WRITING CONTESTS

$100 Teen Writing Contest - Submit your first-person essay and the Next Step Magazine to win $100 and get published.

$500 Short Story Contest - Write a short story on why you love your home town. Free entry.

24-hour Short Story Contest

AAAS Science Journalism Awards Competition - Prizes awarded to reporters for excellence in science writing in each of the following 6 categories: large newspaper (over 100,000 daily circulation), small newspaper (under 100,000 circulation), magazine, radio, television, and online. Online entries can come from a variety of digital sources: newspaper, radio, television, and online-only sites. Online entry form must accompany all submissions. PRIZE: $3,000 in each of 6 categories. Deadline: August 1, 2005.

American Accolades Screenwriting Competition

Annual Chistell Poetry & Short Story Contest - Poetry & Short Story, Annual

Annual Essay Contest on Ayn Rand's Novel Atlas Shrugged  - Essay, Annual

Annual Essay Contest on Ayn Rand's Novel The Fountainhead  - Essay, Annual

Annual Essay Contest on Ayn Rand's Novelette Anthem  - Essay, Annual

Apex Awards for Excellence in Publication

Arizona Authors Association - Literary

Armed Forces Joint Warfighting Essay Contest - Essays under 3k words. Combat readiness in a joint context. 1st Prize: $2,500; 2nd Prize: $2,000; 3rd Prize: $1,000.

Arts Awards - Cash/Opportunities for Writers Poets Graduating HS. Awards for young artists.

Author-Network (mainly UK)

A Woman's Write - is a quarterly writing contest for women, featuring a critique for every entrant, and a cash prize for the best submission.

Bella Online Contest Listing

Best Free Poetry Contests

Best New Sci Fi and Fantasy

Bitten - Vampire short fiction contest. This contest aims to promote that good short fiction, and give amateur Internet writers a chance to receive material benefit from their stories. Submissions are open to any writers, over 13 years of age from any country, as long as the story is in clear, comprehensible English, and is previously unpublished. Out of all the entries collected, the 5 best will be posted on this site, and readers will vote on their favorites. Readers will be able to send comments and feedback to the participants.

Boston Review -  A political and literary forum. Short story and poetry contess.

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

Byline Magazine: Contests

Cadenza Magazine Short Story Competition - Seeks original, unpublished stories, not exceeding 4,000 words. Open theme (but no children's stories). Cash prizes total 350 English pounds. Entry fee: 5 pounds (or equivalent). Deadline: March 31.

Canadian Writer's Journal Semi-annual Short Fiction Contest  - Short Fiction  Semi-annual

Carve Magazine Short Story Contest - The Raymond Carver Short Story Award at Carve Magazine is one of the world's premier fiction awards for original, unpublished short stories. Maximum length: 10,000 words. Prize money totals $2,000. All submissions are considered for publication. International entries welcome. Entry fees: $15 (one), $25 (two), $30 (three). Only three entries per author are permitted. Closes: February 1.

Chistell Writing Contest. Poetry - Short Story. Open to 18 years and older.

Coast Guard Essay Contest - Essays under 3k. Subjects relating to the transformation of the Coast Guard. 1st Prize: $2,000; 2nd Prize: $1,000; 3rd Prize: $750

Communicator Awards - An international competition honoring excellence in communications. Print, video, and audio. Categories: Advertisement | Annual Report | Brochure | Employee Publication |  Magazine | Marketing/Promotion | Media Kit | Newsletter | Publicity | Public Relations/Communications | Public Service/Pro Bono | Radio | Television | Video/Film/Multi-Media |  Web Site | Design | Photography | Writing.

Conversely Magazine Antidote Essay Contest  - Non-fiction essay, Annual

Con-Version 20 Short Story Writing Contest - Held each year in conjunction with the ConVersion science fiction and fantasy convention in Calgary, Alberta (http://www.con-version.org). Previous judges for the at-con live critiquing session of the 6 finalists (top 3 in each category) have included Peter David, Dave Duncan, Ed Bryant and

Diamond Cutters International/Marriage Proposal Essay - No Deadline

DMOZ Open Directory Project: Contests

Fanstory.com - various contests with varying deadlines.

