Here are my latest monthly round-ups of writing competitions.
These are all contests I may enter myself, so generally there is 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 and seem like value for money. Remember too that while I do my best to weed them out, some ‘competitions’ may be scams.
If you get anywhere with one of these, I’d be very pleased to hear about it!
February 2025
| Contest | Word Count | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Comments |
| Claret Press | 5,000 | £5.00 | £50+ pub | 01/02/2026 | Must reflect issues from today’s politics |
| Masters Review (winter) | 6,000 | $20 | $3000 | 01/02/2026 | |
| Jim Baen Memorial | 8,000 | free | Award and paid publication | 01/02/2026 | Upbeat realistic space stories |
| Porterhouse Review | 5,000 | $10 | $500 | 01/02/2026 | Emotionally affecting stories |
| First Chapter | 2,500 | $25 | $100 +critique | 10/02/2026 | Novel or memoir |
| Writers’ and Artists’ | 2,000 | Free | Arvon course | 13/02/2026 | On the theme ‘Play’ |
| Mary McCarthy Prize | 150-200p | $34 | $2,000 +pub | 15/02/2026 | |
| Next Generation | 2,000 | 26/02/2026 | |||
| Edinburgh Short Story Award | 2,000 | £11.00 | £3,000.00 | 28/02/2026 | |
| Exeter Writers | 3,000 | £7.00 | £700.00 | 28/02/2026 | |
| Grace Paley Prize | 150-300p | $30 | $5,500 +pub | 28/02/2026 | Short story collections |
| NOWW | 1,500-3,000 | $CA20 | $CA150 | 28/02/2026 | |
| Brink | 15p | $25 | $1000 | 28/02/2026 | Hybrid/cross-genre fiction |
| Bridge House | 5,000 | Free | Pub in anthology | 28/02/2026 | Theme: ‘Room at the Inn’ |
| Rigel | 1,500 | $5 | $100 +pub | 28/02/2026 |
January 2025
| Contest | Word Count | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Comments |
| 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 | Prize is Lisbon lit program or cash option |
| 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 | Category winners 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 |
December 2025
| Contest | Word Count | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Comments |
| Breakwater Review | 4,000 | $10 | $1000 | 01/12/2025 | |
| St Louis Writers Guild | 3,000 | $15 | $50 | 01/12/2025 | Poor value? |
| Neilma Sidney | 3,000 | $20 | $5,000 | 05/12/2025 | Travel |
| Chaotic Creators | 1,250 | £10.00 | £50 + pub | 06/12/2025 | Small prize? |
| Leopold Bloom Prize | 5,000 | $10 ($15 quicker) | $500 | 08/12/2025 | ‘Risk-adept narration’ |
| Masters Review Chapbook | 25-45p | $25 | $3000 +50 copies | 15/12/2025 | |
| Globe Soup | 8,000 | £16.00 | £2,000 | 16/12/2025 | |
| Ruth Rendell | 1,000 | £15.00 | £1,000 plus performance | 21/12/2025 | Interact Stroke Support (upbeat stories) |
| Letter Review | 5,000 | $20 | share $1,000 | 30/12/2025 | |
| Anthony Veasna So | 9000 (3 pieces) | $20 | $200 | 31/12/2025 | To become an ‘Anthony Veasna So Scholar’ |
| Boulevard | 8,000 | $18 | $1,500 | 31/12/2025 | |
| Danahy | 5,000 | $20 | $1000 | 31/12/2025 | |
| Lascaux Review | 10k | $15 | $1,000 + medallion | 31/12/2025 | |
| Write Time | 1,500 | £5 (£3 for £10) | £100.00 | 31/12/2025 | Older writers |
| Farnham First Five Pages | 5p + syn | £10.00 | £1,000 | 31/12/2025 | For draft novels |
| Inkitt Love at First Kick | Min 20k No Limit | Free | $300 + various | 31/12/2025 | Soccer Romance. Linked with Galatea. |
| ASP Anthology | 2-7k | £5.00 | £0.005/word | 31/12/2025 | UK only, no horror or disturbing content |
| Henshaw (Hobeck) | 2k | £6.00 | £200 | 31/12/2025 | The old warhorse, still going. |
November 2025
| 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 |
October 2025
| 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 |
September 2025
| Contest | Word Count | 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 |
Seen and Done 