March 2026 Competitions
February 20, 2026
I have updated my list of competitions…
Tag: short story
February 2026 Competitions
January 20, 2026
I have now collected the competition details from previous months and put them all together on a new page, which I will update rather than making separate posts. February’s info is already there. You’ll see there’s also a direct link from the front page to the new one. I think this will make the list a little easier to find and consult. The idea is also that in due course there will be a full rolling twelve months on the page, which should make it easier to look at old details to get an idea of what’s probably coming up beyond next month.
I hope this is helpful. Feedback is welcome, (but don’t write to say you’d like all the competitions to be free, for I am powerless in that respect).
January 2026 Competitions
December 21, 2025
Here is another monthly round-up, covering competitions with deadlines in January.
As always, these are contests I may enter myself, so generally no poetry or flash and no competition that isn’t open to an elderly bloke in the UK. Prizes and entry fees vary a lot, so check the benefits to see whether they appeal to you. There is no point in entering a competition if you don’t even want the prize! In some cases the entry fee amounts to a large slice of the prize, though there may be other benefits such as publication, trophies, free books or courses, etc.
Merry Christmas!
| Contest | Word Count | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Details |
| Exeter Novel Prize | 10k + synopsis | £20.00 | £1,000.00 | 01/01/2026 | |
| Disquiet Literary Prize | 25 pages | $15 | Lisbon Program or $1,000 | 05/01/2026 | First prize is a week-long lit program in Lisbon, but you can opt for cash |
| Storybottle | 10,000 | $15 | $1,000 | 15/01/2026 | |
| Cai Emmons | 25,000 word min | $25 | $5,000 | 15/01/2026 | |
| Georgia Review | Less than 9,000 | $25 | $1,500 | 15/01/2026 | Winners of story and essay sections compete for the top prize. |
| The Page is Printed | 1 A4 page | £5 | £100 voucher | 19/01/2026 | |
| LISP | 3,000 | £14.50 | £100 | 26/01/2026 | You can enter later but it costs more |
| Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize | 3,000 | $25 | $1,000 | 30/01/2026 | |
| Parracombe | 2,026 | £5 | £150 | 31/01/2026 | |
| The Ghost Story flash | 1,000 | $15 | $1,000 | 31/01/2026 | |
| Bristol Short Story Prize | 4,000 | £14.00 | £1,000 | 31/01/2026 | |
| Askew’s Word on the Lake | 2000 | $15(Ca) | $200(Ca) | 31/01/2026 |
November 2025 Competitions
October 20, 2025
Here is another selection of writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in the coming month.
Presented once again in a handy tabular form!
As always these are just the competitions I might enter myself, so they don’t generally include flash fiction or poetry. I hope, though, that there’s something that interests you.
| Prize | Length | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Comments |
| Commonwealth Short Story Prize | 2-5k | Free | £2,500 region, £5,000 overall | 01/11/2025 | |
| Ascent Novel Prize | first 3000 words, pitch and synopsis | £29.00 | £1,000.00 | 01/11/2025 | Feedback for all entrants + online community |
| Scribble Short Story | 3,000 | £5.00 | £100.00 | 01/11/2025 | Theme ‘Accused’ |
| F(r)iction | 1,001 – 7.5k | $15 | $1,000 | 07/11/2025 | |
| Galley Beggar Press | 6,000 | £11.00 | £2,500.00 | 08/11/2025 | |
| Curious Curls | 10,000 | $2.00 | $250 | 15/11/2025 | Theme ‘Hole’ |
| NORward | 20p | $21 | $750 | 15/11/2025 | |
| Writer’s Digest short short | 1,500 | $30 | $3,000 | 17/11/2025 | |
| Narrative Magazine | 15,000 | $27 | $2,500 | 21/11/2025 | |
| Fish short story | 5,000 | £24.00 | £3,000.00 | 30/11/2025 | |
| PrairieFire | 5,000 | CA$34 | CA$1250 | 30/11/2025 | |
| Tadpole Press | 100 | $15 | $1,000 | 30/11/2025 | |
| Inkspot | 2,500/5,000 | £10/£15 | £1,000.00 | 30/11/2025 |
If you get anywhere with any of these, please do let me know.
October 2025 Competitions
September 17, 2025
The tabular format seemed to work last time, so I think I’ll stick with it (feedback always welcome, though).
