Contests
Writing contests provide steps up for a writer – especially a struggling writer. A portfolio that contains contest wins means more than many clips. Can’t afford the entry fees? Consider entering one contest a quarter or something more amiable to your pocketbook. A few are free. Contests provide prizes, prestige and usually publication with many offering book contracts. Denouncing contests from your writing repertoire is like discounting an entire genre or refusing to eat yellow vegetables. You’re giving up something valuable that may serve you and your career well.
NOTE: To have your group’s contest posted, email hope@chopeclark.com with the link to the contest. It must pay a minimum of a $200 first prize, not take all rights for entering, and charge an entry fee of five percent or less.
GEIST LITERAL LITERARY POSTCARD STORY CONTEST
https://www.geist.com/contests/the-19th-annual-literal-literary-postcard-story-contest
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 20, 2024. Send us a story and a postcard—the relationship can be as strong or as tangential as you like, so long as there is a clear connection between the story and the image. First Prize: $500. Second Prize: $250. Third Prize: $150. All winning entries will be published in Geist and on geist.com.
WPRING ANTHOLOGY CONTEST
https://bardsy.com/contest
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 24. 2024. Grand prize: $500 and anthology publication. All finalists will receive $50 and anthology publication. Looking for short stories from 1,500 to 2,000 words. All qualified entrants will receive professional feedback from our editing team before judging, so the earlier you submit, the more time you have to revise.
REEDSY WEEKLY PROMPTS CONTEST
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
Every Friday, Reedsy sends a newsletter that includes five themed writing prompts and publishes the same five prompts on Reedsy Prompts. Writers then have one week (until the following Friday at 11.59pm EST), to submit a story based on one of the five prompts. Submitted stories (Entries) should be between 1,000 – 3,000 words and written in English. Entries may be submitted free of charge, but they will not be judged or submitted into our Contest. Unpaid entries will, were appropriate, still be published on the site and readers will be able to like or comment on them. Those wishing to participate in the Contest will be charged a submission fee of $5 per Entry. The Winner is announced on Friday and featured on Reedsy Prompts and awarded $250.
OPRELLE MATTER CONTEST
https://oprellepublications.submittable.com/submit
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 2, 2024. Even though this anthology will be called Matter, all that is expected is that your poetry reflects emotions and thoughts coming from the depths of you. Submit 3-40 lines in any style, on any topic. First Place – $400 and publication. Second Place – $200 and publication. Third Place – $100 and publication. These top three winners will be published with a headshot and biography in the Matter – Award Winning Poetry XXIV anthology.
CURT JOHNSON PROSE AWARDS
https://decembermag.org/2024-curt-johnson-prose-awards/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2024. Prizes are $1,500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2022 issue for First Place (fiction and nonfiction); $500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2022 issue for honorable mention (fiction and nonfiction). All finalists will be listed in the awards issue. Maximum of 8,000 words for fiction and non-fiction.
MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION
https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com/
$20 CAD FOR EARLY ENTRY. Deadline May 1, 2024. The Montreal Prize awards one prize of $20,000 CAD to a poet for a single poem of 40 or fewer lines. A jury of internationally reputed poets and critics selects a shortlist of approximately 60 poems, from which a judge chooses one winner. The shortlist is published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology.
WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING SPRING FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2024. Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 – 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Open internationally. Limit: 300 entries. First Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Card. Second Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Card. Third Place: $200, publication, interview and $25 Amazon Gift Card. Seven Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview. Ten Honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon Gift Cards. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW’s blog, The Muffin.
QUEEN MARY WASAFIRI NEW WRITING PRIZE
https://www.wasafiri.org/new-writing-prize/
£12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 1, 2024. The prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 prize and publication in Wasafiri magazine. The competition is open to anyone who has not published or signed a contract to publish a book-length work of fiction, life writing, or poetry, except for self-published works or poetry chapbooks. Limit 3,000 words. A single poetry entry can include up to three poems, which together total no more than 3,000 words.
WINCHESTER POETRY PRIZE
https://www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org/prize
£6 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2024. Poems can be on any subject, and in any form or style, but must be no more than 40 lines, and written in English. Winning poets receive cash prizes (1st prize: £1000, 2nd prize: £500, 3rd prize: £250) and all longlisted poems are published in a printed anthology. The best poem written by a poet living in Hampshire is awarded the Kathryn Bevis Prize (previously the Hampshire Prize) which is a year’s worth of tuition from The Writing School Online and £150. There are a limited number of free entry slots available.
FORCE MAJEURE FLASH CONTEST
https://stormcellar.org/submit/contest/
$6 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. First place $300; two runners-up $100 each. Honorable mentions receive a small honorarium. Shorter than 1000 words and no more than five pages. May contain fiction, nonfiction, hybrids, marks, or images, in any combination.
