Best Writing Contests in 2025

Genres: Crime, Humor, Romance, and Short Story

The Edinburgh Short Story Award is open to writers worldwide, welcoming stories of any genre. The award offers substantial cash prizes and the opportunity for publication in The Edinburgh Anthology. It emphasizes inclusivity through bursaries for underrepresented writers.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, and Flash Fiction

The Wonder 2025 Flash fiction Battle is part of the Writing Battle series, where participants write stories based on prompts. Participants receive feedback from professionals.

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: 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

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: Poetry

The Indiana Review Poetry Prize is part of an annual contest that awards a prize for excellent poetry submissions. The contest is open to submissions of poetry, and winners receive publication along with a monetary honorarium.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, and Romance

The Emma Awards celebrate multicultural excellence in romance and women's fiction, promoting diverse voices and stories. The contest recognizes top entries in various romance subgenres, ensuring inclusion in literature.

Genres: Children's

The Celebration Day writing competition encourages students aged 5-18 to research and retell stories of inspiring people from history. This year, the optional theme focuses on sporting heroes. Submissions can be written articles or audio pieces.

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

The Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing seeks to recognize writing that is hybrid and cross-genre in nature, integrating multiple mediums to create dynamic, engaging work. The contest emphasizes unique perspectives and voices, prioritizing hybridization over experimental forms.

Genres: Poetry

The Poetry & Spoken Word Competition invites young writers aged 13-19 to submit original poems or spoken word pieces. The competition emphasizes engaging the senses and experimenting with structure. Two winners will be selected: one for best written poem and another for best spoken word performance.

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: Poetry

Every year, the University of Arkansas Press accepts submissions for the Miller Williams Poetry Series and from the books selected awards the $5,000 Miller Williams Poetry Prize in the following summer. For almost a quarter century the press has made this series the cornerstone of its work as a publisher of some of the country’s best new poetry. The series and prize are named for and operated to honor the cofounder and longtime director of the press, Miller Williams.

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

The Iowa Review Awards is an annual writing contest accepting submissions in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. It has been held every January since 2003, and winners are published in the December issue.

Genres: Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Children's, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

The North Street Book Prize focuses on self-published or hybrid-published books, offering significant cash prizes and marketing services to enhance visibility. The contest has been running for 11 years and encourages entries across various genres.

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: Poetry

The award honors Dominican-American poet Rhina Espaillat. It is for an original poem of up to 50 lines, showcasing empathy and grace in everyday life.

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: Poetry and Short Story

The Bedford Competition runs annual international short story and poetry competitions open to anyone over 17 years. Winning entries are published in an anthology.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The Emerging Writer's Contest, held by Ploughshares since 1971, recognizes outstanding work by emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Winners are announced in the fall and their works are published in the Winter 2024-25 issue of Ploughshares.

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.

Genres: Children's and Poetry

The Rattle Poetry Prize is an annual contest that awards $15,000 for an outstanding poem published in the magazine's winter issue. Ten finalists receive $500 each and a chance to win a $5,000 Readers’ Choice Award. The contest is open to all writers worldwide, with an emphasis on ethical judging and editorial standards.

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: Short Story and Fiction

This competition invites short stories of up to 2,000 words on any theme. It is open to anyone over 16 years old. The entry fee is £6, and all profits go towards purchasing books for schools.

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

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Genres: Fiction and Young Adult

The New Adult Book Prize is designed to celebrate new adult fiction that explores themes relevant to individuals aged 19-29. This inaugural prize aims to recognize the growing genre and will be awarded at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Genres: Christian

The Christian Author Awards recognize outstanding new Christian authors who have published independently. The awards honor exceptional books that align with a Christian worldview and promote them through various means, including media announcements and advertising.

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: Poetry

These fellowships are $50,000 awards aimed at honoring poets of literary merit who serve in civic positions. The goal is to support them in creating new work and undertaking impactful projects that enrich local communities through poetry.

Genres: Poetry

The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence includes $1,000, publication, and twenty books. The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence is open to ALL poets, regardless of publication history.

Genres: Poetry

The Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition invites entries of poems on any subject and in any format, with a maximum length of 60 lines. Judging is anonymous, and an entry fee of £5 per poem is required.

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: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Storytrade Book Awards celebrate literary excellence in small and independent publishing, featuring over 70 categories for fiction and nonfiction. The awards spotlight outstanding books and provide industry recognition for authors.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The contest encourages students to reflect on strength and resilience in overcoming challenges. Since 2001, it has engaged over 15,000 students from more than 20 countries, with 900 participants this year. Winners were selected based on their unique voice and thoughtful analysis.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The contest encourages participants to submit one fictional story (max 350 words) for a chance to win a prize. The contest requires a minimum of 10 shortlisted submissions to award a prize, which is a $25 Amazon Gift Card.