Writing Contests 2024: Cash Prizes & Free Entries

• Feb 12, 2024
• 12 min read

• Tags: Essay, Novel, Poetry, Short Story, Writing Contests

If you have great ideas but struggle to pen them, don’t worry. Almost all poets and writers fail at writing consistently, and we have a solution. We’ve listed the best creative writing contests in 2024!

You can go through the list to find any writing competitions in 2024 that inspire you to write. If you aren’t confident in your draft, try looking for some free writing contests! Whether you’re looking for poetry contests, short story writing competitions, or essay contests, we’ve listed them all. So, which one will you enter?

Here are the best writing contests in 2024:

January 2024

The new year opens with plenty of poetry competitions but few essay contests and almost no free writing contests. With several mixed contests listed this month, however, we’re sure our poets and writers will be satisfied!

Poetry contests 2024

1. Gemini Poetry Open Contest 2024

Gemini Magazine has organized this poetry contest 2024 to offer six finalists with publication in its March/April 2024 issue. The poems may have been uploaded on personal blogs, but previously published poems are ineligible.

Word count: 3 poems of any length

Prizes: $1,000, $100, four prizes of $25

Entry fee: $9

Closing date: 02 January 2024 

2. 2024 Poetry Competition

The organizers of this poetry contest seek to honor James Allen, the first person to breed Snowdrops from the wild. This is one of the free poetry contests for children and teens, who can participate through separate categories.

Theme: Nature unbound

Word count: 30 lines

Prize: £300

Entry fee: £4

Closing date: 07 January 2024

3. 2024 William Matthews Poetry Prize 

Asheville Poetry Review has organized this contest to offer three deserving poets with publication. Previously published poems and works of translations are not eligible. All entries will be considered for publication!

Word count: 3 poems of any length

Prizes: $1,000 and $250

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 16 January 2024

4. Magma 2023/24 Poetry Competition 

This poetry contest is held in two categories: The judge’s prize and the editor’s prize. Three winners from both categories will be published in Magma. The winners and ten commended poets will be invited to read their poems at a contest event.

Category 1: 11–50 lines

Category 2: Up to 10 lines

Prizes: £1000, £300, £150 per category

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 31 January 2024

5. Kent and Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition 2024 

This is one of the poetry competitions that does not allow simultaneous submissions, at least for contests that announce results before 16 April 2024. Winning entries will be published online and included in an annual Folio publication.

Word count: 40 lines

Prizes: £1000, £300, £100, 4 prizes of £50

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 31 January 2024

Short story writing contests 2024

6. The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction  

Running between 19–21 January 2024, this unique flash fiction contest challenges authors to break a specific rule of writing. It’s called an anti-prompt, and you’ll have to pair this with two prompts to write your entry in 60 hours. Exciting, isn’t it? 

Word count: 500

Prizes: $1,000 AUD, $500 AUD, $200 AUD, $100 AUD, 4 prizes of $50 AUD

Entry fee: $25 AUD

Closing date: 21 January 2024

7. Story Unlikely Short Story Contest [Free writing Contest!]

This is one of the best short story competitions that welcome all genres: fantasy, sci-fi, memoir, and even nonfiction! All winning entries are published in the monthly issue of Story Unlikely and the winning entry may be published in the annual print issue.

Word count: 4,500

Prizes: $750, $500, $250

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 31 January 2024

Essay contest 2024

8. The 2024 Calibre Essay Prize  

One of the best essay contests of 2024, this competition promotes nonfiction of all kinds: “personal or political, literary or speculative, traditional or experimental.” You may include illustrations in your essay, but the total file size should be below 3 MB.

Word count: 2,000–5,000

Prizes: $5,000 AUD, $3,000 AUD, $2,000 AUD

Entry fee: $30 AUD

Closing date: 22 January 2024

Book writing contests 2024

9. 2023 Exeter Novel Prize

This novel writing contest invites non-agented writers to submit a previously unpublished manuscript. Send the first 10,000 words of your novel and include a 500-word synopsis. Self-published writers are welcome to enter!

