31 Free Writing Contests: Legitimate Competitions With Cash Prizes

by KELLY GURNETT , APRIL 4, 2018

Fiction and nonfiction writing contests

1. L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest Whatever your feelings about L. Ron Hubbard’s work and philosophy, the
prizes for this regular contest are nothing to sneeze at. Every three months, winners earn $1,000, $750 and $500, or an additional
annual grand prize worth $5,000.Submissions must be short stories or novelettes (up to 17,000 words) in the genre of science
fiction or fantasy, and new and amateur writers are welcome to apply.Deadlines: Quarterly on January 1, April 1, July 1 and
October 1.2. Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize Awarded to “the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a
writer not yet established in the genre,” this prize provides a $12,000 advance and publication by Graywolf Press.If you live in the
U.S. and have published at least one book (in any genre), you’re eligible to submit a current manuscript in progress for
consideration. The judges look for winners who push the boundaries of traditional literary nonfiction.Deadline: Contest is every
other year, with the last one running in 2016. The 2018 deadline was January 31st.3. Drue Heinz Literature PrizeYou can win
$15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press with this prize, awarded for a collection of short fiction.You may
submit an unpublished manuscript of short stories, two or more novellas or a combination of novellas and short stories. Your total
word count should be between 150 and 300 typed pages.Deadline: Annual submissions must be postmarked between May 1
through June 30.4. Tony Hillerman PrizePresented by St. Martin’s Press and WORDHARVEST, this prize awards the best first
mystery novel set in the Southwest with $10,000 and publication by St. Martin’s Press.It’s open to professional or non-
professional writers who have not yet had a mystery published, and there are specific guidelines for the structure of your story:
“Murder or another serious crime or crimes must be at the heart of the story, with emphasis on the solution rather than the details
of the crime.”Deadline: TBD5. St. Francis College Literary PrizeThis biannual prize honors mid-career writers who have
recently published their third, fourth or fifth work of fiction. The winner receives $50,000 but must be able to appear at St. Francis
College in Brooklyn, NY to deliver a talk on their work and teach a mini-workshop in fiction to St. Francis
students.Deadline: Biannually; the deadline for work published between June 2017 and May 2019 has not yet been
announced.6. Young Lions Fiction AwardThis $10,000 award recognizes “young authors,” which the rules define as any author
aged 35 or younger. Submit any novel or short story published or scheduled to be published in the calendar year. Works must be
written for adults; children’s or YA pieces are ineligible.Deadline: Annually in the fall (most recently in August or September).
Deadline for submissions for 2018 awards was December 31, 2017. Deadline for 2019 awards TBA.7. InkittThis boutique
publishing firm offers a $300 cash prize to its contest winner. Submit a novel of 20,000 words or more in any fiction genre (no
fanfic, short stories or poetry) and if it’s selected, Inkitt will award you $300 in cash, special promotion on its contest winners list,
as well as eligibility for future publishing deals!Inkitt runs contests regularly, so be sure to check back often!Deadline: See
individual contest pages.8. Madeleine P. Plonsker Emerging Writer’s Residency PrizeResidencies aren’t just for published
authors. Lake Forest College and &NOW Books offers a three-week residency to emerging, unpublished poets and fiction writers
under the age of 40. The winner will receive housing and campus meals, $10,000 and publication of their manuscript. They are
expected to participate in the Lake Forest Literary Festival and give presentations.Deadline: Annually; 2018 has passed and 2019
deadline is not yet announced.9. New Voices AwardPresented by Lee & Low Books, an award-winning children’s book
publisher, this award is given for a previously unpublished children’s picture book manuscript (of no more than 1,500 words)
written by a writer of color.The winner receives $1,000 cash and a standard publication contract. You may submit up to two
manuscripts.Deadline: Submissions must be postmarked between May 1 and September 30 each year.10. Ernest J. Gaines
Award for Literary ExcellenceThis contest aims to provide visibility for emerging African American fiction writers and to
enable them to focus on their writing by awarding a $10,000 cash prize. Eligible authors should submit a work of fiction, such as a
novel or short story collection, published in the calendar year.Deadline: Annually; 2018 deadline has not yet been