F(R)ICTION CONTESTS
https://frictionlit.org/contests/
$10-$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. Short stories: 1,001 – 7,500 words. Flash fiction: up to 1,000 words per piece. Poetry: up the three pages per poem. Creative Nonfiction: up to 6,500 words. Accepts work, written in English, from anywhere in the world. Ages 13 and up. First prizes: Short Story $1,000; Flash Fiction $300; Poetry $300; Creative Nonfiction $500.
ONLY POEMS PRIZE
https://www.onlypoems.net/contest
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. The entry fee includes a comped two-month Substack subscription (worth $14). Poet of the Year will receive $3000 and a lifetime comped subscription to the ONLY POEMS Substack. Two Runner-ups will receive $300 each and a three-year comped subscription. All honorable mentions will receive a one-year comped subscription. Three to ten poems of all three winners will be published alongside an extensive interview in July. Submissions must be five to ten pages.
BRIDPORT POETRY, SHORT STORY, FLASH, NOVEL, MEMOIR CONTESTS
https://bridportprize.org.uk/
£24 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2024. Poetry: 42 lines max. No minimum. Title not included in the line count. Short story: 5000 words max. No minimum. Flash fiction: 250 words max. No minimum. Novel anbd Memoir: 8,000 words max. 5,000 words minimum from opening chapters. PLUS 300 word synopsis which should form the first page of the submission. Poetry: 1st prize £5,000, 2nd prize £1,000, 3rd prize £500, Highly Commended 10 x £100. Short story: 1st prize £5,000, 2nd prize £1,000, 3rd prize £500, Highly Commended 10 x £100. Flash fiction: 1st prize £1,000, 2nd prize £500, 3rd prize £250, Highly Commended 5 x £100. Novel: 1st prize – £1,500 plus up to a year’s mentoring from The Literary Consultancy. Runner-up – £750 plus full manuscript appraisal. Memoir: 1st prize – £1,500 plus up to a year’s mentoring from The Literary Consultancy. Runner-up – £750 plus full manuscript appraisal.
HG WELLS SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://hgwellscompetition.com/competition-rules-2024/
Zero to £10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 8, 2024. Competition offers a £500 Senior and £1,000 Junior prize and free publication of all shortlisted entries in a quality, professionally published paperback anthology. Theme: The Fool. The length must be 1,500 to 5,000 words.
WRITER’S DIGEST ANNUAL WRITING COMPETITION
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/annual-writing-competition
$20-30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 6, 2024. Grand prize winner receives $5,000 and a paid trip to New York to the conference (and more). The First place winner in each category will receive $1,000 and publication of their winning piece on WritersDigest.com. The Second place winner in each category will receive $500. The Third place winner in each category will receive $250 in cash. The Fourth place winner in each category will receive $100. The Fifth place winner in each category will receive $50. The Sixth through Tenth place winners in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate for writersdigestshop.com. Categories: Inspirational/Spiritual, Memoirs/Personal Essay, Nonfiction Essay or Article, Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.), Mainstream/Literary Short Story, Rhyming Poetry, Non-rhyming Poetry, Humor, Children’s/Young Adult Fiction.
THE CREATIVE WRITING NZ SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://creativewriting.co.nz/competition/the-creative-writing-nz-short-story-prize-2024/
$9 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. Entries on any subject, theme or genre. The winner will receive $1,000. Two runner-up prizes – $200 each. Must be written in English. A maximum of 3,000 words.
THE MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE
https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com/
$20-$25 CAD ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 15, 2024. Awards one prize of $20,000 CAD for a single poem of 40 or fewer lines. Entries may be submitted from anywhere in the world.
THE TIMES CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION
https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/uncategorized/the-2024-times-chicken-house-childrens-fiction-competition-is-now-open/
£20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 1, 2024. A worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a £10,000 advance (subject to contract) for a complete fiction manuscript of any genre for children aged 7 up to YA.
ELECTRIC BOOK AWARD
https://altcurrentpress.com/2023/01/06/electric-book-award/
$18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. Book-length manuscripts of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, plays, novels, long novellas, creative nonfiction, literary memoir, essay collections, or hybrid. Winner receives $1,000, our Electric Book Award digital medallion, a certificate, and book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram and all major online retailers. Runners-up may also be offered book publication.
TIMES/CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION
https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/uncategorized/the-2024-times-chicken-house-childrens-fiction-competition-is-now-open/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 1, 2024. A worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a £10,000 advance (subject to contract) for a complete fiction manuscript of any genre for children aged 7 up to YA. The winner will also be offered representation by Lydia Silver of Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency.
