Category: Competitions etc

Details of current short story and other competitions and other opportunities, events, etc

September 2024 Competitions

August 21, 2024

A selection of writing competitions that I might enter, with deadlines in September.

  • The John McGivering prize is run by the Kipling Society and entries must have some kind of link to Kipling. This year they must also be about food and drink and can be up to 2,500 words long. It costs £8 to enter and you could win £350, but time is short as the deadline is 1 September.
  • Terrain will take up to 5,000 words: entry is $20 and the top prize $1,000. You have until 2 September.
  • If you missed last month’s early deadline for Aesthetica, you can still catch the late entry deadline of 8 September, but will pay a little more – £24. The word limit is 2,000 and you can win £2,500
  • The Royal Society of Literature’s V.S.Pritchett prize is back, with a maximum word count of 4,000. It costs £8 to enter and the top prize is £1,000. Enter by 13 September.
  • Ink of Ages is looking for historical or mythological stories (no time machines, please). The word limit is 2,000: it’s free to enter and there’s no cash prize but the winner will get a whole lot of stuff apart from seeing the story published. They will send a consignment of books and various items or merchandise, and they will also produce for you a custom piece of art which might be a map, a family tree, or some other graphic. Enter by 15 September.
  • The Dinesh Alirajah contest this year is on the theme ‘The Unspoken’. Again, it’s free. Stories must be between 2,000 and 7,500 words and you can win £500. The deadline is 22 September.
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All the rest have a deadline of 30 September.

  • Louise Walters is again running her quirky ‘Page 100’ contest in which you submit exactly that page from your manuscript. It costs £10 and you win a book club subscription plus some extra feedback on your work.
  • Hammond House has the theme ‘Time’ this year. 1,000 to 5,000 words, £10 to enter, and a prize of £1,000 (plus a mention on the local arts TV channel and a place of honour in the annual anthology).
  • The regular Henshaw contest, now run by Hobeck Books, looks for up to 2,000 words. £6 to enter and £200 to be won.
  • Christmas already? Crowvus have launched their annual Christmas Ghost story competition. Up to 4,000 words, £3 to enter, win £100.
  • The Iowa and John Simmons competition is for a collection of short stories running to at least 150 pages. It’s free, but there’s no prize beside publication.
  • Maybe you prefer money? Also for a collection, Juniper wants 55,000 to 75,000 words. $30 to enter and a prize of $1,000
  • 6,000 words of the Best in Rural Writing could win you $500, for a $5 entry fee.
  • Finally if travel is your thing, you can win $500 for a story of 500+ words about ‘My Greatest Journey’. And it’s free to enter!

If you get anywhere with any of these, please do let me know.

August 2024 Competitions

July 22, 2024

A selection of writing competitions with deadlines in August that I might enter.

  • Black Warrior (from the University of Alabama) wants stories up to 6,000 words, by 2 August. Entry is $20 and they say there is a cash prize, but not how much. Let’s hope it’s more than $20.
  • Aurora (from the East Midlands) is back, looking for stories up to 2,000 words: entry is £9 and you can win £500 plus membership of the Society of Authors. Deadline 7 August.
  • Gival wants between 5,000 and 15,000 words: $25 to enter and top prize $1,000. Deadline 9 August.
  • Juxtaprose will take as few as 500 words or as many as 7,000: it’s $15 to enter, you could win $1,000 and the deadline is 11 August.
  • Book Pipeline’s standard deadline is 20 August (pay more for a later entry). They have ten different categories: for literary pieces the word count can be between 40,000 and 120,000. It’s $45 to enter and there’s a prize of $2,500 for each category.
  • The Westerwood competition from the Scottish Association of Writers looks for 2,000 to 3,000 words: £7 entry and a (rather modest?) £100 prize. Enter by 24 August.
  • The Masters Review summer competition is for stories up to 6,000 words long: $20 entry and $3,000 prize. Deadline 25 August.
  • OTP look for 1,000 to 5,000 words: entry is free and if successful you’ll be paid their standard fee. Stories must be on the theme ‘Expertise’ and be submitted by 30 August.

All the rest have that psychologically compelling end-of-the-month deadline (31 August)

  • Publishing Lab want full-length works, either novels or collections. $28 entry and they will give the winner a contract and $10,000 advance.
  • Aesthetica look for up to 2,000 words: £18 to enter and you could win £2,500, an Arvon course and other goodies.
  • NAWG want stories between 500 and 2,000 words: a £5 entry fee gets you the chance of a £200 prize.

