Best Writing Contests in 2024

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The editors of Third Wednesday wish to honor the memory of George Dila, friend of Third Wednesday and the editor who originally brought fiction to 3W. To this end, we proudly announce the opening of The George Dila Memorial Flash Fiction Contest. We accept entries of previously unpublished stories of under 1000 words in length (including title).

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest invites unpublished stories that focus on themes relating to Judaism or Jewish culture. Established in 2000, it has featured renowned judges and offers cash prizes for outstanding works.

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 Poems should be previously unpublished.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: Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards Contest is aimed at unpublished writers of novel-length fiction, offering feedback and exposure to literary agents and editors. It encourages diverse voices and celebrates various genres.

Genres: Poetry

The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition is an annual prize open to original, unpublished poems in English of up to 40 lines. It celebrates poetry and offers substantial prizes while encouraging international participation.

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 Submissions must be unpublished and include a synopsis, author bio, and contact info.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: Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story

The Natural Disaster Threat Contest received submissions globally, focusing on creativity and research. Winning stories will aid in developing simulation games for future threat preparedness.

Genres: Essay and Memoir

Write about an event in your life. Everyone has a memoir. Not an autobiography. Too much concern about fact and convention. A memoir gives us the ability to write about our life with the option to create and fabricate and to make sense of a life, or part of that life.

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: 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: Crime, Humor, Romance, and Short Story

£3,000 first prize for writers worldwide and stories on any topic up to 2,000 words. We welcome stories in all genres: literary, historic, crime, romance, gritty realism, contemporary, humour and more.

Genres: Poetry

The Willow Run Poetry Book Award is an annual contest open to poets worldwide. The winner receives a monetary prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press. Entries should be unpublished collections of poetry, between 75 and 100 pages.

Genres: Children's, Crime, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, and Young Adult

The I Am Writing Competition offers multiple categories for writers to showcase their talent, with prizes for various genres including crime, historical, and romance. Each category allows entrants to submit the first 3,500 words of their work along with a synopsis where required.

Genres: Poetry

A Lune is a 5-3-5 contest. That means the first line has five syllables. The second line of your poem will have three. And the final line will have five again. Your poem can rhyme. Write about anything. Cash prize!

Genres: Poetry

One Page Poetry is dedicated to the art of expressing a poetic theme on a single page, whether your poem is four lines or forty, whether yours is a love poem, inspirational poem, philosophical poem, or just one that is fun or whimsical. We welcome any and all poetic forms, as long as they fit on a single page.

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: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novel, Romance, Science Fiction, and Young Adult

Have you completed the first draft of your novel? Are you ready to pass it on to a fresh pair of eyes, to see if you are on the right track? Is your all-important first chapter ready for submission to an agent? Whatever your plans, your first chapter must shine – it must grab your readers or quickly lose their interest.

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: 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, Short Story, Horror, Mystery, and Science Fiction

The Fabula Press Short Story Contest encourages exceptional storytelling across genres, with no specific theme. Participants can submit entries for both free and paid categories. Winning stories may be published in an anthology.

Genres: Fiction and Novella

The Weatherglass Novella Prize 2025 is dedicated to celebrating the novella form. The winner will have their work published by Weatherglass Books, with the judging by acclaimed author Ali Smith.

Genres: Memoir and Flash Fiction

The Flash Memoir contest will open on July 1st, 2024, and close on September 2nd, 2024. This competition invites submissions of memoirs that are brief and impactful, highlighting personal stories.

Genres: Poetry

The annual Tor House Prize for Poetry is a living memorial to American poet Robinson Jeffers. The contest is open to well-crafted poetry in all styles, ranging from experimental work to traditional forms, including short narrative poems. Poems should be no longer than 3 pages.

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: Poetry

The Stephen Spender Prize is an annual award recognizing excellence in poetry translation, encouraging participants to translate poems from any language into English. It is open to various age groups including adults and students in the UK and Ireland. The contest aims to celebrate linguistic diversity and foster creative translation.

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: Poetry

The Plough Prize is an international poetry competition open for poems in English, limited to 40 lines on any subject. The contest emphasizes anonymity in judging, with a focus on quality.

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: Novel and Romance

The Maggie Award for Excellence recognizes outstanding works of romantic fiction. Open to both traditional and self-published authors, the contest emphasizes quality storytelling. The award seeks submissions that showcase excellence in the romance genre.

Genres: Short Story

The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition is dedicated to supporting new voices in short fiction. It has a history of over 43 years and emphasizes original, unpublished stories. Winners are highlighted on the competition's website.

Genres: Poetry

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.

Genres: Essay

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is open to all high school, college, and graduate students worldwide. Participants write essays based on prompts related to Ayn Rand's novel _Atlas Shrugged_. The contest has seasonal entry rounds with unique prompts, and essays must be between 800 and 1,600 words. The winning essays demonstrate a strong grasp of the book's themes.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Our quarterly short story competition is open for entries all year round. The competition is open to any theme or genre, but your story must be a maximum of 1,500 words (not including the title). You can enter up to three stories in each quarterly competition.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, and Novella

Novellas are an important part of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe's opus. To celebrate this format, the Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine have partnered to sponsor the Black Orchid Novella Award. Each entry must be an original, unpublished work of fiction that conforms to the literary tradition of the Nero Wolfe series.

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.