Contests

Writing contests provide steps up for a writer – especially a struggling writer. A portfolio that contains contest wins means more than many clips. Can’t afford the entry fees? Consider entering one contest a quarter or something more amiable to your pocketbook. A few are free. Contests provide prizes, prestige and usually publication with many offering book contracts. Denouncing contests from your writing repertoire is like discounting an entire genre or refusing to eat yellow vegetables. You’re giving up something valuable that may serve you and your career well.

 GEMINI MAGAZINE FLASH FICTION CONTEST
http://www.gemini-magazine.com/contest.html
$4 ENTRY FEE
Grand Prize: $1,000
Second Place: $100
Four Honorable Mentions: $25 each.
Deadline: August 31, 2013. Maximum length: 1,000 words. All six finalists published online in the October 2013 Issue of Gemini. Any subject, style or genre: experimental, mainstream, noir, fantasy, humor, erotica….Simply send your best, most powerful work.

WASAFIRI NEW WRITING PRIZE
http://www.wasafiri.org/wasafiri-new-writing-prize.asp
ENTRY FEE £6, £10 or £15
The competition is open to anyone worldwide who has not published a complete book. We are looking for creative submissions in one of three categories: Poetry, Fiction or Life Writing. £300 will be awarded to the winner in each category and their work will be published in Wasafiri. Deadline July 26, 2013.

THE SATURDAY EVENING POST GREAT AMERICAN FICTION CONTEST
http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/fiction-contest
$10 ENTRY FEE
The winning story will be published in the Jan/Feb 2014 edition of the magazine and on our website. The winning writer will receive a payment of $500. Five runners-up will be published on our website and receive payment of $100 each.  Your story should in some way touch upon the publication’s mission: Celebrating America, Past, Present, and Future. Stories must be submitted by the author, previously unpublished (excluding personal websites and blogs), and 1,500-5,000 words in length. Deadline July 1, 2013.

THE RENAL SUPPORT NETWORK ANNUAL RSN ESSAY CONTEST
http://rsnhope.org/
NO ENTRY FEE
Renal Support Network (RSN), a nonprofit, patient-focused, patient-run organization that provides nonmedical services to those affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD), encourages people with kidney disease to let their voices be heard. This year’s theme is, “Provide an example of how you became an active participant in your care.” All submissions must be written by someone who has been diagnosed with CKD. First Place, $500; Second Place, $300; and Third Place, $100. Essays must not exceed 750 words. Deadline August 1, 2013.

CHANTICLEER BOOK REVIEWS WRITING CONTEST
http://chantireviews.com/contest-details/
$40 ENTRY FEE
Grand Prize Blue Ribbon for Best Book 2013 will receive a $ 1,000 plus prizes and promotion.  The winner will be announced in early October 2013. There will be only one CBR Grand Prize Blue Ribbon Winner 2013. Only First Place Genre award winners may compete for the Grand Prize for Best Book 2013. If a manuscript wins, it will be eligible to be  forwarded to literary agents who have contacted CBR for first peeks at outstanding manuscripts (upon author approval).

BEACH HOUSE CONTEST
www.rehobothbeachreads.com
$10 ENTRY FEE
Cat & Mouse Press, a small publishing company based in Lewes, DE has announced a new contest and invites writers to submit short pieces of fiction or nonfiction that are entertaining, interesting, humorous or just plain fun. The Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Competition features a $500 first prize sponsored by Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach. The theme for the contest is The Beach House. Each story must incorporate that theme and also have a strong connection to Rehoboth Beach. A panel of judges will select the best entries, which will be published in a professionally designed paperback book. The deadline for entries is July 1, 2013.

CHILDREN’S WRITER KINDERGARTEN STORY
https://www.writersbookstore.com/sc/wbs_order.htm?p=cwcht&mc=BP970
$15 ENTRY FEE
The contest is for fiction about exploration for kindergarteners up to 150 words. The story should be appropriate to children 5 to 7 learning to read on their own. The theme of exploration could be set at home, down the block, at school, on vacation, in books: Use your imagination! The story should be fun, colorful, use well-targeted words, and have special interest for the age group. Do not write too high for this readership. Know what a five or seven-year-old can and cannot read. Originality and the overall quality of writing will also be considered. Publishability is the ultimate criterion. Deadline July 12, 2013. If you’re not currently a subscriber to Children’s Writer, the reading fee will also pay for an introductory eight-month subscription to Children’s Writer. There are five cash prizes: $500 for the top winner, $250 for second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places.