Word count: 10,000 

Prizes: £1000, five prizes of £100

Entry fee: £20

Closing date: 01 January 2024

10. Cai Emmons Fiction Award  

Red Hen Press has organized this novel writing contest 2024 to honor the late novelist Cai Emmons. All authors who haven’t published a full-length work with Red Hen Press are eligible to enter.

Word count: At least 150 pages

Prize: $5,000

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 January 2024

11. Desert Writers Award 

The organizers of this award support one deserving writer of creative nonfiction while they work on their book. Make sure to highlight your interest in desert literature in your biographical statement and project description!

Word count: 10 pages

Prize: $5,000

Entry fee: $15

Closing date: 15 January 2024

12. North American Poetry Book Award 

The Poetry Society of Virginia has organized this poetry competition to award one full-length book of poetry. Self-published and audiovisual works are ineligible, but books that have won other pre-publishing awards are allowed. 

Word count: At least 64 pages

Prize: $1,000

Entry fee: $36

Closing date: 15 January 2024

13. Bardsy Winter Anthology Contest 

This unique fiction writing contest invites authors to send the first chapters of their in-progress novel or memoir. The best thing is, that you receive feedback on your entry and you can revise it accordingly before judging begins!

Word count: 2,500–3,000

Prizes: $1000, some prizes of $50

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 15 January 2024

Mixed writing contests 2024

14. Mississippi Review Writing Contest 2024

Mississippi Review has organized this poetry, short story, and essay contest 2024 to award publication to three winners. You can submit online or via post, and the postal entry fee is $15. All the best!

Categories: Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction

Word count: 3–5 poems (10 pages) for poetry; 1,000–8,000 words for prose

Prizes: 3 prizes of $1,000

Entry fee: $16

Closing date: 01 January 2024

15. The DISQUIET Prize  

The organizers of this writing competition offer one winner a fully paid trip to attend the DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon. Three additional winners receive fee waivers for the program and they can opt for a cash prize of $1,000 in its stead.

Categories: Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction

Word count: 10 pages for poetry; 25 pages for prose

Prizes: A paid trip to Lisbon and other prizes

Entry fee: $15

Closing date: 05 January 2024

16. The Winter Anthology Contest 

This unique writing competition 2024 welcomes poets and writers to submit any published or unpublished piece of any length! The winner will be published in Volume 14 of The Winter Anthology and finalists will be considered for publication.

Categories: Poetry and prose

Prize: $1,000

Entry fee: $11

Closing date: 10 January 2024 

February 2024

February features a good balance of poetry and short story competitions, but essay contests are, as always, quite rare. What’s more, we’ve managed to find six free writing contests, perhaps the highest this number has been in a single month!

Poetry competitions 2024

1. Yeats Poetry Prize  

WB Yeats Society of NY has organized this poetry competition to honor the “valuable contributions poets and poetry make to human consciousness”. The judge may recognize some honorable mentions aside from the top two prizes.

Word count: 60 lines

Prizes: $1,000, $500

Entry fee: $15 per poem

Closing date: 01 February 2024 

2. Claire Keyes Poetry Award

Soundings East, the literary journal of Salem State University has organized this poetry competition 2024. The final judge, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, will select a group of poems that will be awarded with publication in the journal.

Word count: 1 page per poem

Prize: $1,000

Entry fee: $10 (8–10 poems)

Closing date: 01 February 2024  

3. Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards 

This poetry contest awards three poets with publication in Paterson Literary Review. Entries to this contest must be submitted via mail. Although the competition honors Ginsberg, the organizers urge you not to emulate his style in your entry.

Word count: 2 pages per poem

Prizes: $2,000, $1,000, $500

Entry fee: $18 (3–5 poems)

Closing date: 01 February 2024 

4. West Chester University Poetry Awards 

These free poetry competitions are open to undergraduate poets enrolled in a US college or university. You can submit up to three poems for each award with the contact information of a referring professor.

Word count: Various

Prizes: 2 prizes of $1,500, 3 prizes of $1,000, 2 prizes of $500

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 16 February 2024 

5. Heroica Poetry Prize for Women and Non-Binary Authors and Poets 

Heroica has organized this poetry competition in 2024 for women and non-binary poets. The prize-winning and longlisted entries will be published in print in the first Heroica Poetry Anthology.