Flight Humor Writing Contest - No Deadline

Florida Freelance Writer's Contest - The contest is open to all writers. You do not have to be a member of Florida Freelance Writers Association (FFWA) or a resident of Florida. Nonfiction, fiction, children's literature, poetry divisions.

Flyway - Fiction, nonfiction (maximum: 4,000 words) and poetry. Reading fee: $18. Deadline March 1st.

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award 2005 - The Munster Literature Centre is pleased to announce it will be offering a prize of 50,000 Euros for the best original collection of Short Stories published in English, anywhere in the world.

Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine Contest - Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine seeks short stories in the mystery genre of 5,000 words or less.

Gahlah links: Writers' Contests  - Essays, poetry, science fiction, screenwriting, short stories

Glimmer Train Awards for Fiction - Glimmer Train Press offers a number of awards for literary short fiction each year. The prize money for short stories less than 2,000 words, for example, totals $2,000. A reading fee of $10 is required. The Press is also open for submissions where no upfront fees are charged.

Google: Writers' Contests

Haunted Newport Short Story Contest - Original, unpublished stories up to 5,000 words are sought on a paranormal theme, and incorporating at least two Newport, Rhode Island, landmarks. First prize is $500. Closes May 1. Entry fee: $10.

Highlights for Children Fiction Contest - We are seeking funny stories for children from 2 to 12. No crime, violence, or derogatory humor. Work from both published and unpublished authors is welcome. All submissions must be
previously unpublished.

HOLLIS SUMMERS POETRY PRIZE COMPETITION - The competition is open to both those who have not published a book-length collection and those who have. Entry fee: $15. The winning manuscript will be published by Ohio University Press the following year and will be awarded a cash prize of $500. Deadline: October 31.

Intergeneration Foundation's Annual Storytelling Contest - Open to all ages, this short story contest is designed to promote intergenerational understanding. Maximum length: 750 words. Cash prizes total $700. No entry fees.

International Annual Fish Short Story Prize  - Original, unpublished short stories, less than 5,000 words, on any theme, are sought. Deadline: November 30, each year. Entry fees: $16 for one, $11 each additional. First Prize: $2,500. The best eighteen short-listed stories will be published in an anthology, read by leading literary agents.

Jane Chambers Playwriting Award - Open to women only: Adult and student categories. We seek plays and performance texts created by women which reflect a feminist perspective and contain significant opportunities for women performers. We encourage submissions by and about women from a diversity of positions in respect to race, class, sexual preference, physical ability, age, and geographical region. We strongly encourage experimentation with the dramatic form. Scripts may be produced or unproduced.

JBWB Competition  - Several Genres, Quarterly

JMW Publishing  - Poetry, Monthly

Kids Can Do It - Ongoing essay contest. Kids, win $50.00, an autographed book from Sandra Humphrey and an award to hang in your room. In 300 words or less, tell us your true story about the most difficult decision you've had to make between right and wrong. A new winner will be picked every six months.

KIDSPEAK WRITING CONTEST. The American Dream Group offers a variety of contest to encourage people to pursue their dreams.  We are currently offering a kids writing contest that can be found at  http://kidspeak.home.att.net and a children's story writing contest that can be accessed through our main contest site at http://achieve-the-dream.net/contests.htm.

Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism - Recognizes independent and professional reporting that sheds new light on controversial issues. Two $5,000 prizes.

Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition - An annual contest for original, unpublished stories up to 3,000 words in length, open to writers who have not yet achieved major market success. Cash prizes total $2,000. Entry fee: $10. Deadline mid-May.

