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DIRECTORY
Showing 67 contests that match your search.
Hayden's Ferry Review
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Poetry
The Hayden's Ferry Review Fiction & Poetry Contest accepts submissions of poetry and fiction. Winners receive cash prizes and publication. The judges for 2025 are Gwen Kirby for fiction and Hieu Minh Nguyen for poetry.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Winner also receives publication in Hayden's Ferry Review. Runner-up receives $250 and publication.
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: February 28, 2025 (Expired)
SmokeLong Quarterly
Genres: Flash Fiction
An annual competition celebrating excellence in flash fiction. Entries must be unpublished, and winners receive cash prizes and nominations for various prestigious awards.
Top Prize:
$2,500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $1000 | 3rd: $500 | Grand Prize winner receives automatic nominations for Best Small Fictions and Pushcart Prize.
💰 Entry fee: $16
📅 Deadline: May 10, 2025 (Expired)
Cranked Anvil Press
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The Cranked Anvil Flash Fiction Competition invites writers to submit stories with a maximum length of 500 words. The competition runs quarterly, with deadlines in February, May, August, and November. Up to three entries can be submitted per participant per quarter.
Top Prize:
£100
Additional prizes:
2nd: £50 + publication online
💰 Entry fee: $6
📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024 (Expired)
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Writers Alliance of Gainesville
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
The Bacopa Literary Review is an annual international print journal seeking engaging and original submissions across multiple genres. The contest includes various categories with specific guidelines to encourage diverse forms of writing.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
$100 Honorable Mention in each of six categories
💰 Entry fee: $3
📅 Deadline: June 01, 2025 (Expired)
Minds Shine Bright
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
The Places Writing Competition invites stories and poems about places that inspire or challenge writers. It includes various categories like poetry, short stories, and flash fiction, and aims to highlight the significance of places in literature.
Top Prize:
The overall winner receives $1500 AUD and publication in the anthology.
Additional prizes:
Up to $200 for commended entries, $50 for young writers.
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2025 (Expired)
Ethos Literacy
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story
The contest invites participants to write a story of exactly 100 words on topics like envy, eyeglasses, nightmares, or turtles. It is open to all ages, including international writers. Winning stories will be published in an e-zine.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
6 cash prizes of $100 each + publication in digital magazine, inclusion in webcast
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)
Globe Soup
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult
Participants write a short story of up to 2,000 words based on a secret theme and assigned genre for a chance to win £500. The competition is open to anyone aged 18 and older.
Top Prize:
£500
Additional prizes:
Publication on website. 12 genre finalists selected.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025 (Expired)
Julie Midroni
Genres: Flash Fiction and Short Story
An annual international writing competition aimed at fundraising for Tourette Canada. Participants submit flash fiction or short stories (up to 1000 words) without a specific prompt. The contest is open to everyone, not just those with Tourette Syndrome.
Top Prize:
$200
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: December 31, 2025
Genres: Flash Fiction
The Weird West Quick Draw contest invites submissions of flash fiction set in the weird west genre, which combines traditional western elements with speculative fiction. The contest opens for entries on July 1, 2025, and closes on July 15, 2025.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
2nd: $50 | 3rd: $25 | Publication in Apex Magazine issue 151 for the first prize winner, and publication on the Reach Your Apex website for second and third prize winners.
📅 Deadline: July 15, 2025 (Expired)
Lazuli Literary Group
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Novella, and Script Writing
We are not concerned with genre distinctions. Send us the best you have; we want only for it to be thoughtful, intelligent, and beautiful. We want art that grows in complexity upon each visitation; we enjoy ornate, cerebral, and voluptuous phrases executed with thematic intent.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Publication in "AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought"
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: July 15, 2025 (Expired)
University of North Texas Press
Genres: Short Story, Flash Fiction, and Novella
The Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction is an esteemed competition for unpublished collections of fiction. The contest is open for submissions of flash fiction, short stories, or novellas, with a total manuscript length of 100 to 200 book pages.
Top Prize:
$1,000
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2025 (Expired)
Desperate Literature
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story
The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize aims to showcase new short fiction, offering visibility for winners. Collaborating with various institutions, the prize includes cash rewards, writing retreats, and publication opportunities.
Top Prize:
€2,000 + a week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, consultation with Literary Agent Ed Wilson, manuscript assessment with The Literary Consultancy.