Word count: —

Prizes: £125, £50, £25

Entry fee: £2 for 1 poem, £5 for 3 poems; £10 for unlimited series

Closing date: 29 February 2024 

Short story contests 2024

6. American Short(er) Fiction Prize 

American Short Fiction has organized this flash fiction contest to award one writer with a cash prize and publication. Dantiel W. Moniz—writer of the story collection Milk, Blood, Heat—will judge the competition. All entries will be considered for publication!

Word count: 1,000

Prize: $1,000

Entry fee: $18

Closing date: 01 February 2024 

7. Short Short Story Contest

The organizers of this short story contest help immigrants achieve their dreams by teaching them various courses. Alongside one overall winner and four winners for each topic, one prize will be awarded to a teen writer. 

Themes: bicycle(s), eclipse, fire, suitcase(s)

Word count: 100

Prizes: $300, 5 prizes of $100

Entry fee: $15

Closing date: 01 February 2024  

8. WOW! Winter 2024 Flash Fiction Contest 

This women-centric flash fiction contest 2024 offers 17 prizes aside from the top three entries. You can opt for a critique of your work with an entry fee of $20. The entries are limited, so make sure to submit your entry soon!

Word count: 250–750

Prizes: $400, $300, $200

Entry fee: $10

Closing date: 28 February 2024  

9. Edinburgh Short Story Award

In its tenth year, this short story competition offers five top prizes and publication to the top 20 (or more) entries. The contest offers free entries to Scottish writers who receive some form of income support. 

Word count: 2,000

Prizes: £3,000, £500, £250, special prizes of £750 and £300

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 28 February 2024 

10. Imagine Little Tokyo 2024 Short Story Contest [Free Writing Contest!]

The Little Tokyo Historical Society has organized this free short story contest in two categories: English and Japanese. These short stories should be set in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles and reflect the neighborhood’s culture. Now here’s a worldbuilding challenge like no other!

Word count: 2,500

Prizes: 2 prizes of $500

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 29 February 2024 

Essay contests 2024

11. The Sarabande Prize in Essay

One of the rarer essay writing competitions, the winner gets a collection of essays with a publishing contract. You may edit your entry within a week of submission, but not after that. The selected work will undergo the complete book editing process before publication with Sarabande Books.   

Word count: 100–250 pages

Prize: $3,000

Entry fee: $29

Closing date: 15 February 2024

Book writing contests 2024

12. Paterson Poetry Prize

This writing contest awards publication to one poet with the strongest collection of poems. The winner can claim the prize only if they’re available for an in-person or virtual reading at the Poetry Center in Paterson. 

Word count: At least 48 pages

Prize: $2,000

Entry fee: $18 per story

Closing date: 01 February 2024 

13. Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry

This poetry competition awards one poet with a cash prize and publication with a standard royalty contract. Translations and previously published manuscripts are not eligible. Sarabande Books will consider all finalists for publication!

Word count: At least 48 pages

Prize: $3,000

Entry fee: $29

Closing date: 15 February 2024

14. Ambroggio Prize [Free Writing Contest!]

This one-of-a-kind free poetry contest awards a manuscript “originally written in Spanish and with an English translation”. Make sure to exclude the “Acknowledgements” page from your entry while submitting! The contest is open to US citizens only.

Word count: 48–100 pages

Prize: $1,000

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 15 February 2024

15. Center for African American Poetry and Poetics Book Prize [Free Writing Contest!]

Autumn House Press has organized this free writing competition to honor one poet-writer of African descent. The book may be of any genre that “intersects with … poetry, hybrid work, speculative prose, and/or translation.”

Word count: 48–168 pages

Prize: $3,000

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 15 February 2024

16. Harold Morton Landon Translation Award [Free Writing Contest!]

This free poetry contest 2024 honors a manuscript translated into English from any other language. Collaborations of up to two translators are eligible but self-published works will not be considered. The contest is open to US citizens only.

Word count: At least 48 pages

Prize: $1,000

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 15 February 2024

17. Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction 

The organizers of this short fiction contest welcome you to submit a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a short novel. The manuscript must be unpublished, but individual works may have appeared in magazines or anthologies.

