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.
ASHEVILLE POETRY REVIEW PRIZE
https://ashevillepoetryreview.submittable.com/submit
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 15, 2026. Asheville Poetry Review offers a $1,000 prize for a single poem through its annual William Matthews Poetry Prize. First Prize: $1,000 and publication in Asheville Poetry Review. Second Prize: $250 and publication. Third Prize: Publication. Submit 3 poems in a single file, any style, any subject, any length.
CAT’S EYE FICTION CHAPBOOK CONTEST
https://purpleinkpress.com/cats-eye-fiction-chapbook-contest/
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 18, 2026. This is a fiction Chapbook Contest open to everyone. We are accepting works between 16 and 35 pages. You can submit several shorter pieces (stories or flash fiction) or one longer work. Hybrid pieces are welcome. All manuscripts are considered for publication. The prize is $500, publication, plus twenty copies of the chapbook. We encourage both new, emerging, and established writers to submit!
NOT QUITE WRITE PRIZE FOR FLASH FICTION
https://notquitewritepodcast.com/prize/?utm_source=funds+for+writers&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=comp+list
Choose a team and write a 500-word story based on your team’s three prompts to compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes and print publication. Then stick around for the podcast afterparty, where your judges will unpack the competition stats and read the top stories! Next round kicks off: Midday Friday 23 January AEDT. Deadline: Midnight (end of day) Sunday 25 January AEDT. 1st Place AU$1,500. 2nd Place AU$1,000. 3rd Place AU$500. 4th Place AU$350. 5th Place AU$250. 6th Place AU$200. Wildcards (2) AU$100.
SWAMP PINK PRIZES IN FICTION, NONFICTION AND POETRY
https://swamp-pink.charleston.edu/prizes/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 31, 2026. Submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication in an upcoming issue of swamp pink. Stories and essays up to 25 pages. Poetry one to three poems.
ALPINE FELLOWSHIP WRITING PRIZE
https://alpinefellowship.com/
£10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline to be announced. Opens January 2, 2026. Awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme TBD. The winner and runners-up will receive financial support in the following amounts: First place: £3,000, Second place: £1,000, Third place: £1,000. A maximum of 1,250 words per entry. All genres of writing are permitted, including fiction, non-fiction, and non-academic essays. Open to all nationalities.
HACHETTE CHILDREN’S NOVEL AWARD – UK
https://newwritingnorth.submittable.com/submit/337371/hachette-childrens-novel-award-2026
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 12, 2026. We accept all kinds of children’s and early teen fiction, including but not limited to historical fiction, crime, science fiction, romance and fantasy. Please do not submit collections of short stories or individual short stories. In terms of target age group, we are looking for fiction for children aged 7–11 (at the younger end of this bracket the word count can be 15–30K; at the older end, approx. 40K), or teen fiction for readers aged 11-13 (50–65K words), this should still exclude high-end or explicit content including swearing, sex and drugs. There will be two winners of this award. The winning writers will be offered a financial prize of £3000 each; and a programme of mentoring opportunities with professionals at Hachette Children’s Group, including a minimum of 4 professional development sessions in a nine-month period, across editorial and design, sales, marketing and rights. Any reasonable travel expenses will be covered by the publisher. To apply for this award you should be: Living in the North of England at the time of entering and planning to remain here for at least another 12 months; Over the age of 18; a debut author of middle-grade and early teen fiction.
BCALA SELF-PUBLISHING LITERARY AWARDS
https://bcala.librariesshare.com/bcala-ebook-contest/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2026. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora. Each genre prize winner shall receive: $2,500.00, formal recognition at the American Library Association conference, and a BCALA Literary Award Seal to use in their marketing. This contest is free and open to all self-published authors.
