It’s your fairy literary mother here with a fantastic list of competitions for both established poets and writers as well as those who don’t have professional experience or haven’t dropped the aspiring in front of their craft (Sidenote: drop the “aspiring”. Bad writer > Aspiring writer. Trust me, I’m a fairy).
Now, I don’t know about you but I absolutely hate looking for competitions, finding one with great prizes and then realising it’s only open to Americans or Brits or people who climbed Mount Everest when they were six. And then there are the two dreaded words that break what’s left of my spirit: entry fee! Ahhhhh!
![](\"https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*I4FCHAWaoDS35BuG\")
I decided I can’t be the only one who hates encountering these restrictions so I did us all a favour and scoured the internet for contests that are FREE and open to international writers. Now, unfortunately, I still saw some restrictions for some groups (mostly to do with age) but if I thought the contest was still pretty open to most folks then I included it. In the meantime, have a peruse through these Writing Contests with no entry fees.
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience.
Who can enter: Those who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium
Word Count: up to 17,000 words
Prize: First place: $1000 and eligibility for $5000 additional annual prize; Second place: $750; Third place: $500
Deadline: January 1, 2022, through March 31, 2022 (NOTE: The Contest has four quarters, beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1. The year will end on September 30.)
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Now in its 21st year, this contest seeks today’s best humor poems. Submit published or unpublished work. The poem you submit should be in English. Inspired gibberish is also accepted.
Who can enter: Authors from all countries eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions).
Word Count: 250 lines maximum
Prize: First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from Duotrope (a $100 value); Second Prize: $500; Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each; Top 12 entries published online
Deadline: April 1, 2022
The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize
Awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of the Alpine Fellowship 2022.
Who can enter: Open to all nationalities and to anyone aged 18 and above
Word Count: 2,500
Prize: 1st place: £10,000; 2nd place: £3,000; 3rd place: £2,000. The winner and two runners up are invited to attend the Fjällnäs symposium.
Deadline: 1st April 2022
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
The award is open to writers who have published a novel or a book-length collection of fiction with a reputable book publisher, or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in magazines or journals of national distribution. Digital-only publication and self-publication do not count toward this requirement
Who can enter: Open to all except Current University of Pittsburgh employees and students, and former employees and students affiliated with the University within the last three years.
Word Count: Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 pages
Prize: $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and support in the nation-wide promotion of their book
Deadline: submission period is between May 1 — June 30
The Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest
Each entry must consist of a single sentence, but you may submit as many entries as you wish.
Who can enter: Open to writers around the world who write in English.
Word Count: One sentence of any length but 50 or 60 words is preferred.
Prize: “a pittance (and bragging rights)”
Deadline: 30 June 2022
ServiceScape Short Story Award
For this award, any genre or theme of a short story is accepted. All applicants should submit their original unpublished work of short fiction or nonfiction.
Who can enter: Open to all nationalities and to anyone aged 18 and above
Word Count: up to 5,000 words
Prize: $1,000.00 USD
Deadline: November 30, 2022 SAST
RECURRING CONTESTS
![](\"https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*phWCcr2rV0hTTYYZ.png\")
WEEKLY CONTESTS
Reedsy Weekly Writing Contests
Every Friday morning, Reedsy sends a newsletter that includes five themed writing prompts. Those five prompts will also appear at the top of our Reedsy Prompts page. Writers then have one week (until the following Friday), to submit a story based on one of our prompts. Each week, we pick a winner to be featured on our blog and win. Sign up to participate in the contest here.
Who can enter: Open to all nationalities and to anyone aged 18 and above
Word Count: 1,000–3,000 words
Prize: $50
Rattle Weekly Poetry Contests
Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com, with occasional extra poems Tuesday or Thursday, which are fed to over 10,000 people via our RSS feed and daily email service. The deadline for each week is Friday at midnight PST. The poems must respond to news that occurred in the previous week, and have been written in the time since.
Who can enter: Open to all nationalities and to anyone aged 18 and above
Word Count: 1,000–3,000 words
Prize: $100 and a complimentary subscription to the print magazine
MONTHLY CONTESTS
53-Word Story Contest
It’s free, it’s fun; the winner gets published in Prime Number Magazine and receives a free book from Press 53.
Who can enter: Open to writers around the world who write in English.
Word Count: Your story should not exceed 1,000 words.