Word count: 150–250 pages

Prize: $3,000

Entry fee: $29

Closing date: 15 February 2024 

Mixed writing competitions 2024

20. Slippery Elm Prize for Poetry and Prose 

Slippery Elm has organized this writing contest to offer publication to poets and writers in their online and print issues. All entrants will receive a copy of the winning issue and be considered for publication!

Categories: Poetry and prose

Word count: None for poetry; 5,000 words for prose

Prizes: $500 per category

Entry fee: $15 (3 poems; 1 prose entry)

Closing date: 01 February 2024 

22. 2024 Writing Competition

This writing contest is part of the Bournemouth Writing Festival and offers anthology publication to 40 poets and writers. All winners will be invited to the launch party, receive a free copy of the anthology, and get two tickets to a BWF event.

Categories: Poetry and flash fiction

Theme: Lines in the sand

Word count: 30 lines for poetry; 400 words for prose

Prize: Anthology publication

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 29 February 2024 

23. The Canterbury Tales Writing Competition 2023/24 [Free Writing Contest!]

This free writing competition offers young poets and writers prize not only for themselves but also for their school library! There are three age groups and the top three prizes in each group for both, students and their libraries. Exciting, right?!

Categories: Poetry and short story

Theme: Being part of a group

Word count: 500

Prizes: £300, £150, £100 (to the student); 1000, £500, £250 (to the school library)

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 29 February 2024 

March 2024

March is overloaded with poetry competitions, perhaps in anticipation of April, the poetry writing month. Short story contests were hard to come by, but we did manage to find some free poetry contests!

Poetry contests

1. BSFS Poetry Contest 2024 [Free Writing Contest!]

Baltimore Science Fiction Society has organized this poetry competition. You may submit up to three poems exploring themes of science fiction/fantasy/horror/science. The winners also receive convention membership.

Word count: 60 lines

Prizes: $100, $75, $50 

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 01 March 2024 

2. The Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize 2024 [Free Writing Contest!]

This free poetry contest welcomes you to submit a single poem or a collection, as long as all the poems relate to the theme. Prize winners will be invited to attend The Alpine Fellowship’s annual symposium, offering up to £500 as travel expenses.

Theme: Language

Word count: 500

Prizes: £3,000, £1,000, £1,000 

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 01 March 2024

3. The Desmond O’Grady International Poetry Competition 2024

The Limerick Writers’ Centre has organized this international poetry contest and invites entries in Irish or English. Poet Arthur Broomfield will judge the English poems while Tomás Ó Coileáin will judge the Irish ones.

Word count: 40 lines

Prizes: €200, €50

Entry fee: €3.5

Closing date: 16 March 2024

4. The London Magazine Poetry Prize 2024

The London Magazine offers cash prizes and publication to three poets through this poetry competition. Students and poets with a low income can submit entries at an entry fee of £5!

Word count: 40 lines

Prizes: £500, £300, £200

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 31 March 2024

5. The E.H.P. Barnard Poetry Prize

This poetry contest, organized by the artist Tom Niell, is open only to UK-based poets. Along with the cash prize, the winner also gets a poem video, performed, produced, and promoted. Exciting, right?

Location: UK

Theme: Travel

Word count: 400

Prizes: £100, £75, £50

Entry fee: £2

Closing date: 31 March 2024 

6. The Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2024 

The Caterpillar has organized this poetry competition with Joseph Coelho as the judge. The winning entries will be published in the Irish Times online and the first prize winner also gets a week at Circle of Misse in France.

Word count: —

Prizes: €1,000, €500, €250

Entry fee: €15

Closing date: 31 March 2024 

7. The Plough Prize 2024 

In its twenty-first year, this renowned poetry contest will be judged by Roger McGough. There is no restriction on the subject. You may send your entry via post, but make sure it reaches the organizers before the deadline.

Word count: 40 lines

Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 31 March 2024 

8. The Plaza Prose Poetry Prize 

The Plaza Writers has organized this poetry competition to highlight prose poetry. The top ten entries will be selected for anthology publication. Contest judge Carrie Etter is looking for “thrilling experiments with the prose poem form”.

