, offering an opportunity for writers to showcase their creativity and talent.

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Writing, and Short Story

The Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing will be administered to the winner of a literary contest designed to champion innovative hybrid and cross-genre work.

Genres: Poetry

The Oxford Poetry Prize is an annual competition for a single poem in English. The prize opens on May 1, 2024, with a deadline of August 31, 2024. The guest judge for this year is Rachel Long. Winners receive cash prizes and publication in Oxford Poetry.

Genres: Poetry

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award celebrates outstanding writers in poetry and short fiction. It aims to support new literary talent and showcases entries that reflect upon the changing world and challenge traditional boundaries of form and technique.

Genres: Poetry

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is an annual competition for unpublished poems written by adults for children aged 7–11. It has been awarded since 2015 by notable judges like Michael Rosen and includes past winners such as Louise Greig and Coral Rumble.

Genres: Poetry

The Snowbound Chapbook Award is an annual contest for poetry manuscripts. The winner receives a cash prize, publication, and a book launch. The contest aims to discover and promote emerging poets.

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

The contest invites submissions under the theme '¡Hacia adelante!' focusing on resilience and cultural celebration. Categories include photography, poetry, and narrative/essay/academic investigation. Winning works will be published and recognized.

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: Poetry

The International Welsh Poetry Competition, established in 2007, aims to encourage creative writing in Wales and beyond, welcoming entries in English from around the world.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction invites submissions of flash fiction stories that may be previously published or unpublished, with a maximum length of 1,000 words. The contest aims to celebrate narrative storytelling.

Genres: Essay, Memoir, and Non-fiction

This month, dear writers, ahead of COP27, help us raise the voices of young people in this urgent fight. In a piece of personal narrative, tell the world’s leaders gathering in how climate change impacts you. How has this crisis changed your environment, your community, your sense of the future? Storytelling, after all, plays a critical role in helping us grasp the emergency through which we are all living, igniting empathy in readers and listeners—itself a precursor to action.

Genres: Poetry

The Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry is an annual contest with a focus on recognizing outstanding poetry. It is supported by the Adrienne Rich Literary Trust and has specific guidelines for submissions, including entry fees and poem requirements.

Genres: Poetry

For the 2023 contest, the Autumn House staff as well as select outsider readers serve as the preliminary readers, and the final judge is Toi Derricotte. The winner receives publication of a full-length manuscript and $2,500.

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: Poetry

The top ten poems of the annual Fish Poetry Contest will be published in Fish Anthology. First prize winner will receive €1000 and the second prize winner will receive a week in residence at Anam Cara Writers ' Reatreat. 3rd: €300

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: Short Story, Flash Fiction, and Novella

An annual award celebrating excellence in short fiction, the Katherine Anne Porter Prize invites submissions of unpublished collections of short stories, novellas, or flash fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, and Short Story

Share a horror or thriller story to enter this writing contest. Write about anything but the object is to terrorize or thrill your reader. Cash prize!

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.

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.