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12 Free Writing Contests to Enter This Fall (2024)

Annie Cosby

September 18, 2024 | 3 min read

Calling all writers...

Looking for a chance to showcase your talent and get a little recognition? Look no further than these open writing contests!

Whether you're a seasoned wordsmith or just starting out, creative writing contests are a fantastic way to challenge yourself, receive constructive feedback, and connect with a community of writers.

Here are just a few writing competitions you can submit to this fall.

General

The Working Class Writers Grant

Since 2013, the Working Class Writers Grant has been awarded to speculative fiction writers who are working class, blue-collar, financially disadvantaged, or homeless, who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction due to financial barriers. Such lack of access might include an inability to purchase a computer, books, and tuition, or to attend conventions or workshops.

Deadline:Sept. 30, 2024

Prize:$1,000

Cullman Center Fellowships at New York Public Library

The Cullman Center’s Selection Committee awards 15 Fellowships to outstanding scholars and writers — academics, independent scholars, journalists, creative writers (novelists, playwrights, poets), translators, and visual artists — who would benefit from access to the research collections at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in New York City.

Prize: Stipend of $85,000, the use of an office with a computer, and full access to the library’s resources (may be asked to take part in other programs at The New York Public Library)

Deadline:Sept. 27, 2024

The Savage Science Fiction / Fantasy Writing Contest

The Mollie Savage Memorial Writing Contest (formerly Three Cheers and a Tiger) is a 48-hour short story writing contest that runs twice a year. All entries must be composed within the contest time frame, and follow the topic and word range announced at the contest start.

Prize: Winning stories are published in the December issue of the literary journal Toasted Cheese; Amazon gift cards also awarded based on number of submissions

Time frame: Sept. 21-22, 2024

John Updike Tucson Casitas Fellowship

Prize provided by The John Updike Society to a writer of any genre — since Updike wrote in all genres. Since Updike was an artist as well, multimedia projects will also be considered.

Prize:$1,000 and a 2-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas within the Skyline Country Club in Tucson, Arizona (casitas that John Updike owned and where he wrote during a part of each year between 2004-2009)

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2024

Story of the Year Contest

Storyshares is searching for compelling, diverse stories that are "easy to read and hard to put down."

Deadline: Jan. 13, 2025

Prize: $2,000-$4,000, depending on the category; plus, publication in the Storyshares library, which is currently serving tens of thousands of students in all 50 states and over 180 countries

Short Fiction

Substack's Short Story

Substack is on a mission to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful."

Prize: $100 + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check

Deadline:End of each month

EveryWriter's Halloween Competition

This flash-fiction contest challenges writers to create a bone-chilling Halloween story in just 50 words!

Prize: $100

Deadline: Sept. 29, 2024

Iowa Short Fiction and John Simmons Short Fiction Awards

Annual prizes awarded to two collections of short stories by writers who have yet to publish a book-length volume of prose fiction. The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages.

Prize: Publication by the University of Iowa Press and royalties

Deadline: Sept. 30, 2024

The Writers College Short Story Competition

Open to any writer (from any country) who is unpublished, or has been published fewer than four times. Submit a short story on the theme "It Didn’t Have to Be This Way."

Prize: NZ $1,000 and publication; second prize NZ $500 and publication.

Deadline: Sept. 30, 2024

Poetry

Palette Poetry Rising Poet Prize

Open to poets without a full-length collection published at the time of submission

Prize: $3,000 and publication in online literary journal Palette Poetry

Deadline: Sept. 22, 2024

Changes Book Prize

Established in 2022, the prize is awarded to a first or second collection of poems. This year’s winning manuscript will be selected by poet Terrance Hayes.

Prize: $10,000 and publication, including a publishing contract, national distribution, extensive advertising and publicity, 50 copies of their book, and a launch event in NYC

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2024

Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize

This prize is given to honor exceptional poems that help readers recognize the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment.

Prize: First place receives $1,000; second place, $750; and third place, $500; plus publication in the popular Poem-a-Day series, which is distributed to 500,000+ readers.

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2024

Note: Before submitting to any writing contest, please carefully review the contest's rules and eligibility. These change regularly, so make sure to confirm that a contest has not instituted submission fees since this article was written.

Annie Cosby

Writer

Annie Cosby is the Marketing Manager at Freewrite, a former fiction editor, and the author of seven books — and counting. Her work deals with Celtic mythology and has twice won the YA Indie Author Project in Missouri.

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We’ve created Sprinter for distraction-free writing in any browser and WTF where thousands of people every week receive a writing prompt and participate in Writing Time Friday.

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Freewrite users have created over 600,000 documents
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Beginning October 1, 2024, all new purchases now have a 12-month warranty standard from the shipment date.

All device purchases made in 2024 will now have 12-month warranty coverage from the shipment date.

For example, if your device shipped on March 1, 2024, your warranty would have expired on May 30, 2024, but will now expire on March 1, 2025.

If you purchased an Extended Warranty in addition to your device in 2024, you will receive both the new 12-month standard warranty coverage from the date of shipment, as well as the additional coverage period from your paid extended warranty.

For example, if your device shipped on March 1, 2024, with a 2-year Extended Warranty:

Your standard warranty now expires on March 1, 2025, instead of May 30, 2024.
Your 2-year Extended Warranty coverage will begin on March 1, 2025, and continue until March 1, 2027.

Your trust in our products is paramount to us, and this warranty extension reflects our dedication to your satisfaction and our confidence in the quality and reliability of our devices.

Thank you for choosing Freewrite; we look forward to serving you for many years to come. Write on!

- The Freewrite Team

Important Notes:

For devices purchased in 2023 or earlier, the original 90-day warranty applies, in addition to any paid Extended Warranty coverage.
If you purchased your device in 2023 or earlier, without an Extended Warranty, unfortunately, your warranty has now expired.
We are unable to offer refunds for prior out-of-warranty repairs.

Useful Links:

Official Freewrite Warranty Policy

Warranty Support Doc

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12 Free Writing Contests to Enter This Fall (2024)

General

Short Fiction

Poetry

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