Best Writing Contests in 2025

Genres: Poetry

The competition invites submissions of poetry. The theme for 2024 is 'RISKING ALL', commemorating the Everest Climbing expedition centenary.

Genres: Poetry

The 27th annual Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition is open for submissions until April 30th, 2025. The competition accepts poems on any subject, must be original, and no longer than 50 lines.

Genres: Script Writing

The Scriptwriting Scholarship is open to people of color interested in scriptwriting for movies, TV shows, or plays. It provides three scholarships, each including two 10-week script courses, three intensives, and a 12-hour mentorship. Acceptance is for ages 18+, with a focus on supporting Black applicants.

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.

Genres:

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Genres: Essay

The contest invites high school students to respond to a prompt regarding human rights. Prizes include $3000 for 1st place, $1500 for 2nd, and $750 for 3rd. Essays should not exceed 2500 words and must include a cover page with specific details.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The High School Academic Research Competition (SARC) is an online contest for high school students aged 13-18 to conduct research on any topic. Participants develop their research proposals and skills through exclusive bootcamps and compete by submitting proposals and video pitches.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The mission of this contest is to inspire creative nonfiction and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Your story must be true, but the way you tell it is your chance to get creative. We are open to all styles of essay

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

The competition aims to give marginalized voices the opportunity to establish literary legacies. It accepts unpublished creative nonfiction manuscripts and assesses entries based on originality, creativity, and writing quality.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller

The contest awarded prizes for both prose and poetry categories, with multiple winners for each.

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: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller

The contest invites participants to explore the theme of freedom through crime, speculative, and fantasy fiction. Winning entries will be published in a special bumper issue of Tangled Web Magazine and Mirk Fantasy Magazine.

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: Poetry

The competition invites poets to submit works based on five given words each week over a 42-week period. It aims to encourage creativity and showcases poets' works in an anthology.

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

The Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction by a new or emerging writer. All works published in the magazine each year are considered, and previously unpublished works may also be submitted. The prize includes a cash award and recognition in the literary community.

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: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

The Winter Flash Fiction Battle is an engaging contest where writers compete by creating stories based on given prompts. Participants write a story of up to 1000 words within three days. The contest emphasizes community feedback and professional judging.

Genres: Poetry

The Autumn House Poetry Contest accepts manuscripts of 50-80 pages. The winner receives publication of their manuscript, a $2,500 prize, and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant.

Genres: Poetry

Welcome to the 20th annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre. $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

This competition invites submissions of the first chapter of a novel along with a synopsis. The focus is on originality and engaging storytelling. The winner will receive feedback from a literary agent and a substantial cash prize.

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: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The Unleash WIP Award supports writers in completing significant literary projects, offering $500, editorial feedback, coaching, and a feature in Unleash Lit.

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

The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction invites writers to break traditional writing rules while crafting compelling stories. Participants have 60 hours to produce a story of up to 500 words in response to prompts. The contest is held quarterly, with cash prizes totaling AU$4,000 each round.

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, and Thriller

The Silver Falchion Award honors the best books published in 2024 across various genres, including mystery, thriller, suspense, and romance. The competition aims to recognize quality storytelling and is open to all published authors.

Genres: Non-fiction

The Shiny Dime Writing Challenge is designed to help writers distill their ideas into concise, impactful writing. Over ten weeks, participants will learn to focus on their topic, create memorable phrases, and share their insights with a community of writers.

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: Non-fiction

The Future Leaders Competition encourages youth to engage with civic ideas and challenges, aiming to recognize and reward future leaders through scholarships and awards. The prompt for Winter 2024 explores the essence of effective political leadership.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Pinch Literary Awards recognize excellence in fiction. Submissions are judged blind, with various entry windows throughout the year.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The competition is open globally, with a deadline of April 30, 2024. The top prize is £1,000, with additional prizes for second (£300) and third (£200) places. Entry fees are £10 for one entry, £19 for two, and £27 for three, with £1 from each entry donated to the charity First Story. Winning entries will be published online and in an anthology.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Poetry

A creative writing contest inviting participants worldwide to submit entries in response to prompts. The competition consists of three rounds, each with its own theme and deadline.

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

The Poetry International Prize is an annual contest to award a cash prize of $1000 and publication for a single poem of any length. Submissions are accepted via Submittable and all entries are considered for publication.

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: Poetry and Script Writing

The TeenQuill Writing Contest invites students aged 12 to 19 to submit original, unpublished poetry and play monologues. Selected works will receive a $50 Amazon e-gift card and publication in Kinsman Quarterly. One winner is chosen each seasonal quarter, with submissions accepted throughout 2025.