Additional prizes:
2nd and 3rd place: €1000. Publication in partner journals for all shortlisted writers.
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: April 13, 2025 (Expired)
Gemini Magazine
Genres: Flash Fiction and Fiction
The Seventeenth Annual Flash Fiction Contest invites entries of up to 1,000 words on any subject or style. All finalists will be published online in the Fall 2025 issue.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: $100 | Four Honorable Mentions: $25 each. | All finalists will be published online.
💰 Entry fee: $8
📅 Deadline: September 02, 2025 (Expired)
Gulf Coast Writers Association
Genres: Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA) organizes an annual writing contest to celebrate and recognize talented writers across various genres. Participants can submit original works in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry. The contest promotes writers' creativity and provides valuable feedback from experienced judges.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
Second place: $75 Third place: $50 For each category
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2025 (Expired)
Brink Literary Journal
Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Flash Fiction, and Poetry
The Brink Fall 2025 Writing Contest invites submissions in multiple genres. Winning entries will be selected and published, emphasizing creative, boundary-pushing literature. The contest encourages diverse voices and innovative storytelling.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
First place prizes include cash awards of $1,000 for short stories, $300 for poetry, and $300 for flash fiction. Finalists will be considered for publication and may receive free edits.
💰 Entry fee: $3
📅 Deadline: November 07, 2025 (Expired)
Third Wednesday
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The contest honors George Dila, a friend of the magazine and its original fiction editor. It invites submissions of previously unpublished flash fiction under 1,000 words.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Publication in Third Wednesday magazine
💰 Entry fee: $6
📅 Deadline: August 15, 2024 (Expired)
Fiction Factory
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Travel
The competition invites writers to submit short stories of up to 1000 words, excluding children's and young adult fiction. The entry fee varies based on the number of submissions. Winners will be announced in February 2026.
Top Prize:
£500
Additional prizes:
Publication on the website and free assessment for 2nd and 3rd placed entries.
💰 Entry fee: $7
📅 Deadline: November 30, 2025 (Expired)
Writing Battle
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
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Top Prize:
$1,500
Additional prizes:
Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 Feedback by industry professionals
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: August 02, 2024 (Expired)
Lascuax Review
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction invites submissions of stories that may be previously published or unpublished. True stories are accepted if written in a narrative style. The contest emphasizes the importance of storytelling.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Winner also receives a bronze medallion and publication in The Lascaux Review
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2026
Fish Publishing
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The Fish Flash Fiction Prize invites submissions of compelling stories in 300 words or less, judged by Tania Hershman. The contest has been held annually since 2004.
Top Prize:
€1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: €300 + Online Writing Course | 3rd: €300
💰 Entry fee: $14
📅 Deadline: February 28, 2025 (Expired)
Green Stories
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
Green Stories is running a flash fiction competition for stories under 500 words on the theme of ‘epiphanies’. The writing competition invites writers to submit a story about transformation, when a moment of epiphany causes one or more characters to change for the greener. The transformative realisation could relate to any attitude or behaviour with environmental implications (e.g. food, travel, consumption, gardening, cleaning, etc.), or the story could focus on the benefits of any greener alternative (e.g. environment, health, status, spirit, soul). We call it fiction, but you can write about any personal epiphanies too, using storytelling techniques to give it drama and emotion.
Top Prize:
£300
Additional prizes:
£100 for seven runners up
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: August 27, 2025 (Expired)
The Booby Prize
Genres: Flash Fiction and Fiction
The Booby Prize is a quarterly flash fiction contest supporting the conservation of the Blue-Footed Boobys.
Top Prize:
£500
Additional prizes:
If you include a Blue-Footed Booby in your story, it will automatically be inducted into the Booby Hall of Fame and have a chance to win a booby soft toy.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: October 19, 2025 (Expired)
Write By The Sea Festival Committee
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry
The competition features four categories: Fiction Short Story, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Memoir/Personal Essay, with original works encouraged. Winners will be invited to read at the festival and have their work published.
Top Prize:
€500
Additional prizes:
2nd place: €300 3rd place: €200 Free weekend pass to the festival, publication in The Waxed Lemon Literary Journal.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: June 21, 2024 (Expired)
Hispanic Culture Review
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction
The contest theme is 'Hecho a mano', focusing on the creativity of handmade works. Categories include photography, poetry, and narrative/essay/academic investigation. Selected works will be published, and winners will receive monetary prizes and certificates of recognition.