Prize: $30
Deadline: 15th day of each month
Creative Writing NZ Flash Fiction Competition
Who can enter: All writers aged 18 or over, all nationalities.
Word Count: Your story should not exceed 1,000 words.
Prize: $30Deadline: last date of every month
Citizen: The New Story Flash Fiction Competition
Each month during the Citizen: The New Story season, we want your best flash fictions on the theme of identity, citizenship and belonging. Feel free to interpret the theme as broadly as you wish. All we ask is that you avoid well-trodden themes and tell us the story that only you can tell. Take us somewhere new.
Who can enter: writers over the age of 18 years. They’re looking for the best entries from young writers (18–25 years).
Word Count: up to 500 words
Prize: Winning stories will be published on the Word Factory website and promoted via social media. Also: “Monthly winners will be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes, including Word Factory membership, citizenship-themed book bundles and more. We’re also hoping to showcase the very best stories at a future Word Factory salon.”
Deadline: last day of each month
Dragon Soul Press Anthology Calls
Every month, Dragon Soul Press holds a themed call for submissions.
Who can enter: I couldn’t find any restrictions
Word Count: Varies with each anthology
Prize: Publication and 30% Royalties for the first year from date of publication. Afterwards, 30% of all proceeds go to a charity chosen by the Publisher.
Deadline: the last day of every month
The Writing Quarter Competition
We run a free to enter short story writing competition. This is an ongoing monthly competition. Open theme.
Who can enter: open to all writers aged 18 or over
Word Count: 1000–3000
Prize: $30
Deadline: the last day of every month
Furious Fiction
On the first weekend of every month, you are invited to put your storytelling skills to the test in the ultimate writer-takes-all short story competition. Armed only with our simple brief, your job is to race the clock to come up with your best 500 words-or-fewer story and be in to win.
Who can enter: anyone 17 years and older
Word Count: 500
Prize: AUD$500
Deadline: the last day of every month
OTHER RECURRING CONTESTS
Write the World
Write the World holds 4–6 competitions per year.
Who can enter: Young writers ages 13–18
Word Count: Varies
Prize: Best Entry: $100; Runner up: $50
Deadline: depends on which contest. Click here to view their upcoming contests
Creatively Naughty
Sometimes it’s fun to get creatively naughty with food. Life is too short to not enjoy and savor every morsel. Theme for Fall: Love is in the air!
Who can enter: I found no restrictions
Word Count: 500 words
Prize: $25
Submission dates:
- Spring: March, April, May — March 1 to May 20th
- Summer: June, July, August — June 1 to August 20th
- Fall: September, October, November — September 1 to November 20th
- Winter: December, January, February — December 1 to February 20th
Volney Road Review
Without literary translation, we are all separate races and cultures, condemned to live out one hundred years of solitude. Our parchments would never be deciphered, and our stories would be unrepeatable forever more. But with translation, we do not have to spend that time alone. Through the voices and stories of those far removed from us, but human just the same as us — we earn our second opportunity on this earth. Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize.
Who can enter: I found no restrictions
Word Count: 3–5 poems, no more than 3 pages per poem in a single document; 1 piece of fiction or creative non-fiction up to 3,500 words; 5–8 pieces of artwork
Prize: $10 and publication
Deadline: open for submissions twice per year: May 1st through August 1st and October 1st through February 1st.
The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction
Twice each year an author of a work of creative nonfiction will be selected for the Diana Woods Memorial Award award by a special guest judge.
Who can enter: Anyone
Word Count: 3500 word limit (I think. Their site says submissions must be this long but I can’t find any parameters on the contest page)
Prize: $250 and publication
Deadline: One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue. The reading period for the prize is the month of February for the issue that publishes in June, and the month of August for the issue that publishes in December.
The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts
Without literary translation, we are all separate races and cultures, condemned to live out one hundred years of solitude. Our parchments would never be deciphered, and our stories would be unrepeatable forevermore. But with translation, we do not have to spend that time alone. Through the voices and stories of those far removed from us, but human just the same as us — we earn our second opportunity on this earth. Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize.
Who can enter: Anyone
Word Count: 3500-word limit (I think. Their site says submissions must be this long but I can’t find any parameters on the contest page)
Prize: $200 and publication
Deadline: One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue. The reading period for the prize is the month of February for the issue that publishes in June, and the month of August for the issue that publishes in December.
This post will be regularly updated with new contests as they are discovered.
Leave a Reply