announced.11. PEN/Faulkner Award for FictionHonoring the best work of fiction published by an American author in a single
calendar year, this award has been given to the likes of John Updike, Philip Roth and Ann Patchett.The winner receives $15,000
and an invitation to read at the award ceremony in Washington, DC. Four finalists also each receive a $5,000
award.Deadline: Annually on October 31 for books published that calendar year.12. Brooklyn Non-Fiction PrizePresented by
the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival, this annual prize awards $500 cash for “the best Brooklyn-focused non-fiction essay which is
set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters.” (So it’s Brooklyn-centric, if you haven’t picked up on
that yet.)Submissions should be four to 10 pages (up to 2,500 words), and five authors will be chosen to read and discuss their
submissions at the annual December event.Deadline: Annually in mid-November.13. Anisfield-Wolf Book AwardsFiction and
nonfiction writers who have recently published a book that “contributes to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the
rich diversity of human cultures” are eligible for this award, which offers $10,000 cash as well media and publicity
opportunities.Submissions must be published in the prior year (so books published in 2016 are eligible for the 2017
award).Deadline: Annual submission window is September 1 through December 31.14. Marfield Prize (a.k.a. National Award
for Arts Writing)Presented by the Arts Club of Washington, this award seeks to honor nonfiction books that deal with “any
artistic discipline (visual, literary, performing, or media arts, as well as cross-disciplinary works).” This may include criticism, art
history, memoirs and biographies, and essays.Deadline: Annually in the last quarter of the year; the 2018 deadline has not yet
been announced.15. W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military FictionIf you’re a war buff, this competition is for
you. It awards $5,000 to the best piece of fiction set during a period when the U.S. was at war (war may either be the main plot of
the piece or simply provide the setting). Submissions may be adult or YA novels.Deadline: Annually on December 1.
16. Friends of American Writers Chicago Awards
FAW presents two annual awards: an Adult Literature Award for literary fiction or nonfiction, and aJuvenile Literature Award for
a children’s/YA book.Authors must reside in the state of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin — or they must set their book in one of those locations.
Prize amounts vary from year to year but are typically between $500 and $2,000.Deadline: Annually at the end of the year; 2017
deadline has not yet been announced.17. Hektoen Grand Prix Essay ContestHektoen International, an online journal dedicated
to medical humanities, offers two prizes annually for essays of no more than 1,600 words in two categories.The Grand Prize of
$1,200 is given for an essay suited for their Famous Hospitals section, while a Silver Prize of $1,000 is given to the best essay
suited for the sections of Art Flashes, Literary Vignettes, Moments in History or Physicians of Note.Deadline: Annually; 2018 has
passed and 2019 deadline is not yet announced.18. Nelson Algren Short Story AwardPresented by the Chicago Tribune, this
award presents $3,500 to one grand prize winner, $1,000 to four finalists and $500 to five runners-up for a short fiction story of
less than 8,000 words.You may submit up to two short stories, but note that your name must not appear anywhere on your
submission as the process is anonymous.Deadline: Annually; 2018 has passed and 2019 deadline is not yet
announced.19. Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel CompetitionWriters 18 and older who have
never had a novel published (in any genre) are eligible for this prize, awarded for an original book-length manuscript where
“murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story.” The winner receives a publication contract with Minotaur
Books and an advance of $10,000 against future royalties.Deadline: Annually in the last quarter of the year. The deadline for 2018
awards has passed; the deadline for 2019 awards has not yet been announced.20. FutureScapes Writing ContestFutureScapes is
looking for concrete, substantive pieces that “can provide a roadmap for cities, states, and nations to follow.” If you just want to
write the next Hunger Games, this isn’t the contest for you, but if you’re inspired by politics and civic issues, you’ve found the
right place. (Case in point: the inaugural theme, “Empowerment Cities,” features a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville.) First place
wins $2,000; second place $1,000; and four runners-up will get $500 each. Oh, and did we mention publication in an anthology
