Competition Opportunities

16 September 2022

Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize

Entry Deadline: 31 October 2022

Entry Fee: Free

The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize is for fiction and non-fiction by writers aged 18 - 25. Entries need to be between 1,000 - 1,500 words. First prize - £750, and a runner's up prize of £500. For more details and to enter, please visit http://benjaminfranklinhouse.org/education/literary-prize

9 September 2022

NYC Midnight 250-word Microfiction Challenge

Registration Deadline: 17 November 2022

Entry Fee: $27 - $34

The NYC Midnight 250-word Microfiction Challenge is now open for registrations. This is a fun challenge, and one I very much enjoy participating in. Feedback is provided on every submission. To find out more and to register, please visit https://www.nycmidnight.com/250

6 May 2022

Leicester Writes Short Story Prize 2022

Submission Deadline: 20 June 2022

Entry Fee: £5

The Leicester Writes Short Story Prize 2022 is now open for entries. It's looking for new and original fiction under 3,500 words, in any style and on any subject. There is no set theme. For further information and to enter, please visit http://leicesterwrites.co.uk/

2 May 2022

Faversham Literary Festival Short Story Competition

Submission Deadline: 10 July 2022

Entry Fee: £8

The fourth Faversham Literary Festival Short Story Competition is now open for entries. The judge is Nicholas Royle, and the prizes are first prize £350 and second prize £50. Maximum 1,500 words on any subject. To find out more and to enter, please visit https://www.favershamliteraryfestival.org/index.php/competition

26 April 2022

2022 Berlin Writing Prize

Submission Deadline: 15 August 2022

Entry Fee: 10 Euros

The theme for this year's Berlin Writing Prizse is 'Escape' and the organisers invite entries from published and unpublished writers, resident anywhere in the world. The winner will get a three-week residency at Berlin’s The Circus Hotel, amongst other accolades. To find out more and to enter, please visit https://www.thereaderberlin.com/2022-berlin-writing-prize/

20 April 2022

2022 Love Books Competition

The Marlborough Literature Festival wants you to tell them why you love your favourite book, poem or play. Your response can be in the form of a piece of text of up to 750 words, or through a video of no more than four minutes. Entrants should explain what they love about their chosen read, highlighting key areas of interest, and why they think others should try it. Deadline 1 July 2022. Find out more online at https://www.marlboroughlitfest.org/love-books-competition/

12 April 2022

Michael Terence Publishing 2022 Short Story Competition

Submission Deadline: 31 May 2022

Entry Fee: £7

The Michael Terence Publishing 2022 Short Story Competition is open until midnight (GMT+1, London) on 31 May 2022. It is open to all authors worldwide, and multiple entries are allowed. First prize - £1,000 (GBP), and more prizes are available. Find out more and enter online here.

8 April 2022

Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest

Submission Deadline: 30 April 2022

Entry Fee: $10

The next Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest is open until 30 April 2022. All writers welcome, and all genres. Find out more and enter online here.

4 April 2022

Yeovil Literary Prize 2022

Submission Deadline: 31 May 2022

Entry Fee: From £5 - £14.50

Organised by the Yeovil Community Arts Association, this is a great opportunity to enter five very different categories of writing. All genres are permitted, and the Prize states '...Agents and Publishers regularly search our winner lists for new talent.' Find out more and enter online here

3 January 2022

NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge 2022

Submission Deadline: 14 - 22 January 2022

Entry Fee: $59 USD ($5 USD promo code if you post on Twitter or Facebook about the competition)

The 16th Annual Short Story Challenge is a creative writing competition open to writers around the world. There are 4 rounds of competition, and the first kicks off from 14 - 22 January 2022 where writers have 8 days to write a short story of no longer than 2,500 words. Writers are placed randomly in groups and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment. I've participated so far in one NYC Midnight competition to date, and it was great fun - I really recommend it. Find out more about the competition and enter here https://www.nycmidnight.com/ssc

27 October 2021

Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2022

Submission Deadline: 1 November 2021

Entry Fee: Free

Entry is open to any citizen of a Commonwealth country who is aged 18 and over. Each author can submit one story of unpublished short fiction between 2,000–5,000 words. Prizes range from £2,500 - £5,000. The competition is judged by a panel of judges representing each of the five regions of the Commonwealth, and as well as English, stories are accepted in the Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Kiswahili, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil and Turkish languages. Translated entries from any language into English are also eligible. If the winning story is a translation, the translator receives additional prize money. For more information and submissions, please click here

19 September 2021

250-word Microfiction Challenge 2021, nycmidnight

Submission Deadline: 15 - 16 October 2021

Entry Fee: From $25 - $32 USD

The 3rd annual 250-word microfiction challenge from nycmidnight is now taking registrations. The competition challenges writers around the world to create short stories no longer than 250 words based on genre, action, and word assignments in 24 hours. In the 1st Round (October 15-16, 2021), writers are placed randomly in groups and are assigned a genre, action, and word assignment. Find out more and register here

6 September 2021

Mslexia Women's Fiction Competition 2021

Submission Deadline: 20 September 2021

Entry Fee: From £25 - £6

Mslexia is a national magazine for women's writing and its competitions are very popular. The Women’s Fiction Competition opened on 1 June, with an impressive list of judges that include Hilary Mantel, A L Kennedy and Marianne Tatepo. There are three categories (Novel, Short Story, Flash Fiction). Find out more here

5 September 2021

Hammond House Publishing 2021 International Literary Prize

Submission Deadline: 30 September 2021

Entry Fee: £10; Hammond House Members - £5

Theme: STARDUST

Sponsored by the University Centre Grimsby, the Hammound House Publishing 2021 International Literary Prize is now in its sixth year. Find out more here