Top Prize:
Monetary prize + certificate of recognition for winners in each category
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: January 21, 2025 (Expired)
Gotham Writers
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The #GWstorieseverywhere contest invites participants to submit very short stories based on monthly themes. The stories can be fictional or true and must be original and unpublished. The winning entries are featured on Gotham's website.
Additional prizes:
Winner receives a free Gotham class of their choosing, excluding premium classes
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: December 30, 2025
Ireland Writing Retreat
Genres: Flash Fiction and Non-fiction
The WAWA challenges writers to explore the theme of 'Endings' through short stories of up to 500 words. Entries must not include the word 'endings' in the title or story itself. Winners will be announced in March 2025.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Winner can choose either 500 euro or a voucher worth 1,000 euro for any writing retreat in 2025. Top ten stories in each category will be published on the Ireland Writing Retreat website, including a bio and photo of the author.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: January 12, 2025 (Expired)
WOW! Women On Writing
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The contest encourages creativity across all styles and genres of flash fiction, with a word limit of 250 to 750 words. It runs quarterly, with the fall contest currently open for submissions.
Top Prize:
$400
Additional prizes:
2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards | 10 honorable mentions: $20 Amazon Gift Card. All winners, runner-ups, and honorable mentions are published on WOW.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: November 30, 2025 (Expired)
Bridport Arts Centre
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
The Bridport Flash Fiction Prize invites writers to submit stories of up to 250 words. It aims to celebrate the art of brevity in storytelling. The winning entries receive the opportunity for publication and recognition.
Top Prize:
£1000
Additional prizes:
£500 for 2nd, £250 for 3rd
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2025 (Expired)
HAVOK Publishing
Genres: Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller
Season Themes is a flash fiction contest that invites authors to create stories inspired by monthly themes and prompts. Each theme features a specific character prompt that authors must incorporate into their stories, allowing for creative interpretations across various genres.
Top Prize:
$100
Additional prizes:
Publication in an anthology. Potential for larger gift card wins.
📅 Deadline: January 17, 2025 (Expired)
Gemini Magazine
Genres: Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fiction
The Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest invites entries of any subject and length. Unpublished stories are accepted, and multiple entries are allowed. All entries are treated anonymously during the judging process.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: $100 | 3x honorable mentions: $25. Publication for each winner.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2025 (Expired)
Writing Battle
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller
The Winter Flash Fiction Battle is an engaging contest where writers compete by creating stories based on given prompts. Participants write a story of up to 1000 words within three days. The contest emphasizes community feedback and professional judging.
Top Prize:
Genre Winner (x4): $$3,400
Additional prizes:
Genre Runner-up (x4): $800 | Genre Semi-Finalist (x8): $400
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2025 (Expired)
Onyx Publications
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller
The contest awarded prizes for both prose and poetry categories, with multiple winners for each.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Second place: $150 Third place: $75 Winner also gets publication and author interview on Story Discovery podcast.
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: May 05, 2024 (Expired)
Not Quite Write
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fantasy
The Not Quite Write Prize for FLESH Fiction invites submissions of erotic stories up to 1,500 words based on the theme 'Making the unsexy irresistible'. The competition is open to adults worldwide, free to enter, and aims to explore creative interpretations of erotic fiction. Judging is blind, and winners will be announced publicly.
Top Prize:
$500 AUS
Additional prizes:
Total prize pool of AU$1,000 plus a range of "spicy" prizes and a chance at print publication.
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: August 24, 2025 (Expired)
Folly Journal
Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Essay, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry
The Folly Short Story Prize 2025 invites submissions for stories that challenge conventional norms. It aims to recognize innovative writing that resonates with contemporary themes.
Top Prize:
$1000 NZD
Additional prizes:
Two tickets to the Folly After Party.
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: June 01, 2025 (Expired)
Tim Saunders Publications
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
Established in 2023, this contest is a platform for writers and poets to get their work published. Categories include various forms of poetry and fiction, excluding erotic work. Winners receive feedback and cash prizes, while all approved submissions will be included in the anthology.
Top Prize:
£200
Additional prizes:
Feedback from the publisher + a complimentary copy of the anthology
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025 (Expired)
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