Love Poems and Quotes Contest  - Monthly

MARGARET REID POETRY CONTEST FOR TRADITIONAL VERSE - Postmark Deadline: June 30. Prizes of $1,000, $400, $200, plus four Encouragement Awards of $100 each. Winning entries will be published. Submit poems in traditional verse forms, such as sonnets and haiku. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the anthology and online publication rights. Entry fee is $5 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers. Judge: John H. Reid. Submit online or mail to Winning Writers, Attn: Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060.

Marlene Awards Washington Romance Writers

Memphis Magazine Fiction Contest - Open only to writers living within 150 miles of Memphis, this annual competition seeks original short stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words. Reading fee: $10. Deadline: August 1.

Mixed Stories Contests - Short stories about being biracial or multiracial.

Momaya Press - The Momaya Annual Review seeks original short stories on any theme. Limit: 2,500 words. Deadline July 1. Prizes total $300. Entry fee: $10

Munster Literature Centre - Details the Sean O'Faolain Short Story Competition with two thousand Euros in prizes. Limit: 3,000 words. Deadline: July 31.

National Novel Writing Month

NATJA Awards  - Travel Journalism, Annual

Never Ending Story Contest  - Fiction, Monthly

Once Writen: Fiction Contest (Quarterly) - Grand Prize: $1,000; Reading Fee: $15

Once Written: Summer Poetry Contest (Quarterly) - Grand Prize: $500; Reading Fee: $10

Once Written: In The Midnight Hour Writing Contest (Annual) - Grand Prize; $500; Reading Fee: $10. Halloween Themed Short-Story Contest.

Park Publications UK - The short story magazine. Fiction, articles, and poetry.

Photo Review International Photography Competition

Playwriting Contest - Annual contest seeks original, unproduced plays, open in theme, but suitable in both subject, and language, for family-oriented amateur groups. The winner receives a $1,000 royalty advance, and publication.

Poem Kingdom  - Poetry, Varies

Poetry Awards

Pomegranate Words - Offering distance learning classes in poetry and fiction, critiquing services, forums, contests, and other resources for teen writers.

Prism Contest (Published Writers) - Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal.

Pronghorn Press  - Short Story, Annual

Prose-n-Poetry

River CityWriting Awards in FICTION and POETRY

Santa Fe Writers Project - Resources, awards, and support for writers.

Science Fiction Writers of Earth

Screenwriter Showcase

Screenwriting Contest - $10,000 in cash. $8,000 in prizes.

Screenwriting Contests and Markets

Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition

Shriekfest - Los Angeles International horror/Thriller/Science Fiction Film Festival & Screenplay Competition

Smith's List of Canadian Writing Contests

Society for Technical Communications - Online communication, technical art, technical publications.

Songwriting Contests

South Carolina Fiction Project - Previously unpublished short stories up to 2,500 words are sought in this annual competition sponsored by "The Post and Courier" and the South Carolina Arts Commission. Entry fees: None. Deadline: January 15. Prizes: Twelve cash awards of $500. Open only to residents of South Carolina.

Southeastern Writers Association -- The MLB Young Adult Award: True-life fiction (like a fictional journal/play-by-play of somebody's life like the "Adrian Mole" series by Sue Townsend) or Fantasy fiction (like the "Star Shards Trilogy" by Neil Shusterman or the R.L. Stein books). Maximum Word Count: 3000. This contest will be judged by teenaged readers. The Hudson Award For Speculative Fiction: A short story of 3000 words max. For work in SF/Fantasy and related genres, sponsored by Tim and Sheila Hudson. The Jarvis Humor Award: Send a complete manuscript not over 1000 hilarious words to enter this writers contest. The Cappy Award: Southern Regional Literary Fiction. Send a complete short story no more than 3000 words, or the first chapter and a synopsis of a novel. For work in the tradition of O'Connor and Welty. The Harry Rubin Limerick Award: Send three limericks. The Angel Award: Short fiction, poetry or essays of 1200 words maximum
about the Holiday season. NO book length manuscripts. The SWA Best Overall Fiction Award: To be chosen from the first place winners in Novel, Juvenile and Short Fiction categories.