As always these are just the competitions I might enter myself, so they don’t generally include flash fiction or poetry. That said, there’s a range of prizes here, some generous, others less so.
| Prize | Word count | Fee | Prize | Comments | Deadline |
| Calvino Prize | 25p | $25 | $2000 | In the spirit of Calvino but not pastiche | 01/10/2025 |
| Zoetrope All-Story | 5,000 | $30 | $1,000 | 01/10/2025 | |
| Jeffrey E. Smith (Missouri Review) | 8,500 | $25 | $5000 | 01/10/2025 | |
| Letter Review | 5,000 | Free ($5 for extra) | Share of $1000 | 01/10/2025 | |
| Dzanc Books | 40,000 | $25 | $2,500 +pub | Collections | 01/10/2025 |
| Spokane Prize (Willow Springs Books) | min 92 pages | $25 | $2000 | There are some other rules about lengths. | 02/10/2025 |
| What the Wild Carries | 5,000 | $20 | $2000 + pub | Various genres | 05/10/2025 |
| Moonlit Getaway | 2,500 | $CAD8 | $CAD250 | 12/10/2025 | |
| Caledonia Novel Award | 20p +200 syn | £28.00 | 1500 + framed award | You don’t have to be Scottish. | 15/10/2025 |
| The Raven (Pulp Lit) | 2,500 | $35 | publication + $300 | 15/10/2025 | |
| Tennessee Williams Festival | 7,000 | $25 | $1,500 + Festival invite | 15/10/2025 | |
| Eyelands | 250k | €40.00 | Translation into Greek, pub + ceramic | Unusual comp based in Greece | 20/10/2025 |
| Bedford | 3,000 | £8.50 | £2,000.00 | 31/10/2025 | |
| Southport Writers Circle | 2,000 | £3.00 | £200.00 | 31/10/2025 | |
| Ironclad | 6,000 | £9.00 | £100.00 | Theme: ‘Switch’ | 31/10/2025 |
| The Hope Prize | 5,000 | $30 | $10,000 + pub | Stories of ‘Hope, courage, and resilience’ | 31/10/2025 |
If you get anywhere with any of these, please do let me know.
Presentation on writing competitions
September 9, 2025
I did a presentation on writing competitions! Regular entrants will know all this stuff already, but here it is if you’re interested.
September 2025 Competitions
August 21, 2025
This month I’m trying the experiment of just putting the competition information into a table. It’s slightly simpler for me and it’s probably easier for readers? Let me know if this causes problems. If you’re looking at this on a phone, I suggest holding it sideways.
Full disclosure: I am running Croydon Writers’ Michael Round Prize, which is listed below – not as a judge but as the administrator.
| Contest | Max Words | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Comments |
| River Styx | 3,000 | $20 | $1000 | 01/09/2025 | |
| American Literary Review | 8,000 | $15 | $1,000 | 01/09/2025 | |
| Terrain | 5,000 | $20 | $1,000 | 02/09/2025 | |
| Masters Review summer | 6,000 | $20 | $3000 | 07/09/2025 | |
| Aesthetica | 2,000 | £18.00 | £2500 +course etc | 08/09/2025 | |
| Santa Fe Writers Project Award | No limit | $30 | $1,500 | 15/09/2025 | |
| Paul Cave Prize | 1,000 | £15.00 | £75.00 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Write Time | 1,501 | £5.00 | £50.00 | 30/09/2025 | Only writers over 60 |
| NAWG | 500-2k | £5.00 | £200.00 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Hammond House | 1-5k | £10.00 | £1,000.00 | 30/09/2025 | Theme: Secrets |
| Henshaw (Hobeck) | 2,000 | £6.00 | £200.00 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Juniper | 55-75k | $30 | $1000 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Michael Round Prize | 2,000 | Free | £100.00 | 30/09/2025 | Theme: Far and Wide |
| Writer’s College | 2,000 | $15 | $1000 | 30/09/2025 | Theme: All the things we didn’t learn |
| The Ghost Story | 10,000 | $20 | $1,500 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Creative Writing Ink | 3,000 | £12.00 | £1,000.00 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Pudding Press Detritus | 20p | £10.00 | Publishing contract | 30/09/2025 | For stories rejected elsewhere |
| Letter Review Short Story | 5,000 | $20 | $333 | 30/09/2025 | |
| Crowvus ghost Story | 4,000 | £3.00 | £100.00 | 30/09/2025 | |
| George Garrett Prize | 100k | $28 | $2000 | 30/09/2025 |
And a quick mention for the good people at Chaotic Creators, who have a poetry competition going. Up to 40 lines, deadline 12th September, £10 entry, £50 prize plus publication and a printed copy of the magazine. Theme: autumnal, gothic, horror vibes.
August 2025 Competitions
July 19, 2025
A selection of writing competitions that I might enter with deadlines in August.
- The Robert Watson Literary Prize, worth $1,000 is from the Greensboro Review. The word limit is 7,500. Entry is only open to subscribers and a subscription is $15: deadline 1 August.
- The Cream City Review (Milwaukee’s leading literary journal) does it the other way round: entry is $15 and comes with a year’s free subscription. The word limit is 9,000 and the top prize is $500. Enter by 1 August.
- The Aurora Prize from Writing East Midlands takes up to 2,000 words and charges £9 for entry, with a prize of £500 and a year’s membership of the Society of Authors. The deadline is 6 August.
