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. 

THE ROCKPAPERPOEM POETRY PRIZE
https://rockpaperpoem.com/submit
$10 ENTRY FEE (up to 3 poems). Deadline June 5, 2026. Open to anyone 18 years of age and older writing in English, from anywhere in the world. Send 1-3 of your best, previously unpublished poems. Poems published on a blog or social media are not eligible. No theme; any subject is welcome; maximum two pages per poem. Grand Prize: $300. Two Runners-Up: $150 each.

WELLS FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE PRIZE
https://wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/competitions/rules-competitions/
£8 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 30, 2026. Winners will be announced at a celebratory event at 2pm on 19 October 2026 at Cedars Hall, the Festival venue in Wells. Open poetry category: top prize of £1,000, with prizes of £500 and £250 for second and third-placed winners. There is also £100 for the best entry in the category for a local poet. Poems must not exceed 40 lines of text in length. Short story category: First prize is £750, while second and third-place winners will receive £300 and £200 respectively. There is also a special prize of £100 in the category for best local author. Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length. Book for children category: The winning entry will receive the top prize of £750. Prizes of £300 and £200 will go to second and third-placed authors, along with £100 in the category for best local entry. The competition will judge writing for children, age 7 and up.  This includes writing for young adults. We require either the first three chapters or first thirty pages, whichever is the shortest, together with the synopsis of up to two pages.

HIDDEN COMPASS PATHFINDER PRIZE
https://filmfreeway.com/hiddencompasspathfinderprize
Deadline August 1, 2026. The 2026 Hidden Compass Pathfinder Prize will award an $18,000 travel and production grant to fund an expedition and short documentary film project, as well as articles written by the expedition team for the November 2026 Pathfinder Prize issue of Hidden Compass: The Magazine. The winning expedition will produce behind-the-scenes content throughout 2026 and will premiere their film at an in-person event in the Bay Area, California.

BURLINGTON CONTEMPORARY ART WRITING PRIZE
https://contemporary.burlington.org.uk/writing_prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 20, 2026. The winner of the Prize receives £1,000, their review is published on Burlington Contemporary and they have the opportunity to publish a review of a future contemporary art exhibition in The Burlington Magazine. To enter the prize, entrants should submit one unpublished review of one contemporary art exhibition. Entrants must have published no more than six pieces of writing in print or online, in any language or country, prior to their submission. The review must be between 800 and 1,000 words in length and accompanied by up to three low-resolution images.

RTE SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/rte-short-story-competition/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 15, 2026. The top prize is now €5000. Writers over the age of 18 living in Ireland, and Irish writers around the world are invited (must have an Irish passport). Story’s wordcount must fall between 1800 and 2000 words. All 10 stories will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. The winners of the top three winning stories will receive prizes of €5000, €4000 and €3000 respectively; the other shortlisted authors will each receive a fee of €300.

ASIAN VOICES IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE WRITING CONTEST
https://go.teachercreatedmaterials.com/free-spirit/asian-voices-childrens-literature-writing-contest
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2026. The contest is open to authors of Asian heritage who at the time of entry are at least 18 years of age and residing anywhere in the United States. The contest’s mission is to elevate authentic, culturally relevant children’s stories written by and about people of Asian heritage. Every entry is considered for publication. Must be original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–1,000 words). First Place: $1,000 cash prize, a swag package from Sambasivan & Parikh and Teacher Created Materials, and a meeting with Ambika Sambasivan and Suhani Parikh, founder of Sambasivan & Parikh, and an acquisitions editor from Free Spirit to discuss the winner’s project. Second Place: $500. Third Place: $300.

CRAFT FIRST CHAPTERS CONTEST
https://www.craftliterary.com/craft-first-chapters-contest-2026/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 28, 2026. Opportunity to win a $2,000 award, excerpt publication, and a full manuscript critique by Artful Editor. The First Chapters Contest is open to all fiction writers; CRAFT is a market for literary fiction.
Please send excerpts of up to 5,000 words of book-length fiction only.

SILENT RIVER POETRY PRIZE
https://riverpawpress.com/silent-river-poetry-prize/
$35 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2026. First prize $1,000. Open to authors residing in the United States, who have not yet published a full-length poetry collection. Authors with previously published chapbooks or books in other genres are eligible. Self-published poets are also eligible, provided they have not published more than one full-length poetry collection. Manuscripts must be 50–70 pages in length.

FUGERE BOOK PRIZE FOR FINELY CRAFTED NOVELLAS
https://regalhousepublishing.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 15, 2026. Winner receives $1000 and book publication by Regal House Publishing. Minimum of 17,000 words, maximum of 40,000 words. Must be a US citizen.

PETRICHOR PRIZE FOR FINELY CRAFTED FICTION
https://regalhousepublishing.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 15, 2026. Winner receives book publication by Regal House Publishing in 2028/9 and a $1000 prize. Minimum of 100 pages, maximum of 350 pages.

STORIES THAT NEED TO BE TOLD CONTEST
https://www.tuliptreepub.com/thecontest
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 9, 2026. There is still only one category: the Story. That means fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—as long as it tells a story, it fits. Grand Prize: $1,000 and a 2-year ($100) gift certificate to Duotrope.  Five additional prizes of $200 will be given for stories that excel in the merits of Humor, Passion, Depth, and (any form of) Love. An additional $200 prize will be awarded in a wild card category, to be determined by the entries. Prose: 10,000 words. ​Poetry: 5 pages per poem (note: one poem per entry fee).

WOW! SPRING FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2026. Flash fiction of any genre 250 – 750 words. Open internationally. Limit: 300 entries. 1st Place: $600, a spot in Reedsy’s How to Write a Novel Course ($499 value), a 12-Month Reedsy Learning Membership ($249 value)
publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. 2nd Place: $300, publication, and more. 3rd Place: $200, publication, and more. 7 Runners Up. 10 Honorable mentions. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW’s blog, The Muffin.