that will be “distributed to mayors, governors and members of the U.S. Congress”?Deadline: Annually; deadline for 2018 is
TBD21. Stowe PrizeThis biennial prize of $10,000 honors an American author whose work has had an impact on a critical social
justice issue (as did Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin).In addition to submitting a copy of your book or written
work, you must also complete a 250-word statement that describes the tangible impact your piece has made in the world and
outlining any social justice work you perform outside of your writing.Deadline: Annually; deadline for 2018 awards has passed,
and the deadline for 2019 has not yet been announced.22. The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Non-FictionCreative
nonfiction essays of no more than 5,000 words on any subject, are eligible for consideration for this award, whose winner receives
$250 and publication in Lunch Ticket, the literary and art journal produced by the MFA community of Antioch University Los
Angeles.Works must not have been published elsewhere. Award winners are required to submit a 100-word biography, recent
photo and a short note thanking the Woods family for their generosity and support.Deadlines: Biannual reading periods are the
month of February for the Summer/Fall issue and the month of August for the Winter/Spring issue.23. Words & BrushesThis
contest seeks to foster collaborations between artists and writers. Select a piece of artwork from the gallery provided and submit a
short story inspired by it and you could win $350 — plus a spot in a future art book showcasing these collaborations. Short stories
should be between 2,000 – 5,000 words.Deadline: Annually; 2018 has passed and 2019 deadline is not yet announced.24. Write
the WorldFor young writers ages 13-18, this cool contest also serves as a mini writer’s camp. Recognizing that “a first draft is
never perfect,” submissions actually receive peer review by authors, writing teachers and other experts and writers are given the
chance to revise their pieces based on this feedback before submitting them for final prize consideration. There’s a $100 prize for
the winner and $50 for the runner-up (plus $50 for the best peer-reviewer). All three are featured on Write the World’s blog
alongside comments from a guest judge. And since each month’s prompt is from a different genre, developing writers get a chance
to test out different styles.Deadline: Monthly.25. Prose.Stuck with writer’s block and looking for a way to jumpstart your escape?
Prose offers weekly challenges meant to spark your creativity; many are just for fun, but look for the weekly numbered
challenges posted by Prose (rather than community members or sponsors) for a chance to win money.Prizes are typically between
$100 – $200 and word counts are low — some as low as under 150, some as high as 500, but all say “quality beats quantity.” So
even if all you get from the prompt is a chance to flex your brain, it’s not a bad deal.Deadline: Weekly.Poetry contestsWriting
contests with multiple categories31. Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition(Editor’s note: We were so excited to
include this competition that we overlooked its entry fees. We’ll leave it in the post for those interested in submitting their work,
but please note that this contest is not free.)One of the longest-running writing competitions — it’s now in its 83rd year — this
contest spotlights up and coming writers in a number of categories, including Memoirs/Personal Essay, Magazine Feature Article
and Genre Short story.The Grand Prize winner gets $5,000, a feature in Writer’s Digest magazine, a paid trip to a writing
conference and more. Runners-up earn prizes in first through tenth places.Deadline: Annually; May 4, 2018. Where to find more
legitimate, free writing contestsWinning WritersA number of the contests found on our list came highly recommended by this
site, which compiles some of the best free literary contests out there. You can sort contests by recommendation level (Highly
Recommended, Recommended or Neutral), view plenty of info on requirements and even see which contests are better for
beginners, intermediate writers and pros.They also offer a handful of contests themselves, including the Wergle Flomp Humor
Poetry Contest (which sounds delightful).Poets & WritersAnother fantastic source for legitimate writing contests I consulted
when compiling this list, Poets & Writers vets competitions, contests, awards and grants to make sure they’re following legitimate
practises and policies. It’s worth checking out regularly as it features both annual and one-time contests.Cathy’s Comps and
CallsWriter, poet and editor Cathy Bryant sources legitimate, free-to-enter writing contests and calls for submission. She releases
a new list of contests and calls each month, so check back monthly for new opportunities.