EDINBURGH SHORT STORY AWARDS
https://www.scottishartstrust.org/short-story
£11 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2026. Open to writers worldwide, published and unpublished. For short stories on any topic up to 2,000 words. We welcome stories in all genres: literary, historic, crime, romance, realism, contemporary, humour and more. Entrants can be any age over 16 years. Stories should be suitable for an adult audience. First prize £3,000. Second prize £500. Third Prize £250. Five Commendations worth £100. Publication in The Edinburgh Anthology will be offered to all longlisted and shortlisted authors (15 stories). Various other cash awards for categories as well.
PORTER FLEMING LITERARY COMPETITION
https://www.themorris.org/porter-fleming-literary-competition/details/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2026.
Fiction—Short stories only (2,500 words maximum)
Nonfiction—Article or essay (2,500 words maximum)
Poetry—(Up to three poems per entry, not to exceed five pages total per entry)
One-Act Play—(Professional format required; limited to fifteen pages, double-spaced)
Writers ages 18 and older who reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington D.C. can enter.
LASCAUX PRIZE IN POETRY
https://lascauxreview.com/contests/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 31, 2026. Poems may be previously published or unpublished, and simultaneous submissions are accepted. Winner receives $1,000, a bronze medallion, and publication in The Lascaux Review. All entries are considered for publication. There are no length restrictions. All genres and styles are welcome.
RATTLE CHAPBOOK PRIZE
https://rattle.com/page/chapbookprize/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 15, 2026. Three winners will receive $5,000, 500 copies, distribution to Rattle’s 8,000+ subscribers. At least one of the winners will be a poet who has never published a full-length collection of poetry (48 pages or more) prior to 2025. Open to writers, worldwide; poems must be written primarily in English (no translations, except by the author). Manuscripts may be 15 – 30 pages of poems.
STORY UNLIKELY SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#contest
Deadline January 14, 2026 nonmembers and January 31, 2026 for members. There are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc – we don’t care as long as it’s written and told with quality and care. The story itself cannot exceed 7,000 words (except for WRITER level Members, who get a bonus 3,000 words added!). There are no restrictions on age or location of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest. $3,000 first place, $1,000 second place, $750 third place, and $250 for our new REPRINT CATEGORY. We tend to pick up a few of the finalists for publication in our monthly magazine! – per our standard guideline pay, as well.
VIII INTERNATIONAL MICROFICTION CONTEST
https://www.fundacioncesaregidoserrano.com/en/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 31, 2026. Participation is open to all writers from any country in the world who are over 18 years of age. Writers aged 16 may also participate, provided they submit a duly notarized authorization from their parents and/or legal guardians. Entries, on a free subject matter, must be written in any of the following languages: Spanish, English, Arabic, or Hebrew. A maximum of three texts per author will be accepted, regardless of the languages chosen. A grand prize of € 20,000 will be awarded to the best story, in any of the contest languages. Additionally, three runner-up prizes of € 2,000 each will be awarded to the best stories in each of the other languages admitted to the contest, provided they are not the grand prize winner. Attendance at the award ceremony is an essential condition. Stories may not exceed 100 words (counted in Spanish; differences in other languages’ syntax will not alter this limit).
THE EUGENE AND MARILYN GLICK INDIANA AUTHORS AWARDS
https://indianaauthorsawards.org/awards/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 9, 2026. Winners of the Indiana Authors Awards receive $5,000 and are invited to participate in a statewide speakers program. Additionally, winning authors have the opportunity to designate a $500 award to an Indiana library of their choice. The Indiana Authors Awards honor books in the following categories every two years: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Children’s, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Drama, Genre, Debut. Two additional awards recognize contributions to Indiana’s literary community.
STORY UNLIKELY SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#contest
Deadline January 14, 2026 nonmembers and January 31, 2026 for members. There are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc – we don’t care as long as it’s written and told with quality and care. The story itself cannot exceed 7,000 words (except for WRITER level Members, who get a bonus 3,000 words added!). There are no restrictions on age or location of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest. $3,000 first place, $1,000 second place, $750 third place, and $250 for our new REPRINT CATEGORY. We tend to pick up a few of the finalists for publication in our monthly magazine! – per our standard guideline pay, as well.