THE LIME PICTURES NEW STORYTELLER AWARD
https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/uncategorized/the-2024-times-chicken-house-childrens-fiction-competition-is-now-open/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 1, 2024. A prize sponsored by leading TV production company Lime Pictures, awarded to the submission which shows the greatest TV development potential and chosen by Chicken House Publisher Barry Cunningham and Lime Pictures’ Tim Compton. The winner will receive a £7,500 publishing contract plus an offer of representation. The good news is, you don’t need to do anything extra to be considered for the Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award; simply enter the TIMES/CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION above as normal.
DYNAMMO VERLAG BOOK CONTEST
https://www.dynamoverlag.com/
$18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 30, 2024. This contest is open to all authors writing in the English language(s) aged minimum 18 years. We accept submissions from any country, however, we can only send your catalog title to a United States address. This contest is open to poetry or prose; we simply want a scintillating book-length manuscript (minimum 8,000 words for prose and a maximum 75,000 words for prose; minimum 80 pages for poetry) that reflects what we look for in all our publications: genius, eclecticism, and originality.
THE YEOVIL LITERARY PRIZE
https://writingcompetitions.net/
ENTRY FEES £5 to £14.50. Deadline May 31, 2024. Open internationally. Categories are novel, short story, poetry, children/YA novel, and writing without restrictions. Novel (max 10,000 words) – 1st £1250, 2nd £500, 3rd £125. Short story (max 2000 words) 1st £600, 2nd £250, 3rd £125. Poetry (max 40 lines) 1st £600, 2nd £250, 3rd £125. Children’s/YA novel (max 3000 words) 1st £600, 2nd £250, 3rd £125. Writing without restrictions (see rules) 1st £250, 2nd £125, 3rd £75.
DOGBERRY BOOKS WRITING PRIZE
https://www.memoirist.org/prizewinners
£25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2024. Inviting submissions of memoir or literary fiction or autobiographical novel of 70,000 – 90,000 words. Prize £500 and offer of publication.
BEST CHAPTER BOOK COMPETITION
https://www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/best-chapter-book-for-5-8-year-olds-2024/
£12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2024. Best Chapter Book for 5-8-year-old readers. It can be a stand-alone story or part of a series. All you need to submit is the first chapter and a short pitch that tells us what the book is about. First prize is £350 cash prize and a one-to-one call with our agent judge. Ten shortlisted writers are included in Searchlight’s Pitch Book of winning stories, which is sent to literary agents and publishers to help your work get noticed. Your entry and biography included in our Winners’ Gallery on the Searchlight Awards’ website, which agents, publishers, friends and family can access.
BETHLEHEM WRITERS ROUNDTABLE SHORT STORY AWARD
https://bwgwritersroundtable.com/short-story-award-2/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. We are seeking never-published (including online or blog posts) short stories of 2,000 words or fewer on the theme: Holiday Tales. We define holiday stories as those that involve any holiday from US Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, or stories that reference those holidays. First Place: $250 and publication in our upcoming anthology: Season’s Readings: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales. Second Place: $100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Third Place: $50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
NOTE: See more contests by joining our newsletters. We can keep you loaded with contests without you looking anywhere else!
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Please remember to read ALL guidelines for a contest. FundsforWriters tries to research contests to the best of our ability, but we cannot confirm the credibility of each and every one without entering them ourselves. Be informed and be alert as you would with any market, publisher, agent or competition.
Testimonials
Dear Hope, The Emerald Theatre Company’s 10-minute play fest is going into its second year. Without you, and FundsforWriters, the first year might not have been possible. Thanks to the publicity from your newsletter, our little Memphis, Tennessee event received scripts from Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, the UK and New Zealand.
This wealth of wonderful material yielded quality vignettes that made the best local actors and stage directors (including a popular local radio personality) eager to donate their time and talent – their presence, in turn, sold tickets. We played to packed houses and everyone had a great time. To our astonishment, Vermont Pride Theatre got wind of the show and asked to put it on in its entirety this coming July – meaning the playwrights who won prizes and recognition in our fest, will now receive additional recognition along with royalties.
The bottom line is, without you, we would have had something rinky dink – with you we had something substantial. The publicity you provided on the front end made all the difference in the world! ~Caroline Sposto, www.whycaroline.com, (610) 597-9803
Hi Hope, we met at the SCWW conference in Myrtle Beach last October, and I was so impressed with your lecture that I subscribed to FFW as soon as I got home. I wanted to drop you a line to let you know that because of FFW, I submitted AND WON The 2008 William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers! My novel will be finished this week, and next weekend I’m going to Malice Domestic to accept the award. Thanks you, and keep up the great work.