If you get anywhere with any of these, do let me know!

July 2024 Competitions

June 23, 2024

Here again is a look at writing competitions I might enter during the coming month (so no poetry or competitions not open to UK writers, for example).

  • With a deadline of 1 July, New American Fiction looks for a full work of various kinds (novel, novella, collection) likely to be at least 100 pages.  Entry $25, top prize $1,500
  • It’s still not quite too late to enter the London Independent (LISP) contest if you are willing to pay the late fee of  £16.50 and get your entry in by 1 July. They want up to 3,000 words and the prize is a mere £100, so honestly not great value for money at this stage.
  • The Goldenberg Prize is offered by the Bellevue Literary Review – entries must be on the themes of health, healing, illness, mind and body, and run to no more than 5,000 words. Entry is $20, top prize $1000, and again you need to be quick because the deadline is 1 July.
  • The Hastings Book Festival wants up to 2,500 words: the entry fee is a weirdly precise £8.25 and top prize just £250. Deadline 7 July.
  • The HG Wells prize this year is for stories on the theme ‘The Fool’, of up to 2,500 words. Entry is £10 and the prize is £500. Deadline 8 July.
  • The Doris Gooderson Prize comes from Wrekin Writers, who say that at least half the profits from their comp will go to the Severn Hospice. They want stories up to 1,200 words, entry is £5 and the top prize is £200, with a deadline of 12 July.
  • Leicester Writes will accept stories up to 3,500 words: entry is £7 and the prize is £200. Enter by 15 July.
  • With the same deadline, the Adrift comp has a word limit of 6,000: entry is $30 and the top prize is $500.
  • Petrichor looks for 100 to 350 pages of finely crafted prose. Entry is $25 and the prize is $1,000.
  • Witcraft looks for short humour of 200-1000 words: $5 to enter with a prize of $250, and like all the rest the deadline is 31 July.
  • My good friends in Norwich are again running the Olga Sinclair Prize: up to 2,000 words on the theme ‘Nature’, £9 entry and £500 prize.
  • And in Munster the prestigious Séan Ó Faoláin prize is for stories up to 3,000 words. Entry is €19 and the first prize is €2,000 plus an invitation to read your piece in Cork, accommodation paid for.
  • Hawk Mountain wants a collection of stories: $20 entry and you could win $1,000 plus publication.
  • The Plaza Literary: First Chapters comp wants the first 5,000 words of your work: entry £20 and a prize of £1,500.

June 2024 Competitions

May 20, 2024

Here again is a look at writing competitions I might enter during the coming month (including two for older writers like me).

·      The Salamander Prize is for stories up to 7,500 words. Entry is $15, top prize $1,000 and the deadline is 1 June.

·      The Writer’s Digest has a word limit of 4,000. Entry is $35 and the top prize is $1000 – awarded in several categories and lots of lesser prizes are awarded to good entries. An overall winner gets $5,000 The deadline is 3 June.

·      New American Fiction’s competition is also open to non-Americans. They are looking for a full-length work, but it could be a collection of shorts, novellas, or even flash as well as a straight novel. $25 entry, $1,500 prize and the deadline is 15 June.

·      The excellent: Stories Through the Ages, from Living Springs, is for baby boomers plus (people born in 1966 or earlier) They will accept up to 5,000 words, charge $20 and award a prize of $500 as well as publication. The deadline is 15 June.

·      Writefluence    is back. This year they want stories that begin ‘What?’ No prize except publication, but then entry is still only Rs. 199/-  ($2.25 approx). Enter by 15 June.

·      The Uncharted competition is for cinematic stories (ones that are easily imagined in film form), of up to 5,000 words. $20 entry and a prize of $2,000. The deadline is 16 June.

·      Write by the Sea looks for up to 2,500 words, entry is €10 and the winner gets €500 plus an elegant trophy. You’ve got until 16 June.

·      If you’re a Bardsy member, their Spring Anthology competition is $20 with a prize of $500 – the word limit is 2,000, and the deadline 24 June.

·      The Imagine 2200 competition invites you to do just that, presenting a climate-fiction vision of how a greener world might be flourishing by that year. They want 3-5,000 words and the top prize is $3,000, but entry is free! The deadline is 24 June.

All the rest have a deadline of 30 June.