NATURE CHRONICLES PRIZE
https://naturechroniclesprize.com/
£15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 31, 2026. We are a biennial, international, English-language literary award proud to have established itself as a generator of stimulating, contemporary essay-length non-fiction on nature. The winner will receive £10,000 and five runners up £1,000 each. All six winning entries will be published in our third anthology. The competition is open to any work of non-fiction prose between 2,000 and 8,000 words long on a topic the writer considers to be contemporary nature writing. It is for work originating in the English language.
THE SOUTH CAROLINA YOUNG FILMMAKERS PROJECT
https://www.indiegrants.org/young-filmmakers
Deadline February 9, 2026.Participating students must create a short film (two minutes max) telling a cinematic story in any genre, following all rules and this year’s Creative Challenge -.- use a MEGAPHONE as a prop. Top Ten scorers will screen at a special program where winners will be announced. First Prize receives $750, Second Prize $500, and Third Prize $250. Each entrant must be a high school (grades 9-12) living in South Carolina during the 2025-26 school year.
NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS
https://www.indiebookawards.com/
$80 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 13, 2026. Winners in each of the 80+ categories are given $100 cash prizes, gold medals, complimentary stickers, social media coverage, possible representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top independently published books of the year. Three Grand Prize Winners will be selected from all entries received and will be awarded cash prizes of $1500, $750 and $500 based on their order of win. All Winners and Finalists are invited to attend the Indie Book Awards gala ceremony. All indie authors and independent publishers of all levels welcome. Submissions are open internationally, to any books written in English released in 2024, 2025, 2026 or with a 2024, 2025, or 2026 copyright date.
NEXT GENERATION SHORT STORY AWARDS
https://shortstoryawards.com/guidelines.php
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 26, 2026. Select the category or categories you wish to enter based on which category most applies to your story. You may enter as many categories as you like. Stories must be no longer than 5,000 words. No stories that are sexual, political or include hate speech, offensive or vulgar language will be accepted. The Next Generation Short Story Awards (NGSSA) via Headline Books (Publisher) will publish a selection of Winning stories in an Anthology of Winners that appeals to the general population including school age students. All Grand Prize Winners receive a gold medal and get their story published in our Anthology of Winners + receive a complimentary copy of the Anthology, as well as a cash prize: 1st Place $500 Cash prize, 2nd Place $300 Cash prize, 3rd Place $200 Cash prize. Winner of each of the 30+ categories $75 cash prize and gold medal + story published in Anthology of Winners + a complimentary copy of the anthology + a complimentary Winner sticker image.
REEDSY WRITING PROMPT CONTEST
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
$5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline monthly. Reedsy challenges you to create a short story based on one of their prompts. The winner will be featured on Reedsy Prompts and receive $250 via PayPal. We’ll also consider your submission for a future print and digital issue of our lit mag, Prompted. Write a short story between 1,000 and 3,000 words, submit it from your Reedsy Prompts profile.
FURIOUS FICTION
https://www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline first Friday of each month. A monthly short story challenge from the Australian Writers’ Centre. On the FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH, we will unveil a new story challenge. You then have 55 hours and a maximum of 500 words to wow us with your storytelling skills. Prize is $500 AU.
JOHN UPDIKE REVIEW EMERGING WRITERS PRIZE
https://blogs.iwu.edu/johnupdikesociety/the-jur-emerging-writers-prize/
NO ENTRY FEE. Rolling deadline. A $1000 prize plus publication in The John Updike Review, awarded annually to writers 40 years of age or younger. The writing may be scholarly or bellestristic in nature. Academics, critics, graduate students, assistant professors, novelists, poets, and short story writers are encouraged to submit 10-30 page essays. Submissions are open and rolling.
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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.