Southword Editions Poetry Chapbook Competition - (Entry fee 10 euros by credit card or 10 euros, £10 or US15 by cheque)

SpecFicWorld's Annual Speculative Fiction Contest - Science Fiction, Fantasy and/or Horror stories up to 10,000 words are required. Entry fee: $6. Cash prizes total $325. Deadline: March 15.

Spring into Romance Contest

Teen Ink Contests - Artwork, cartoons, essays, fiction, journalism, photography, plays / screenwriting, poetry.

TenTen Fiction Competition - Annual. Literary fiction. A Short Story in exactly 1,010 words.

Tickled by Thunder - Fiction.

Toasted Cheese Fiction Contests - Toasted Cheese Literary Journal currently offers three short story contests on given themes, each year. No entry fees. Modest prizes. Deadlines vary.

TOM HOWARD/JOHN H. REID POETRY CONTEST - Postmark Deadline: September 30 Prizes of $1,000, $400, $200, plus four Encouragement Awards of $100 each. Winning entries will be published. Submit poems in any style or genre. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the anthology and online publication rights. Entry fee is $5 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers. Submit online or mail to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is one of the Writer's Digest "101 Best Web Sites for Writers" for 2005.

Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story Contest - We want your best mystery short story, set in the Western or Southwestern United States. The story must include at least one cowboy and/or Native American character. We're looking for compelling, original, well-written stories that have not been previously published. The contest is jointly sponsored by Cowboys & Indians Magazine and Wordharvest.

Tundra Prize  - (The Annual Dr. Maximilian Tundra Memorial Poetry and Short Speculative Fiction Prize)

Vestal Review  - (short stories) The reading for our first contest begins October 1 and lasts until November 15. Winners will be announced by November 30. The awards will be: $150 for the 1st place, $50 for the 2nd, $20 for 3rd, and $15 to three finalists. $5 fee per entry.

Voices Anthology  - Poetry, haiku and short story  Quarterly

Whim's Place Flash Fiction Contests - We're seeking the next MAJOR nonfiction writing talent who lives WEST of the Mississippi!

Whisper Stories - sponsored by Purple Pen. All genre except adult. $15 entry. Completion of a story for which the opening line is already provided.

Whisper Stories Contests - Promotes writing contests in which authors are asked to complete a story from a set opening sentence. Current deadlines: January 31 and April 30. Prize money: $500 and $5,500 respectively. Entry fees: $5 and $15 respectively.

Wild Violet Writing Contests

William Saroyan International Prize for Writing - newly published books.

Winning Writers - Books and poetry.

Women Writers of the Desert

Word Smitten Flash Fiction Competition - Word Smitten offers a Flash Fiction Contest of 500 words or less. Prize: $150.

Words Magazine - Seeks original short stories for various themed contests throughout the year. Limit: 2,000 words. Accepts IRCs for entry fees.

Write Angle Playwriting Contest  - Play writing  Monthly

Writers Digest Contests - Ongoing

Writer's Nook Contest Page

Writers Notes Annual Writing Contest - Fiction and nonfiction.

Writers of the Future - L Ron Hubbard site. Science Fiction / Fantasy Quarterly

Writers' Spot - Short Story Semi-annual

WriterSpace Book Contests - Ongoing

WritersWeekly 24-Hour Short Story Contest - Ongoing quarterly contests require entrants to submit a short story within 24 hours of the topic's notification. $5 entry fee. Cash prizes total $750 for first, second and third places.

Writing Competitions - An opening sentence is provided.

Zoetrope: Literary Short Fiction Contest - All entries must be unpublished; no longer than 5,000 words; postmarked by October 1; accompanied by a $15 entry fee per story. 1st Prize: $1,000. 2nd Prize: $500. 3rd Prize: $250.