·      WriteTime is another one for the oldies – over 60s, in this case. Only 1,500 words is required, £5 to enter and a £50 prize – not huge value for money.

·      The Wells Festival of Literature looks for up to 2,000 words: entry is £6 and the prize is £750.

·      The regular Henshaw competition,  ow run by Hobeck Books, has word count of up to 2,000, entry £6 and top prize £200.

·      The Moth is back, looking for up to 3,000 words: entry is £15 and first prize £3,000.

Do let me know if you achieve recognition in any of these!

May 2024 Competitions

April 20, 2024

So here I am, back again with a list of competitions I might enter during May. I’ve included ones with a deadline of 30 April, since I didn’t do an April list. Here they are first.

  • F(r)iction wants up to 7,500 words: entry is $10 and first prize $1,000.
  • The Plaza Prizes include a category for short stories up to 5,000 words: £15 to enter and  a prize of £1,000
  • Desperate Literature again offer a prize which besides €2,000 includes a residency and consultation. Up to 2,000 words, €20 to enter.
  • Free Fall takes up to 3,000 words. Entry is CA$25 and top prize CA$500
  • The Ironclad Creative short story competition has the unusual theme of ‘7:12 am’. £7 to enter and the prize is £100.

Moving on into April…

  • The Cheshire novel prize is back – send the first 5,000 words plus a synopsis. It’s a full £29 to enter and the top prize is £1,000, deadline 1 May.
  • With the same deadline the Tom Howard/John H Reid competition offers $3,500. $22 entry and up to 6,000 words are accepted.
  • Letter Review will take up to 5,000 words, you win a share of $1000 and it’s free to enter. Deadline 1 May again.
  • Leapfrog is looking for longer works – minimum 22,000. It’s $35 to enter and your main prize is publication, though all finalists get $150. Enter by 5 May.
  • Another novel competition is the Goldfinch one- again your first 5,000 plus a synopsis are required. £10 to enter, prize £300, deadline 15 May.
  • Lush Triumphant from sub-Terrain looks for 3,000 words, entry $30, prize $1000. Again, the deadline is 15 May.
  • I don’t normally do very short pieces, but the postcard competition from Geist looked interesting. You have to send them a postcard and a 500-word piece which relates to the picture. It’s CA$25 to enter and the prize is $500: deadline 20 May.
  • Do not forget the mighty Bridport competition, with its prize of £5,000. Entry is £14 and the word limit is 5,000. Last year I was shortlisted – so close! The deadline for this one and all the rest is 31 May.
  • MTP want up to 3,000 words. An entry fee of £8 gives you a chance of winning £1,000, and a decent chance of featuring in their chunky annual anthology, which is always named after the winning story.
  • Finally the good old Frome Festival is back. 1,000 to 2,200 words, entry is £6 and the prize £400.

Good luck – if you get anywhere with these, do let me know!

February 2024 Competitions

January 22, 2024

Here once again is a selection of writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in February.

  • The Jim Baen Memorial prize is for positive, realistic  stories about space exploration in the near future. Up to 8,000 words are required, it’s free and the winner gets an award, publication, and 8 cents per word on publication. The deadline is 1 February
  • The Prototype Prize, for UK or Ireland entrants only, seeks a book-length work, especially one at the intersection of literary or artistic forms. It’s free to enter, the deadline is 1 February and you could win £3,000
  • The Porterhouse Review wants stories up to 8,000 words. They should be ‘emotionally affecting, haunting, bizarre, and in firm control of the machinations of storytelling’.$10 to enter, a prize of $750, and again the deadline is 1 February.
  • The Writers and Artists Yearbook want up to 2.000 words and it’s free to enter. You could win a place on an Arvon course and online publication. Stories must be on the theme ‘Risk’ Enter by 12 February
  • The Mary McCarthy prize from Sarabande Press wants 150-200 pages. The entry fee is $29, with the top prize being $2,000 plus publication. The deadline is 15 February.
  • Brink literary journal wants hybrid (or cross-genre) stories – but not avant garde experimental writing. It’s $22 to enter and the deadline is again15 February.
  • The Elmbridge Literary Competition has a theme of ‘Fame’ and a word limit of 1,500. £5 to enter (by 23 February), with a £250 prize.
  • Stringybark needs stories with a link to Australia (but it could be as little as a Vegemite sandwich). Up to 1,500 words: A$15 to enter and a prize of A$500. The deadline is 25 February.

All the rest have a deadline of 29 February.