Word count: 450

Prizes: £750, £200, £50

Entry fee: £11

Closing date: 31 March 2024 

Short story writing contests 2024

9. Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize 

This short story competition has been organized by Symphony Space and sponsored by Selected Shorts. The winning entry will be performed by an actor and published in Electric Literature. 

Word count: 750

Prize: $1,000 and a 10-week course with Gotham Writers

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 01 March 2024

10. Peter Carey Short Story Awards 2024

This short story contest awards two Australian authors with cash prizes, digital publication in Meanjin, as well as the magazine’s standard contributor fee. An additional prize of 500 AUD will be awarded to a writer who lives, works, or studies in Moorabool Shire.

Location: Australia

Word count: 2,000–3,000

Prizes: 2,000 AUD, 1,000 AUD

Entry fee: 15 AUD

Closing date: 14 March 2024

11. Indignor House Writing Competition 2024 

Indignor House Publishing has organized this short story writing contest to support emerging voices in fiction. 25 entries will be selected for publication in an anthology, of which winners will receive a hardcover copy.

Theme: Fear

Word count: 5,000

Prizes: $500, $250, $150

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 31 March 2024

Essay contest 2024

12. Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest

This essay contest welcomes you to submit outstanding personal essays. All entries will be considered for publication in The New Quarterly and the organizers will pay an honorarium of $250 upon publication.

Location: Canada

Word count: 2,000–5,000

Prize: $1,000

Entry fee: $40

Closing date: 28 March 2024 

Book writing contests 2024

13. PFD Queer Fiction Prize back for 2024

Peters Fraser + Dunlop, a London-based literary agency, has organized this book writing contest to support emerging queer writers. The submissions do not have to be on LGBTQIA+ experiences as long as the author identifies as such.

Categories: Adult and YA/children’s fiction

Word count: Three chapters and a synopsis

Prize: Agency representation

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 01 March 2024 

14. 2024 Airlie Prize 

Airlie Press has organized this poetry contest to award one book of poetry with publication. The editors at Airlie Press, previous winners, and guest readers will form the panel of judges. Translated works are not eligible.

Word count: 48–90 pages

Prize: $1,000

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 01 March 2024

15. The 2024 Chapter One Prize for Novelists 

Gutsy Great Novelist has organized this novel writing competition to award three novelists writing in any genre. They have some strict submission guidelines, so make sure you go through them before submitting your entry!

Word count: The first chapter

Prizes: $1,000, $500, $250

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 01 March 2024

16. The Hazel Rowley Prize

This contest awards the best book proposal by a first-time biographer. Along with the cash prize, the winner receives agent exposure and publicity for the project through the Biographers International Organization website and newsletter.

Word count: 20 pages

Prize: $5,000

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 01 March 2024 

17. Raz-Shumaker Book Prize 

This book writing contest awards one poetry and one short story collection with publication by the University of Nebraska Press. Poets and writers are free to enter both contests. Self-published books are not eligible for this contest.

Categories: Poetry and short story

Word count: At least 50 pages for poetry; at least 150 pages for fiction

Prizes: $3,000 per category

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 March 2024

18. Rubery Book Awards 

This book writing competition is for indie writers, self-published authors, and writers who have published with independent presses. The categories for the contest are decided after all submissions have been collected.

Word count: —

Prizes: £2,000, some prizes of £200

Entry fee: £45 

Closing date: 31 March 2024

Mixed writing contests

19. Wild Women Contest 

Open to poets and writers of all gender identities, this writing competition only requires entries to celebrate the “wild woman spirit”. All submissions will be considered for publication in TulipTree Review and all collaborators will be paid $50. 

Word count: 5 pages for poetry; 10,000 words for prose

Prizes: $1,000

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 08 March 2024

20. The Screenwriting Challenge

One of the more interesting writing competitions in 2024, this contest randomly assigns you a genre for round one. The top five from each genre group move on to round two, from which the top three move on to round three. Go check it out!