- The H.G.Wells Prize looks for stories up to 5,000 words on the theme ‘The Middle Ground’. £10 entry, prize £1,000, deadline 8 August.
- The Craft First Chapters competition wants your first 5,000 words: entry is $20 and the prize $2,000, closing on 10 August.
- The Bournemouth Writing Prize looks for up to 3,000 words and will charge you £10, with a prize of £1,000, deadline 15 August.
- The Black Warrior contest will accept stories up to 6,000 words and it’s $20 to enter. The winning story will be published and there is a cash prize, but I have been unable to find out how much it is, which sort of suggests they’re not proud of it. The deadline is 16 August.
- Book Pipeline wants your first 5,000 words plus a synopsis. Entry is $45 and the category prize is $2,500. Enter by 20 August.
- Pen and Quill’s competition is free to enter: you could win $200 plus books and a subscription. They look for 1,500 words on the theme Afterlight/Afterglow (which they explain further on their website). The deadline is 21 August.
- The Scottish Association of Writers brings us the Westerwood Prize, with a word limit of 2,500 and a £10 entry fee. This year instead of £100 the top prize is dinner, bed and breakfast at the Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld’s classiest spa and golf resort. The contest closes on 24 August.
- A bit of a departure now. Not Quite Write is known for its Flash Fiction contest: now there’s a Flesh Fiction one for erotic stories. Up to 1,500 words, free to enter, with a prize of $500 plus a trophy (not sure what form the trophy takes).
- Those fine folk at the World History Encyclopaedia are back with their Ink of Ages prize, for stories about history or mythology. Up to 2,000 words, free to enter, and you could win $1,000. In addition one of their artists will do some nice work for your book or story. Enter by 29 August.
All the rest have a deadline of 31 August.
- First I have to mention the Ajuda Foundation prize, which promotes the worthy cause of mental health support in Wales. Stories, which can be up to 2,000 words, must be related to themes of mental health and wellbeing. £10 to enter, a prize of £100.
- The Oxford Flash Fiction competition takes pieces up to 1,000 words: it’s £7 to enter and the prize is £1,000.
- Aesthetica is back yet again looking for 2,000 words and an entry fee of £18. Win £2,500 plus subscriptions and a course.
- Publishing Lab, from New Orleans, wants a novel or collection and for a $28 fee offers a hefty $10,000 prize.
- Saveas wants stories up to 3,500 words on the theme ‘Facing the Storm’, entry fee £5, first prize £200.
- The Cisco Writers Club have a limit of 2,500 words, fee of $5 and prize of $100.
- The LA Review has the same word limit but charges a little more, at $20: however, their prize is a full $1,000
If you get anywhere with any of these, do let me know.
July 2025 Competitions
June 18, 2025
Here’s another look at writing competitions I might enter during the coming month.
- The Goldenberg Prize from Bellevue Literary Review is for stories up to 5,000 words, the entry fee is $20 and first prize $1,000. Enter by 1 July.
- The Slice from Forkapple Press wants a collection of at least 5 stories amounting to 150-200 pages. It’s $20 to enter: the winner gets $500, some copies, and 25% of profits on publication. Like the sound of that. Again the deadline is 1 July.
- For Hastings Book Festival you need a story up to 2,500 words. It’s a strangely precise £8.25 to enter with a prize of £250 and the deadline is 8 July.
- The H.G.Wells prize is back, looking for 1,500 to 5,000 words on the theme ‘The Middle Ground’. £10 entry, prize £500. Again the deadline is 8 July.
- The Doris Gooderson prize from Wrekin Writers looks for 1,200 words: £5 and a £200 prize. You have until 14 July to enter.
- For the New American Fiction competition you need a full work of at least 100 pages, but it can be a collection of short stories or even flash fiction. It costs $25 to enter and you can win $1,500. The deadline is 15 July.
- The Adrift short story competition from Driftwood Press has the same deadline and a word limit of 6,000. The prize is $500 which perhaps doesn’t look the best value given the entry fee of $30.
- The Petrichor prize (for finely crafted fiction), from Regal House Publishing looks for somewhere between 100 and 375 pages. $25 to enter for a prize of $1,000. Again the deadline is 15 July.
- The Lazuli Literary Group want up to 150 pages of thoughtful, intelligent and beautiful writing of any kind. $15 to enter and the winner gets $500 – there may be multiple winners if the entries are good enough. Once more the deadline is 15 July.
All the rest have a deadline of 31 July.
- Southlands Arts has a maximum of 2,000 words, a fee of £3 and a prize of £100.
- Leicester Writes takes up to 3,500 words and charges £7 for a prize of £200.
- The Anthology Short Story competition is for a mere 1,500 words, and it will cost you €18, but for a prize of €1,000.
