Whether you write prose or poetry, free writing contests can be an excellent way to share your creative work while earning recognition and, potentially, a bit of cash.
So grab a cup of hot chocolate and light a cozy fire; here are 12 free writing contests you can participate in this winter.
Short Fiction Contests
Step into Fabuly's writer's challenge and create a short 2,000-word story that focuses on this year's theme: an unexpected encounter. The winner of Fabuly's contest will win $500 and be featured in the mobile app as a professionally illustrated and produced audiobook.
Deadline: December 14, 2024
Prize: $500 and Audiobook production
Storyshares’ Story of the Year
It's the seventh annual Story of the Year Contest hosted by Storyshares, featuring up to $15,000 in cash prizes. In addition to the available monetary prize, winners and runners-up will have their works included in the Storyshares library, which currently serves tens of thousands of students worldwide.
Deadline: January 13, 2025
Prize: Up to $15,000 and publication
Story Unlikely’s Short Story Contest
The folks at Story Unlikely run a monthly digital magazine that shares a wide range of short stories with no genre restrictions, providing something for nearly every reader. The team also runs its annual short story contest, offering up to $1,500 for the first-place winner and the opportunity to be included in the publication's yearly print magazine.
Deadline: January 21, 2025
Prize: Up to $1,500 and publication
Arc Manor Books' Mike Resnick Memorial Award
The Mike Resnick Memorial Award, hosted by Arc Manor Books, is presented to a new science fiction author to reflect upon the American fiction writer of the same name who was nominated for 37 Hugo Awards in his lifetime. Short science fiction works up to 7,499 words can be submitted by authors who have yet to have any work published.
Deadline: To Be Determined (2025)
Prize: $250 and a trophy
Baen Books' Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award
The team at Baen Books' is hosting the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award, recognizing a work of science fiction under 8,000 words. The publisher is looking for stories that show manned space exploration in the near future (50-60 years out). Baen notes they want to highlight realistic, optimistic science fiction showcasing our potential future, so no dystopian tales here.
Deadline: February 1, 2025
Prize: Publication with pay and a trophy
General Prose Contests
Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition
Minotaur Books, an imprint of Macmillan Books, and the Mystery Writers of America are teaming up to offer a competition highlighting a debut writer's first crime novel. You can submit previously published manuscripts (self-published not permitted) for consideration.
Deadline: December 15, 2024
Prize: $10,000 future royalties advance
Kinsman Avenue's Stories of Inspiration
Kinsman Avenue Publishing is running its Stories of Inspiration contest, an opportunity for nonfiction writers. Writers with stories highlighting the struggle and resilience of the human spirit related to marginalized communities' cultures are welcome. Individuals of a BIPOC or underrepresented community are preferred.
Deadline: December 21, 2024
Prize: Publication with pay
L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard wrote science fiction and fantasy at the beginning and end of his life. The Writers of the Future Contest was launched in 1983 to highlight aspiring authors in the field of speculative fiction. Today, the contest continues annually, offering the grand prize winner a $5,000 cash prize and trophy.
Deadline: December 31, 2024
Prize: Up to $5,000 and a trophy
Friends of American Writers Literature Award
The Friends of American Writers Literature Award focuses on emerging authors whose books focus on the Midwest United States. If you have a book that has already been published, you can submit it for consideration as long as you are a Midwestern resident or your book's setting is within the Midwest.
Deadline: December 2024
Prize: Recognition
Poetry Contests
Poetry Society of America's Four Quartets Prize
The Poetry Society of America, founded in 1910, continues its mission of bringing poetry into everyday American life with its Four Quartets Prize. If you are a poet with a complete sequence of poems published in the United States in 2024, you are invited to enter. Finalists receive $1,000 each, with the winner receiving an additional $20,000.
Deadline: December 31, 2024
Prize: Up to $21,000
Defenestrationism.net's Lengthy Poem Contest
Based on its name, we cannot think of a better organization to host the Lengthy Poem Contest than Defenstrationsim.net. Poets are invited to enter a poem of considerable length, at least 120 lines long, for submission. The contest runners will publish the three finalists on the website, and several days of public voting will be available before a winner is announced.
Deadline: January 1, 2025
Prize: $300
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Levis Reading Prize
The Levis Reading Prize is offered yearly in memory of the Virginia Commonwealth University poet and faculty member. It recognizes the best first or second book of poetry published by a poet. Winners receive an honorarium and are invited, expenses paid, to Richmond, Va., for a public reading the following autumn.
Deadline: January 15, 2025
Prize: Honorarium and an invitation to Richmond
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.