Word count: 12 pages for round 1

Prizes: $4,500, $1,750, $1,000, $500, $350, $250, $225, $200, $175, $150

Entry fee: $55

Contest duration: 15–23 March 2024 

21. The 2024 Perkoff Prize 

The Missouri Review has organized this poetry, short story, and essay contest to recognize emerging poets and writers. You may submit your entry online or via post. The entry fee includes a one-year subscription to the magazine.

Categories: Poetry, short story, and essay

Word count: 10 pages for poetry; 8,500 words for a short story and an essay

Prizes: $1,000 per category

Entry fee: $15

Closing date: 15 March 2024

22. The Hope Prize

This short story and essay contest offers anthology publication to the winners and some shortlisted writers. The royalties from the anthology will be donated to Beyond Blue, an Australian mental health charity.

Categories: Short story and essay

Theme: Hope

Word count: 2,000–5,000

Prize: 10,000 AUD, 2,000 AUD, 1,000 AUD

Entry fee: 22 AUD

Closing date: 22 March 2024 

23. Seasons Writing Competition 2024 

This writing contest awards the best pieces of poetry and fiction from the submitted entries and no category prizes are awarded. All shortlisted poets and writers will be published in a contest anthology!

Categories: Poetry, short story, flash fiction, script

Theme: Light and Shadow

Word count: 2,500 words for a short story; 1,000 words for flash fiction

Prizes: 500 AUD, 400 AUD, 300 AUD, 200 AUD, some prizes of 100 AUD

Entry fee: 5 AUD

Closing date: 31 March 2024

April 2024

As if to make up for March, April features a ton of short story writing contests but only two poetry competitions. As always, essay writing contests are few and far between. Don’t worry though, we’ll keep adding to this list every month!

Poetry competitions 2024

1. Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest [Free Writing Contest!]

Unique among free poetry contests, this competition invites you to submit one humorous poem. The winner will receive a Duotrope gift certificate and the top 13 entries will be published online. Both unpublished and previously published works are eligible!

Word count: 250 lines

Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, 10 prizes of $100

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 01 April 2024

2. Nature and Place Poetry Competition 2024 

The Rialto has organized this poetry contest, inviting poets to dwell on any aspect of nature and place. While judging, Zaffar Kunial will interpret these terms widely. All longlisted entries will be published on The Rialto website.

Word count: 40 lines

Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250

Entry fee: £7

Closing date: 01 April 2024

Short story contests 2024

3. Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize 2024 

The grand prize winner of this short story competition gets a week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, literary feedback, and agent consultation. The contest offers 40 free entries and 60 half-priced entries!

Word count: 2,000

Prizes: €2,000, 2 prizes of €1,000

Entry fee: €20

Closing date: 14 April 2024

4. Purorrelato 2024 Micro-Story Contest [Free Writing Contest!]

Casa África has organized this micro story writing contest to encourage writers to write about Africa in newer ways. The micro story must relate to Africa in some way and may be written in Spanish, English, French, or Portuguese.

Word count: 1,500 characters

Prizes: €750, €375, €225

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 16 April 2024 

5. 2024 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize

One of the world’s leading short story contests, the Jolley Prize is in its fifteenth year. The three winning stories will be published in the August or September 2024 issue of the Australian Book Review.

Word count: 2,000–5,000

Prizes: 6,000 AUD, 4,000 AUD, 2,500 AUD

Entry fee: 30 AUD

Closing date: 22 April 2024 

6. SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction

This flash fiction contest has been running twice yearly since 2018. The grand prize winner is automatically nominated for The Best Small Fiction, The Pushcart, Best of the Net, and other contests.

Word count: 1,000

Prizes: 2,500, $1,000, $500, some prizes of $100.

Entry fee: $16

Closing date: 30 April 2024 

7. Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest

This short story competition challenges you to pack a punch in 100 words. The second runner-up wins a writing coaching package valued at $450 and the third, a developmental and diversity editing package valued at $250.

Word count: 100

Prizes: $2,000 and others

Entry fee: $15

Closing date: 30 April 2024 

8. The Creative Writing NZ Short Story Prize 2024 

This short story contest accepts only online entries. Lucie Brownlee is the guest judge this year. The winner and runners-up receive a free online course and publication on the Creative Writing NZ website.