- The Olga Sinclair competition from Norwich is for stories up to 2,000 words on the theme ‘Weave’. £5 entry and a prize of £200.
- The Plaza Prizes First Chapters looks for 5,000 words from the beginning of your ms + a 300-word synopsis. Entry costs £20 and the prize is £1,500.
- Over in Munster they are again honouring Séan Ó Faoláin, master of the form, with a short story contest. Up to 3,000 words, €10 entry and besides a nice €2,000 prize you’ll be invited to do a reading in Cork.
- By far the biggest prize on offer comes from The Novelry with their unusual offer, The Next Big Story Prize. They want your first 1,500 words: the novel need not be finished. If you’re from the UK it’s £15 to enter and the top prize is £75,000. If you’re from the USA, Canada, or Australia it’s US$15 to enter and the prize is US$100,000. In effect, this is two parallel competitions. If you’re from anywhere else, you can’t enter at all. Eight people from the shortlist get free entry to a course to polish up their offerings, with the final winner walking off with the prize. I assume this is intended to promote the Novelry’s courses, but it does seem a lot of money.
- Finally, Wild Atlantic Words wants up to 3,000 words, it’s €10 to enter and the prize is €500.
If you get anywhere with any of these, do let me know.
June 2025 Competitions
May 21, 2025
Another look at forthcoming writing competitions I might enter. A lot of them have deadlines at the end of the month this time.
- The Salamander Prize is for stories up to 7,500 words. Entry is $20, top prize $1,000 and the deadline is 1 June.
- The Halifax Ranch award is for pieces between 2,000 and 6,500 words: $20 entry and a decent $2,500 prize. Deadline 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 with lots of lesser prizes. The grand overall winner gets $5,000. The deadline is 3 June.
- Write by the Sea looks for up to 2,500 words, entry is €10 and the winner gets €500 plus a weekend pass to the festival in the delightful Irish town of Kilmore Quay. You’ve got until 6 June.
- The MTP prize has a deadline of 10 June, and a word limit of 3,000. £9 to enter and £1,000 prize plus publication for top entries in a chunky anthology. MTP sells publishing services but based on my experience, you will not be pressured to buy them.
- The Uncharted competition is for novel extracts of up to 5,000 words. $20 entry and a prize of $3,000. The deadline is 15 June.
- Chaotic Creators want up to 2,000 words. £10 to enter gets you a chance of winning a rather paltry £50.00. The deadline is 23 June.
All the rest have a deadline of 30 June.
- The Moth is back, looking for up to 3,000 words: entry is £15 and first prize £3,000.
- The Wells Festival of Literature looks for up to 2,000 words: entry is £6 and the prize is £750.
- The old faithful Henshaw competition, now run by Hobeck Books, has a maximum word count of up to 2,000, entry £6 and top prize £200.
- The Katherine Anne Porter competition is for collections of stories totalling between 27,500 and 50,000 words. $25 entry and a prize of $1,000 plus publication.
- Now one that isn’t fiction – the Writers’ College invites amusing essays of up to 600 words on the theme of ‘The Worst Writing Mistake I’ve Ever Made’. Perhaps I’ll tell them about the entry I sent to the Costa Coffee awards that had the characters meet in Starbucks. This one is free to enter and there’s a prize of NZ$200.
- WriteTime is one for the oldies – over 60s, in this case. Only 1,500 words is required, £5 to enter and a £100 prize – a little improved on previous years but still well short of a life-changing sum.
- The redoubtable Chris Fielden is again running his (now biennial) To Hull and Back competition for a humorous piece (which unusually, can have been published before). Up to 2,500 words: it’s £12 for one entry with reduced rates for additional ones. Besides £1,000, the winner is published in an anthology which has as its cover a picture of them riding a motorbike through Hell – or maybe just Birmingham, because Chris solemnly straps a copy to the front of his own bike and rides it from his home in Bristol to Hull where he is acclaimed by cheering crowds (I imagine).
- Hysteria look for up to 1,000 words: £5 gets you a crack at a mere £75, albeit with the promise of publication.
- I’m not sure I correctly understand the Page Turner competition which seems complex. There are many categories, but for a story I think they want up to 10 pages: entry fees start at £40 (?) but depending on the package you opt for it could be much more. I think the prizes are $1,000 (why the entry fee is in sterling and the prize in US dollars is just one of many unplumbed mysteries).
- The Hastings Book Festival returns with a free contest looking for 2,500 words and offering a prize of £250.
- Cranked Anvil has the same word limit, but charges £6 entry and has a prize of £300.
- The Letter Review seeks stories up to 5,000 words: for a $20 entry, winners (2-4 of them) share a pool of $1,000
Do let me know if you achieve recognition in any of these, but do not try to enter Periscope’s Paired Fiction prize, because they’ve been overwhelmed by entries and are not accepting any more.
Seen and Done 