  • Exeter Writers are back, looking for up to 3,000 words: a £7 entry fee might get you a £700 prize.
  • The Grace Paley competition from AWP looks for 150-300 pages, with an entry fee of $30. The top prize is $5,500, plus publication.
  • Bridge House want up to 5,000 words on the theme ‘Good News’: not really a competition as such but an invitation to submit; still, the selected work will be published and paid royalties.
  • Letter Review is looking for up to 5,000 words for a top prize of $600 ($20 entry fee).
  • NOWW (the Northern Ontario Writers’ Workshop) wants 2,000-3,500 words. It’s $CA10 to enter and top prize is $CA150.
  • The Edinburgh Short Story Award from the Scottish Arts Trust accepts up to 2,000 words: £10 entry and the prize is £3,000.

Good luck – if you get anywhere with these, do let me know!

January 2024 Competitions

December 21, 2023

Some writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in January. No pretence of being a comprehensive list..

  • If you’re quick you can still enter the Exeter Novel Prize – deadline 1 January. They require your first 10,000 words and a synopsis: £20 to enter, with a prize of £1,000.
  • Then there’s the Disquiet Literary Prize. 25 pages max, entry $15, prize $1,000, and for this one you’ve got until 5 January.
  • If 25 pages is too much, The Page Is Printed wants just one side of A4. £5 to enter, prize £100 and the deadline is 14 January.
  • The Georgia Review will accept up to 9,000 words, and for an entry fee of $30 offers a top prize of $1,500. The deadline is 15 January.
  • The Cai Emmons prize from Redhen needs a minimum of 150 pages. $25 entry for a big $5,000 prize: enter by 15th.
  • Driftwood look for up to 5,000 words, charging $30 to enter. The prize is $400, but you also get publication in the magazine wth an interview and 5 copies of the relevant issue.
  • The Bournemouth (Fresher) Writing Prize wants 3,000 words. It’s £7 to enter and you could win £500 plus feedback and a professional recording of your work. The deadline is 22 January.
  • The Masters Review is running its winter competition: up to 6,000 words, $20 entry and a prize of $3000. Enter by 28 January

The rest all have a deadline of 31 January.

  • Story Unlikely is back – free to enter and a prize of $750. Maximum wordcount is 4,500.
  • The Screw Turn competition from Ghost Story wants 250-1000 words: $15 entry and a prize of $1,000.
  • .The Parracombe prize returns 2024 words max. Entry is £5, the prize £150.
  • Finally, Askew’s Word on the Lake festival offers a prize of $200 (Canadian) for stories up to 2,000 words: entry is $15.

If you get somewhere with one of these, do let me know!

December 2023 Competitions

November 21, 2023

Rather slim pickings this month for competitions – December always seems to be quiet, especially in the UK. Perhaps everyone is saving their creative energy for really great Christmas cards? Anyway, here we are.

  • The St Louis Writer’s Guild is again offering the stingiest prize: $15 to enter, but the top prize is $50. Maximum 3,000 words and the deadline is 1 December.
  • The Breakwater Review contest, with the same deadline, costs only $10 to enter and offers a decent $1000 prize. You can go up to 4,000 words.
  • The Skobeloff competition is free, but your only prize is publication. They want stories of love and romance up to 5,000 words long, and you’ve got until 10 December.
  • The Masters Review is looking for chapbooks, between 25 and 45 pages. It’s $25 to enter but you could win $3,000 plus 75 copies of your chapbook to give to friends and relatives. (Or use as a sort of taster with novel submissions? Maybe not.) The deadline is 17 December.
  • For the Jacob Zilber prize from Prism magazine you need up to 4,000 words and an entry fee of $35: top prize $1,500, and the deadline is 21 December.

The rest all have deadlines of 31 December, possibly something to fill those empty days between Christmas and New Year.

  • The Letter Review has an entry fee of $20 and a top prize of $5,000: stories up to 5,000 words.
  • Boulevard magazine will take up to 8,000 and charge $18, offering a prize of $1,500.
  • Finally, the Danahy Fiction Prize from the Tampa Review costs $20 to enter with a prize of $1,000. Stories up to 5,000 words.

So ends another year of authorial competition. Merry Christmas!

November 2023 Competitions

October 22, 2023

A selection of writing competitions I might enter during the coming month.

First, a few with deadlines on 1 November.