Location: New Zealand

Word count: 3,000

Prizes: $1,000, 2 prizes of $200

Entry fee: $9

Closing date: 30 April 2024 

9. Short Story Competition 

Organized by Cranked Anvil Press, this quarterly short story competition welcomes all genres and themes. The winning entries will be published online, and all longlisted entries will be considered for eventual anthology publication.

Word count: 1,500

Prizes: £100, £50

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 30 April 2024  

10. Los Angeles NaNo Anthology

This free short story contest is a golden opportunity for writers worldwide. Writers must submit a story revolving around the theme “Utopia- or is it?” and the prompt “You must include something/someone that gets stuck”.  The winning entries will be published in the Los Angeles NaNo Anthology’s 10th edition “Trouble in Paradise”.

Wordcount: 4,000

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 30 April 2024

Essay contest 2024

11. Terry Tempest Williams Creative Nonfiction Prize

North American Review has organized this essay contest to offer publication to the winners and honorable mentions. The organizers welcome “the lyric essay, the hermit crab essay, the braided essay, the memoir, the personal essay, literary journalism, and everything in between.” 

Word count: 500–10,000

Prizes: $1,000

Entry fee: $23

Closing date: 02 April 2024

Book writing competitions 2024

12. First Pages Prize  

This book writing contest seeks to support un-agented writers. The top three winners in both categories receive a developmental mentorship and agent consultation via Zoom. Edwidge Danticat will judge both categories. 

Categories: Fiction and creative nonfiction

Word count: 1,250 (First five pages of your book)

Prizes: $2,000, $1,500, $1000 per category

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 10 April 2024

13. Jonathan Holden Poetry Chapbook Contest

This poetry competition is open to poets who haven’t yet published a full-length work of poetry. Self-published books are not eligible. All participants receive an eBook copy of the winning chapbook.

Word count: 25 to 40 pages

Prize: $250 and 10 copies of the printed chapbook

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 10 April 2024 

Mixed writing contests 2024

14. Nimrod Literary Awards 

All shortlisted poets and writers for this writing competition will be published and offered a standard publishing rate of $10/page. Poets may submit one long poem or a few short poems within the page limit.

Categories: Poetry and fiction (short story or self-contained novel excerpt)

Word count: 3–10 pages of poetry; 7,500 words for fiction

Prizes: $2,000 and $1,000 per category

Entry fee: $20 

Closing date: 01 April 2024

15. Mairtin Crawford Award 

This writing contest is for poets and writers “working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel.” Both published and unpublished writers are welcome to enter, but they must not have published full-length works.

Location: UK

Categories: Poetry and short story

Word count: 3–5 poems for poetry; 2,500 for short story

Prizes: £500, 2 prizes of £250 per category

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 10 April 2024

16. F(r)iction Contests

This is essentially four writing competitions rolled into one. Wole Talabi, Sherrie Flick, C. S. E. Cooney, and Marin Sardy form the panel of judges. All submissions are considered for publication!

Categories: Poetry, short story, flash fiction, and essay

Word count: 3 pages for poetry, 1,001–7,500 for short story; 1,000 for flash fiction; 6,500 for essay

Prizes: $300 for poetry, $1,000 for short story, $300 for flash fiction, $500 for essay 

Entry fee: $10 for poetry and flash fiction, $15 for a short story and essay

Closing date: 30 April 2024 

Other writing contests 2024

We’ll keep updating this list as the new year comes closer and more writing competitions in 2024 go live. Keep an eye out on this space and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an update!

1. Elmbridge Literary Competition 2023–24 

This contest features four categories for children and teens and only the adult category has an entry fee. Sampson Low will publish the winning entries from all categories together in a chapbook.

Categories: Poetry and short story

Theme: Fame

Word count: 30 lines for poetry; 1,500 words for a short story

Prizes:  £250,  £150, £100 per category

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 23 February 2024

2. Self-Published Book Awards 

This book writing contest only accepts self-published books that are printed and bound. If you’ve published an eBook, there’s still time enough to print your book through self-publishing services! The contest accepts entries in seven categories.