THE AMERICAN FICTION PRIZE
http://newriverspress.com/
$16 ENTRY FEE
Deadline June 15, 2013.
First Prize: $1,000
Second Prize: $500
Third Prize: $250
We seek well crafted, character driven literary fiction in any genre with a maximum of 10,000 words per story. Each of the selected story authors will receive national publication and distribution, author discount, and two complimentary copies.

WILLIAM HAZLITT ESSAY PRIZE
http://www.nottinghilleditions.com/essay-prize
£10 ENTRY FEE
Notting Hill Editions is delighted to launch an annual literary prize for the best essay in the English language, of between 2,000 and 8,000 words, published or unpublished, on any subject. Award value £15,000. Five runners-up will each receive £1000. Deadline August 1, 2013. Authors of any nationality are eligible, but submissions must have been written originally in English. If already published, the essay must have appeared for the first time in periodical (print or online) but not book form, between 1 January 2012 and 31 July 2013.

MSLEXIA WOMEN’S NOVEL COMPETITION
http://www.mslexia.co.uk/whatson/msbusiness/ncomp_active.php#new
£25 ENTRY FEE
The competition is open to unpublished women novelists writing in any genre for adults, including literary fiction, women’s fiction, young adult fiction, science fiction, fantasy, chick-lit, crime fiction, thriller, historical fiction… but not nonfiction or fiction for under 13s. To constitute a novel, your book must total at least 50,000 words. Deadline September 23, 2013. 12 shortlisted authors will be invited to a networking event and introduced to a specially invited group of literary agents. First prize £5,000. You may submit up to 5,000 words, which must be the first 5,000 words of the novel. Women who have had a novel published commercially, for any age group, in any country, are not eligible. Women who have had other types of books published (e.g. poetry, memoir, nonfiction), but have not had a novel published, are eligible. Self-published manuscripts are eligible.

WOMEN WHO WRITE
http://womenwhowrite.com/Submit.html
$12 ENTRY FEE
Deadline June 30, 2013. Prose pieces can be fiction or non-fiction and are limited to 3,000 words or less. Entry fee includes one story or two poems.

First place: $300, publication in Calliope, the annual anthology of Women Who Write, and up to five copies of Calliope. Second place: $200, publication in Calliope and up to five copies of Calliope.
Third place: $100, publication and up to five copies of Calliope.

CZP/RANNU FUND
http://rannu.webs.com/entryrules.htm
$10 ENTRY FEE
Deadline May 31, 2013. All entries in both fiction and poetry MUST be “speculative literature” in content; in other words: science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, alternate history, steampunk, etc. $500 winner in each category of fiction and poetry. Two honorable mentions receive $50. One poetry submission equals up to five poemsnot to exceed ten pages. One entry for fiction is one story or novel excerpt not to exceed 7,000 words.

FIRST ANNUAL COLONY COLLAPSE NOVELLA PRIZE
https://colonycollapse.submittable.com/submit
$10 ENTRY FEE
Colony Collapse Press will award a prize of $300, publication, and 20 complimentary copies for the best novella, as judged by our editorial board. Deadline June 15, 2013. Length: 15,000 words minimum and 50,000 words maximum per each individual submission. These pages must comprise a single work of fiction or novella-length narrative nonfiction.

UNMANNED PRESS SHORT OF THE MONTH AWARD
$3 ENTRY FEE
Each month, Unmanned publishes an original short work of literary fiction by an emerging and/or underserved writer that exhibits literary skill, sharpness, and originality. Selected writers are awarded $250, publication, and an author interview. If you have a freakishly awesome short story, please follow our guidelines with care. No length requirement.

SATURDAY EVENING POST GREAT AMERICAN FICTION CONTEST
$10 ENTRY FEE
Deadline July 1, 2013. The winning story will be published in the Jan/Feb 2014 edition of the magazine and on our website. The winning writer will receive a payment of $500. Five runners-up will be published on our website and receive payment of $100 each. Entries should be character- or plot-driven pieces in any genre of fiction. Stories must be 1,500-5,000 words in length.

 NOTE: See more contests by joining our newsletters. We can keep you loaded with contests without you looking anywhere else!

Our newsletters…
Please remember to read ALL guidelines for a contest. FundsforWriters tries to research contests to the best of our ability, but we cannot confirm the credibility of each and every one without entering them ourselves. Be informed and be alert as you would with any market, publisher, agent or competition.