Writing Contests & Writing Competitions in 2020: The Definitive Guide

• The 12th Annual LGBTQ+ Saints and Sinners Short Fiction Writing Contest is now accepting submissions.
• The winner will be selected from submissions of original, unpublished short stories between 3,000 and 7,000 words with LGBTQ+ content on the broad theme of “Saints and Sinners.”
• One grand prize of $500 and two second place prizes of $100 will be awarded.
• The 18th Annual Saints and Sinners Literary Festival is March 26-28, 2021 in New Orleans.
• For submission guidelines, please see our website.

• Prizes include: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
• Additional prizes: There are prizes for up to 20 winners.
• $10 entry fee; critique option for an additional $10
• Deadline: 2/28/2021
• Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 - 750 words.
• The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants.
• Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints are okay; simultaneous submissions okay; reprints okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail.
• Open internationally.

• Top prize $700 CAD
• 2nd place: $200 = 3rd place: $100
• All three finalists will also be published on the Chopping Blog.
• Tell us a story in fewer than 1000 words.

• Our annual poetry contest is now live! This year’s theme is “Words, Words, Words” giving power to three of the most popular literary devices.
• $500 Cash Prize, Collection Publishing Contract, 100 Author Copies (of your collection)
• 2nd- $250 Cash, Publishing Contract, 50 Copies
• 3rd- $100 Cash, Publishing Contract, 20 Copies
• Your poem must include one of the following: Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, Personification
• We accept multiple submissions, but each submission will include additional fee.

• The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel written in English in any genre for adult or YA readers.
• Submissions must be in English
• With a top prize of $1000 = Additional prizes of $500 for 2nd place and $250 for 3rd place.

• Top prize: US$2,000
• Additional prizes: Developmental edit and agent consultation
• Entry fees include $20 ($35 extended deadline)
• First Pages Prize 2021 invites entries of the first 5 pages of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction.
• Open to un-agented writers worldwide.
• This year’s judge is director of the esteemed Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Lan Samantha Chang.

The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel written in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. All entries must be in English.

The Moth Short Story Prize is open to anyone (over 16) as long as their story is previously unpublished. The word limit is 5,000. This year’s judge is award-winning story writer and novelist Ali Smith. See www.themothmagazine.com for details.

• The competition aims to encourage writers of any age (Adult/under18).
• All work submitted for consideration can be on any subject, and written in any style or form, but must be the entrant's own original writing.
• The competition will be judged in two categories
• a) Young Writers (Under 18 years old)
• b) Adults
• Entries must not exceed 500 words, excluding title and headers and footers, written in English.
• First Place Prize: Book illustration + video animation of the story+ £200 + Publication​

• Top prize: $500 Cash Prize, Publishing Contract, 100 Author Copies
• Additional prizes: $250 Cash Prize, Publishing Contract, 50 Copies; $100 Cash Prize, Publishing Contract, 20 Copies
• City Limits Publishing is hosting a Romance Novel Contest featuring multiple cash prizes and publishing contracts!
• We’re looking for people with already completed works to join our authors.
• Winners will be announced by April 15, 2020.
• Submissions will receive feedback from our judges after our winners have been announced.

• The prize is for an unpublished poem, written by an adult for children aged 7–11.
• The prize consists of €1,000 plus publication in the summer 2021 issue of The Caterpillar.
• Entrants are welcome from anywhere in the world.
• There is an entry fee of €14 per poem.
• This year’s judge is Michael Morpurgo.
• Deadline: 31 March 2021. See www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com for details.

• 1st Place: $500, publication, interview, and gift card good for one item from CreateWriteNow's Store
• Additional prizes: Prizes for up to 20 winners.
• $12 entry fee; critique option for an additional $13
• Deadline: 1/31/2021
• Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (200 - 1000 words) and in any style--from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more!
• The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives.
• Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints are okay; simultaneous submissions okay; reprints okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual

-Stories are judged by leading professional genre authors, including Orson Scott Card, Brandon Sanderson, Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, Sean Williams, Larry Nevin, Nnedi Okorafore, Kathryn Kress, and many more. (https://www.writersofthefuture.com/writer-judges/)

-All winning stories are published in the annual anthology and you retain the rights to your story. -Submissions open to all countries.

-Stories are judged blind. Authors of every age, gender, race, and nationality compete on equal ground.

-Names and addresses are removed for blind judging based on the merit of the storytelling alone.

-Must be a new author to enter. (https://www.writersofthefuture.com/contest-rules-writers/)

-17,000 word limit.

-Free online writing workshop available to get an edge on the competition.

• LiteraTea are looking for submissions to their Emerging Writers Short Story Contest

• LiteraTea employs a rolling reading period. Once sufficient qualified entries, around 100, are received, finalists will be selected and announced.

• A community reading period follows this announcement, prior to judging. Then, the contest will reset .

• LiteraTea's Emerging Writers’ Contest is dedicated to supporting writers who would benefit from our Advanced Writers' Program, LiteraTea's highest membership level.

• The word count of your submission should be 1200-3000 words.

• Submission is free!

• Top prize: $300 for books + publication; publication for stories
• Additional prizes: Book and story winners will all receive coverage/promotion in our newspaper.
• Entry fees: $40 for books; $20 for stories
• Only open to entrants from USA.
• Deadline: 4-20-21
• Chi Media Company and its sister company The Milpitas Beat have teamed up to hold the first annual 21st Century American Writing Contest.
• Our aim is to highlight the powerful voices of American writers and provide a platform for their views, insights, and talents.

• Top prize: $1500
• Additional prizes: 2nd place: $500, 3rd place $300, finalists $100
• Entry fees: $6 for 1 micro, $10 for 2 micros, $16 up to 4 micros
• Contest is open to submissions wordwide
• Deadline is May 16th, 2021
• The SmokeLong Grand Micro Competition is open for submissions from March 1 to May 16.
• Fiction, non-fiction and hybrid are welcome, also non-Anglo texts accompanied by an English translation.

Principia Perspectives welcomes international students in grades 6-8 and grades 9-12 to participate in their themed creative nonfiction competition. For the 2021 competition, reflect on the theme of family. What have you learned about the role of family? What stories define family for you? Creatively explore this topic using 400-600 words for middle school students and 500-800 words for high school students.

Prompt: create a fiction story about someone who unexpectedly comes into $20,000. Whether it involves a mysterious inheritance, a lotto win, or random circumstance, the details are entirely up to you—the only requirement is that at some point in your narrative, whether it’s a major plot point or a minor detail, your story must include a small black notebook. The Little Black Book Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style and on any subject up to a maximum of 5,000 words by writers in / from Wales. • Entrants must have been born in Wales, lived in Wales for 2 years or more or currently be living in Wales. See website for full terms and conditions.