  • Scribble’s annual competition is for stories up to 3,000 words that must begin with the words ‘’He had an uneasy feeling as he inserted the key…’ £5 to enter, top prize £100.
  • The Caledonia Novel Award is for completed works of at least 50,000;words, but initially you are required to submit the first 20 pages with a synopsis. It’s £25 to enter and the first prize is £1,500 plus a residential course.
  • Reed Magazine’s John Steinbeck Award looks for up to 5,000 words. $20 to enter, first prize $1,000. Entries need not relate to Steinbeck.
  • The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is free to enter for people living in Commonwealth countries. There is a prize of £2,500 for the winner in each region plus £5,000 for the overall winner. Stories must be between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
  • F(r)iction wants 1,001 to 7,500 words: entry is $15 and first prize $1,000. You have until 3 November.
  • Liars League has a pub-based contest, free to enter. Winning works are read in the pub (in London) where the author is awarded a night of free beer. They’re looking for 800 to 2,000 words on the theme ‘Hearth and Home’ and you’ve got until 5th November.
  • The Neilma Sidney prize, from Overland (‘Australia’s only radical literary magazine’), is about travel. $20 to enter and the prize is $5,000: send up to 3,000 words by 10th November. If you’re writing about marginalised communities/identities you are asked to say whether you are a member of those groups.
  • The Wonderland competition looks for 1,000 to 2,500 words. It’s £5 to enter but the only prize is publication:and it seems you have to email them asking to enter, all of which will probably put me off bothering. The deadline is 12th November.
  • Curious Curls want stories about curiosity. $2.50 entry for a $250 prize: word limit 10,000. Enter by 15thNovember.
  • Ironclad asks for stories up to 6,000 words on the theme ‘dusk’. £6 to enter, prize £100 plus publication. Deadline 16 November

The rest have a deadline of 30th November.

  • The prestigious Fish contest has an entry fee of €20, a prize of €3000, and a word limit of 6000.
  • Doug Weller is again running his contest for six-word stories: free to enter and a prize of $100. Six words is really not quite…
  • Plaza Prizes want up to 8,000 words: £15 entry with £1,000 as top prize.
  • Prairie Fire, from Canada, look for a maximum of 5,000 words. It costs $34 and first prize is $750.
  • Finally those nice people at Tadpole Press want a mere 100 words: it’s $15 to enter and a generous $2,000 as top prize.

If you get somewhere with one of these, please let me know!

October 2023 Competitions

September 23, 2023

Here are the writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in October. 

  • The Jeffrey E. Smith award from the Missouri Review has a maximum word count of 8,500, an entry fee of $25 and a top prize of $5,000: the deadline is 1 October.
  • The Chilling Pen award is for stories of up to 1,000 words: it’s free to enter and you could win $500 – again the deadline is 1 October.
  • Zoetrope want stories up to 5,000 words: entry is $30 and first prize is $1,000. Deadline: 2 October.
  • Ink of Ages is from the World History Encyclopaedia and OUP: they are looking for historical or mythological stories between 1,500 and 2,000 words, with a deadline of 7 October. It’s free to enter, and the prize is $200 to spend in the WHE bookstores plus a choice of some books from OUP.
  • Sleek City Press want up to 1,500 words on the theme ‘I faked my own death’: the entry fee is $20, top prize $2,000 and the deadline is again 7 October.
  • The annual Calvino Prize looks for up to 25 pages of prose in the style of Italo Calvino. It’s $25 to enter with a prize of $2,000 and the deadline is 15 October.
  • Iron Horse want a long story rather than a short one: 20 to 40 pages, in fact. Your $15 entry fee gets you a subscription as a bonus and you could win $1,000. Enter by 15 October.
  • The Wenlock Olympians are again looking for stories up to 2,500 words: £6 to enter and you might win £150 plus a medal! The deadline is 30 October.

The rest of the list have a deadline of 31 October.

  • Eyelands is looking for a full-length novel up to a massive 250,000 words. Entry is $35. If you win your work will be translated into Greek and published, and you will enjoy a five-day stay in Athens.
  • The Bedford competition has a limit of 3,000 words, an entry fee of £9.00 and a prize of £1,500.
  • Fiction Factory is back, asking for maximum 3,000 words, with a fee of £7 and a prize of £500.
  • Sheila-Na-Gig wants literary pieces up to 5,000 words, entry $3, prize $100
  • Southport Writer’s Circle want up to 2,000 words, entry £3, prize £200

If you get somewhere with any of the contests above, do let me know!