Tag: January

January 2025 Competitions

December 19, 2024

Fourteen writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in January.

  • The Letter Review wants up to 5,000 words, and for an entry fee of $20 you can win $5,000 – but you’ll need to get your entry in by 1 January.
  • The Exeter Novel Prize is back, looking for your first 10,000 words plus a synopsis. £20 to enter with a prize of £1,000, but with the same deadline, you’ll need to have it ready quickly.
  • Disquiet offers a free place on its literary programme in Lisbon, with money for airfare and expenses. If you can’t get there, you can opt for $1,000 instead. They want up to 25 pages and will charge $15: you have until 6 January.
  • For the Page Is Printed competition, you only need one side of A4: however, you will be charged £5 for entry to a competition whose top prize is only £100. The deadline is 13 January.
  • The Georgia Review competition has categories for both fiction and non-fiction: the overall winner gets $1,500. I can’t see a specific word limit but in the past it has been 9,000, which should be enough for anyone. Deadline 15 January.
  • The Cai Emmons prize requires a minimum of 150 pages. $25 to enter and a decent $5,000 prize. Enter by 15 January.
  • Bournemouth is back, with a maximum word count of 3,000, an entry fee of £10 and an unexciting prize of £500. Deadline 15 January.
  • With the same deadline, Storybottle will take up to 10,000 words: the entry fee is $15 and the prize $1,000.
  • The Thomas Wolfe fiction prize costs $25 for non-members with a prize of $1,000. 3,000 words maximum. Deadline 30 January.

All the rest have a deadline of 31 January

  • Story Unlikely is free to enter. The word limit is 4,000 for non-members (members are allowed another thousand for some reason) and the first prize is $1,500.
  • The Parracombe Prize (I was shortlisted last year!) looks for a maximum of 2025 words. £5 entry, £150 prize.
  • Askew’s Word on the Lake has a word limit of 2,000, it’s $15 to enter and the prize is $200.
  • Swamp Pink (no idea) wants 25 pages and $20 entry gives you a shot at $2,000 (a bit more like it).
  • Finally the Fiction Factory first chapter competition needs your first 5,000 words plus a synopsis. It’s £18 to enter and the top prize is £500, but short-listed entries get a free appraisal.

If you get somewhere with one of 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!

January 2023 Competitions

December 21, 2022

A selection of writing competitions I might enter during the coming month, with no pretence of being a comprehensive list.

  • The Exeter Novel Prize requires your first 10,000 words and a synopsis: £20 to enter, with a prize of £1,000. The deadline is 1 January (though I’d be surprised if anyone is reading your excerpt on 2 January).
  • The European Society of Literature is running the European Writing Prize. Brits can still enter in spite of Brexit (in fact anyone  from anywhere). Entry is free, and the prize is €50 plus life membership (and think of the prestige!) They want between 1,500 and 3,500 words on the theme of ‘Anxiety’. To help with getting into the mood, the deadline is 1 January. They say results will be out by the end of the month, which is a bit hard to believe.
  • If you’ve got an excess of anxiety after that, you could try the Disquiet Literary Prize. 25 pages max, entry $15, prize $1,000, and for this one you’ve got until 2 January.
  • Cheering up, we have the regular Henshaw competition: as ever, it’s for 2,000 words, entry £6, prize £200. The deadline is 6 January.
  • What about trying non-fiction? The Nine Dots prize is for an essay on ‘Why the Rule of Law has become so fragile’. Really they are looking for something that will be developed into a full-length book. You need to provide 3,000 words, a structure, and a justification statement, but you’ve got until 23 January. Entry is free. Why are you thinking of non-fiction all of a sudden, you ask: well, it just seems attractive. The prize is $100,000.
  • 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 27 January.
  • The Face Project only wants 1,000 words and entry is free, but the only prize is publication, albeit in a unique new production. Your story must be inspired by one of the 28 pictures of faces on their site. Deadline is 29th (not 28th?)
  • The Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize has a limit of 3000 words: entry is $25, top prize $1,000 and the deadline is 30 January.

The rest all have a deadline of 31 January.

  • The Masters Review is back with its winter award. Up to 6,000 words, $20 to enter, and top prize is $3,000.
  • .The Parracombe prize has come back with a higher word limit – 2023 instead of last year’s 2022 (yes, I see what you did, Parracombe!) Entry is £5, the prize £150.
  • Askew’s Word on the Lake festival offers a prize of $200 (Canadian) for stories up to 1,500 words: entry is $15.
  • Finally the swamp pink prize from Crazy Horse wants up to 25 pages: entry is $20 and the prize $2,000.

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