Word count: —

Prizes: $10,000, 7 prizes of $1,000

Entry fee: $100

Closing date: 01 April 2024

3. Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest 

This short story and essay contest offers online publication to 12 outstanding writers of fiction and nonfiction. Both published and unpublished entries are welcome. The top two winners receive two-year gift certificates from Duotrope.

Word count: 6,000

Prizes: $3,500 per category and 10 prizes of $300

Entry fee: $22

Closing date: 01 May 2024

4. Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition 2024

This writing contest features nine categories, awarding almost 500 poets and writers with various prizes. As if that wasn’t enough, the names and titles of honorable mentions will be listed on the Writer’s Digest website. Quite the exposure for new writers!

Categories: Various

Word count: 40 lines for poetry; 4,000 words for a short story, and 2,000 for an essay 

Prizes: $5,000, nine prizes of $1,000, $500, $250, $100, and $50 (per category)

Entry fee: $20 for poetry; $30 for manuscript

Closing date: 06 May 2024

5. James Laughlin Award [Free Writing Contest!]

This poetry competition is for a second book of poetry, to be published in the coming year. Publishers that have previously published at least four books of poetry are welcome to enter. Translated books are not eligible.

Location: US

Word count: 48–100 pages

Prize: $5,000 

Entry: Free!

Closing date: 15 May 2024

6. Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

This contest awards a book of poetry published in a standard edition in the previous year (2023). Self-published and translated books are not eligible. Publishers may submit more than one title.

Location: US

Word count: At least 48 pages

Prize: $25,000 

Entry fee: $75

Closing date: 15 May 2024

7. The Bridport Prize 2024 

This esteemed writing competition offers anthology publication, agent consultation, and editorial advice to the winning poets and writers. It also offers other prizes such as the Young Writer Award and Dorset Award.

Categories: Poetry, short story, flash fiction, novel, memoir

Closing date: 31 May 2024

a. Poetry Contest 2024

Word count: 42 lines

Prizes: £5,000, £1,000, £500

Entry fee: £12

b. Short Story Contest 2024

Word count: 5,000

Prizes: £5,000, £1,000, £500

Entry fee: £14

c. Flash Fiction Contest 2024

Word count: 250

Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250

Entry fee: £11

d. Novel Contest 2024

Word count: 5,000–8,000

Prizes: £1,500, £750, 3 prizes of £150

Entry fee: £24

e. Memoir Contest 2024

Word count: 5,000–8,000

Prizes: £1,500, £750, 3 prizes of £150

Entry fee: £24

8. Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest 

Arizona Literary Magazine has organized this poetry, short story, and essay writing competition in three categories and several subcategories. The 24 winning poets and writers will be published in the magazine.

Location: US and Canada

Categories: Unpublished poetry, short story, essay, novel; Published books of fiction and nonfiction, others

Word count: 50 lines for poetry; 5,000 for short stories and essays; 25 pages for a novel

Prizes: $500, 3 prizes of $200, $100, $75, $50 each, 11 prizes of $25

Entry fee: $35 for unpublished and $45 for published poets and writers

Closing date: 01 June 2024

9. Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers

The winning entries for this writing contest will be published in the spring issue of Nimrod. Poets may submit one long poem or several short poems. Writers may submit one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel.

Categories: Poetry and fiction

Word count: 5 pages for poetry; 5,000 words for fiction

Prize: $500 per category 

Entry fee: $12

Closing date: 15 July 2024

10. Personal Essay Awards

Writer’s Digest welcomes all essayists to submit their best work. The top ten entries will be published in the magazine’s May/June 2024 issue. The grand prize winner also receives a paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference!

Word count: 2,000

Prizes: $2,500, $1,000, $500, 7 prizes of $100 

Entry fee: $25 (early bird deadline)/ $30 

Closing date: 03 September 2024 (early bird deadline)/01 October 2024

 

We’ll keep updating this list every month, adding more paid and free writing contests in 2024. If you’d like us to look for some specific types of contests, feel free to let us know in the comments! As providers of expert self-publishing services, it’s our duty to help you out and we take it very seriously!

Want to stick around and read more about writing? Here are some articles to begin with:

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