Well, 2020 has been a wild ride, hasn't it? But let's put this mess of a year behind us and make 2021 the year you get your writing out there. There are loads of writing competitions and I've selected a handful that look particularly exciting. Whether you're in it for glory and financial reward, or you just want to have some fun and create based on prompts, take a look at the below list and see what sparks your creativity.
I've split the list into categories so it's easier to find the competitions you're most interested in. Click on any of the links below to jump to that section.
Short Stories and Flash Fiction Competitions
Cheshire Prize for Literature
Deadline: 31st January
Prize: £500
Entry Fee: Free
Details:
1500 words max
Entrants must have been born, lived, studied or worked in Cheshire
Open to all ages
Paracombe Prize
Deadline: 31st January
Prize: £100, £50, £25
Entry Fee: £5
Details:
2020 words max
Open to all
Website: https://prize.parracombe.org.uk/
Elmbridge Literary Competition
Deadline: 5th February
Prize: £250, £150, £100
Entry Fee: £5 (free for under 18s)
Details:
1500 words max (for 14+), 1000 words max (for 8-13)
Theme: Music
Bath Flash Fiction Award
Deadline: 7th February
Prize: £1000, £300, £100, £30
Entry Fee: £9
Details:
300 words max
Any theme or subject, adult and YA fiction
Website: https://bathflashfictionaward.com/
Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize
Deadline: 5th March
Prize: $1000 + 10-week Gotham Writers course
Entry Fee: $25
Details:
750 words max
Open to all.
Bristol Short Story Prize
Deadline: 5th May
Prize: £1000, £500, £250, £100
Entry Fee: £9
Details:
4000 words max
Any theme, subject and genre
Open to all
Zizzle Literary Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: 15th March
Prize: $1000, $500, $150
Entry Fee: $5
Details:
1000 words max
Must include the dialogue prompt from Zizzle's social media
Open to all
Website: https://zizzlelit.com/contest/
Anthology Magazine's Short Story Competition
Deadline: 30th April (Early Bird), 31st July (Final)
Prize: €500
Entry Fee: €10 (Early bird), €15
Details:
1500 words max
Theme: Memories
Novel Competitions
The Debut Dagger Crime Novel Award
Deadline: 26th February
Prize: Shortlisted entries are sent to select agents and publishers for review
Entry Fee: £36
Details:
3000 words max + 1500-word synopsis
Must be a crime novel (obviously)
Doesn't need to be completed work
Rubery Book Award
Deadline: 31st March
Prize: £1500
Entry Fee: £37
Details:
Books must be self-published or published by independent press
All genres welcome
Website: https://www.ruberybookaward.com/
Bridport Prize Novel Award
Deadline: 31st May
Prize: £1500, £750, £150
Entry Fee: £20
Details:
8000 words max + 300-word synopsis
Work need not be completed, but long-listed entrants will need to send 15,000 words, and short-listed entrants will need to send 30,000 words
Open to Brits only
Must not currently have representation
Any fiction for adults (including YA with adult crossover)
Poetry Competitions
Magma Poetry Competition
Deadline: 15th January
Prize: £1000, £300, £150
Entry Fee: £5
Details:
Judges' Prize: 11-50 lines
Editors' Prize: up to 10 lines
Open to all
Sentinel Literary Quarterly
Deadline: 31st January
Prize: £250, £125, £75, £30
Entry Fee: £5
Details:
50 lines max
Open to all
Nature and Place Poetry Competition
Deadline: 1st March
Prize: £1000, £500, £250
Entry Fee: £7
Details:
40 lines max
Theme: any aspect of nature and place
Open to all
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Deadline: 1st April
Prize: $2000, $500, $100
Entry Fee: Free
Details:
250 lines max
Inspired gibberish is allowed (what an excellent criterion!)
Must be humorous
Open to all (except Syria, Iran, North Korea and Crimea due to US restrictions)
Essay Competitions
Calibre Essay Prize
Deadline: 15th January
Prize: $7500 AUD
Entry Fee: $25 AUD
Details:
5000 words max
Essays of all kinds, including personal, political, literary and speculative
Open to all
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction and Essay Competition
Deadline: 30th April
Prize: $3000 USD
Entry Fee: $20 USD
Details:
6000 words max
Any theme or subject
Open to all (except Syria, Iran, North Korea and Crimea due to US restrictions)
Recurring Competitions
WriteTime Short Story Competition
Deadline: Quarterly (March, June, September, December)
Prize: £50, £25
Entry Fee: £3
Details:
1500 words max
Entrants must be aged 60 and over
Creative Writing Ink Competition
Deadline: Monthly
Prize: £10 Amazon voucher
Entry Fee: Free
Details:
Poems up to 40 lines
Open to all
Website: https://creativewritingink.co.uk/competitions/free-to-enter-creative-writing-ink-competition/
Writing Prompt Competition
Deadline: Every two months
Prize: £10 Amazon voucher
Entry Fee: Free
Details:
No word limit
Writing must be inspired by images shared on Creative Writing Ink account
Entry must be posted online (details in link)
The Writing Quarter Competition
Deadline: Monthly
Prize: $30
Entry Fee: Free
Details:
3000 words max
Any theme
Open to all aged 18 and over
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