HG WELLS SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://hgwellscompetition.com/
£10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 7, 2026. 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 Cheat. The length must be 1,500 to 5,000 words.

CROOKS CORNER BOOK PRIZE
https://crookscornerbookprize.com/submission-guidelines/
$35 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 15, 2026. The submitted book must be the author’s first published novel for adult readers, published in the United States between January 1, 2025, and May 15, 2026. Regardless of the author’s residence, a qualifying novel must be predominantly set in the American South. $5,000 for the best debut novel set in the American South.

WINSTON SALEM FLYING SOUTH
https://www.wswriters.org/flying-south
$15-25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2026. Poetry – 3 poems, 10 pages max. Fiction – up to 5000 words; includes flash fiction, short stories, and novel excerpts. Nonfiction – up to 3500 words; includes memoir, essay, journal entries, and other creative nonfiction. Winning submissions in each of the three categories (Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry) will be awarded prizes of $400 for First Place, $200 for Second Place, and $100 for a total of $2,100 in prizes. All finalists will be accepted for publication and will receive one copy of the current issue of Flying South. All entries will be considered for publication.

PLATFORM STORIES LITERARY CONTEST 2026
https://laultimaestacionfilm.com/concurso/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 15, 2026. This international contest invites us to give voice to those who care without recognition: family members, friends, neighbors who dedicate their time, energy, and love to caring for others. Stories or tales based on your experience as an unpaid caregiver. Length 1000-1500 words. Texts in Spanish or English. Prizes range $100-$300. All finalists and honorable mentioned receive publication in the anthology + audiovisual capsule recording + certificate.

INKSPOT 500 FLASH FICTION PRIZE
https://inkspotpublishing.com/competition/500-for-500-flash-fiction-2026
£10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 17, 2026. Flash fiction short stories with a word count not exceeding 500 words. Short scripts are also welcome. Prize: £500.

MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE
https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com/2026-competition
$25 CAD ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 15, 2026. One prize of $20,000 CAD to a poet for a single poem of forty or fewer lines. The shortlist is published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology. Entries may be submitted from anywhere in the world.

CLARA JOHNSON AWARD
https://janesstories.org/2026/03/08/open-for-nominations-the-2026-clara-johnson-award/
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 8, 2026. For a specific work of prose, or for a body of work of fiction or nonfiction prose–published within the year of 2025. Open to fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, or memoir. Works in popular categories, e.g., romance, and mystery are acceptable if they rise to the level being literary. $500 cash prize. No self-published books.

F(R)ICTION CONTEST
https://frictioncontests.submittable.com/submit
$10-$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline: May 15, 2026. Short stories: 1,001 – 7,500 words. Poetry: up the three pages per poem. Creative Nonfiction: up to 6,500 words. Flash fiction: up to 1,000 words per piece. Accepts work written in English from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcome speculative writing and experimental literature. Short story first prize $1000. Flash fiction first prize $300. Poetry first prize $300. Creative nonfiction first prize $1000.

DEAR ALIENS
https://www.dearaliens.net/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 14, 2026. The aliens are coming. They asked us for just one item: a written document from humanity to read before they arrive. Should we share a history of humanity? An introduction to your family? A science fiction story? A description of a sunset? A narrative from your life? A joke? Giving $2,000 USD to the best submission. Second and third place get $250 each. Physically mail in your writing to be received by the due date (before May 15). (NOTE: This is a first time contest so no track record.)

RIVER HERON REVIEW POETRY PRIZE
https://www.riverheronreview.com/the-rhr-poetry-contest
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2026. The River Heron Poetry Prize awards the winning poet $500 and four finalists $100 each, a Zoom reading, plus publication. Poets may submit up to 3 poems.

WILD LOT PRESS
https://wildlotpress.com/submissions
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31 2026. Wild Lot Press, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (CEAP), is publishing an illustrated nonfiction anthology book about night, with the working title Nightness: Ruminations on the Darker Side of Day. We’re looking for essays/creative nonfiction of any length, from snippets and passing anecdotes to longform opuses, that take keen interest in what happens between dusk and dawn in the wild spaces of our world, or better still, in the liminal spaces that bridge the human-centric, built world and the extra-human margins that encircle us. The winning essay will receive a prize of $250; all selected contributors will receive free copies.

WRITERS ONLINE FICTION PRIZE
https://www.writers-online.co.uk/writing-competitions/writing-grand-prize-2026-win-1-000-cash
£17.50 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 30, 2026. Win a whopping £1,000 for short fiction in any style and on any theme, up to 2,000 words.

SHADY GROVE LITERARY CONTEST
https://shadygroveliterary.wixsite.com/shadygroveliterary/submissions
NO ENTRY FEE. Submissions are accepted from November 1st to October 31st for each year’s competition. 300 words maximum. One submission per competition. Any style, genre, tone, etc. of flash fiction. 1st place – $100. 2nd and 3rd places- publication online. Shady Grove Literary has readers in multiple countries, but its home is in Thousand Oaks, California.

THE GRATEFUL AMERICAN BOOK PRIZE
https://www.davidbrucesmith.com/2026-grateful-american-book-prize-call-for-submissions
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2026. Accepting submissions for outstanding historical fiction, non-fiction, and biographies for readers, ages 11 to 15. Eligible books must be published between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026. The winner will receive a $13,000 award, a lifetime membership to The New York Historical, and a medallion designed by artist Clarice Smith. Two Honorable Mention recipients will receive $500, each, and the medallion. Self-published books do not qualify.

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.