Best Writing Contests in 2026

Genres: Poetry

The competition, run by The Poetry Society since 1978, is one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for a single unpublished poem. Judged by Stephen Sexton, Romalyn Ante, John McAuliffe. Open to all poets worldwide aged 18+.

Genres: Script Writing and Short Story

The Scriptation Showcase is a screenwriting contest that offers exposure to Hollywood industry professionals. Winners' scripts are circulated to directors, showrunners, and producers. The contest includes analysis and feedback on submissions through ScreenplayIQ.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

This contest aims to inspire creative nonfiction writing and is open globally. It accepts various styles, from personal to hybrid essays. The word count ranges from 200 to 1000 words, with an open topic for submissions.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The GWG Literary Prize 2025 invites writers to explore hope and resilience through candid writing. Categories include fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry, all reflecting the theme of hope.

Genres: Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Flying South contest invites submissions in three categories: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry. Each entry should be original and previously unpublished. Winners are awarded cash prizes, and all finalists are published in the annual issue.

Genres: Poetry

This competition welcomes poets writing in English, Irish, and Ulster-Scots. It encourages participation from around the globe, emphasizing the importance of diverse voices.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The contest encourages participants to submit one fictional story (max 350 words) for a chance to win a prize. The contest requires a minimum of 10 shortlisted submissions to award a prize, which is a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Story, Essay, Memoir, and Novel

The Ann Petry Award seeks to publish prose literature by Black authors. It is awarded for a work of previously unpublished prose, either a novel or a collection of short stories or novellas, with a minimum of 150 pages, selected through an annual submission process.

Genres: Poetry

The Letter Review Prize for Poetry seeks to recognize outstanding new poetry, offering a prestigious platform for poets of all backgrounds. It emphasizes blind judging to ensure fairness and aims to support the careers of emerging and established writers.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Romance

The Maggie Award for Excellence aims to encourage and reward the mastery of romance writing by prepublished authors. Each entry receives two critiques from published authors, and finalists are reviewed by industry agents and editors.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize aims to celebrate new short fiction under 2000 words and provide visibility to winners through various publishing opportunities. This year, the prize includes cash rewards and writing retreats, alongside publication chances in several literary journals.

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

The Goldilocks Zone contest invites submissions for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and graphic novels, seeking works that combine craft with audience appeal. The prize includes cash and publication for winners and runners-up.

Genres: Poetry

Founded in 2010, the Montreal International Poetry Prize is a global competition awarding $20,000 CAD to a poet for a single poem of 40 or fewer lines. The prize emphasizes original poetry, international readership, and exploration of diverse Englishes. The contest is juried by esteemed poets and critics, and the shortlisted works are published in an anthology.

Genres: Non-fiction

Two J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards, in the amount of $25,000, are given annually to aid in the completion of significant works of nonfiction on topics of American political or social concern. Recognizing that a nonfiction book based on extensive research often overtaxes the resources available to its author, the project envisions the Awards as a way of closing the gap between the time and money an author has and the time and money that finishing a book requires.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The 20th Elmbridge Literary Competition invites submissions of short stories and poems on the theme of 'The River' to commemorate RC Sherriff. Open internationally, the competition includes age categories with specific word counts.

Genres: Poetry

The prize is for a first book of poetry by a U.S. poet age 70 or older who has not published a full-length collection. It aims to celebrate the creative imagination of older writers.

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.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

This competition invites submissions of the first chapter of a novel along with a synopsis. The focus is on originality and engaging storytelling. The winner will receive feedback from a literary agent and a substantial cash prize.

Genres: Travel

The Travel Writing Award invites writers to explore and share their experiences in Ottawa and its surroundings. It emphasizes capturing the essence of travel through a narrative lens.

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.

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.

Genres: Poetry

One Page Poetry is dedicated to the art of expressing a poetic theme on a single page, whether your poem is four lines or forty, whether yours is a love poem, inspirational poem, philosophical poem, or just one that is fun or whimsical. We welcome any and all poetic forms, as long as they fit on a single page.

Genres: Poetry

The Hastings Book Festival Poetry Competition is an annual event inviting submissions from poets worldwide. The contest aims to celebrate new poetry and provides an opportunity for both established and emerging writers.

Genres: Flash Fiction

The competition invites writers to submit original 100-word stories that include one of the specified words: PLACE, PLACED, or PLACES. The competition aims to celebrate concise storytelling.

Genres: Poetry

The Fish Poetry Prize is an open competition judged by Billy Collins, offering significant monetary prizes and publication opportunities in the Fish Anthology 2025. It has been established since 2006, focusing on poems of any theme, restricted to 60 lines.

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.

Genres: Short Story

The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest aims to inspire and encourage writers and poets to showcase their talents. The contest accepts entries in the forms of poems (up to 30 lines) and short stories (up to 5 pages) on any subject or theme.

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

The Hudson Prize is awarded annually for an unpublished collection of poems or prose. It is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner receives book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book.

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The Irene Adler Prize is a scholarship for women writers, offering $1,000 to support their education in journalism, creative writing, or literature. The prize aims to celebrate and elevate women's voices in writing.

Genres: Christian

The Selah Awards celebrate published works from January 1 to December 31, 2024. Participants must submit a physical entry form alongside their works. The contest is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction accepts both previously published and unpublished stories, allowing simultaneous submissions. The winner receives $1,000, a bronze medallion, and publication in The Lascaux Review.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Short Story, and Humor

Dragon Tomes Publishing is compiling an anthology of ghost and cryptid stories. They seek short stories up to 6,000 words that explore themes of ghosts or cryptids, welcoming various genres.

Genres: Poetry

The competition theme is 'Play'. It is open for entries from 1st to 30th November 2025. Entrants must be aged 60 or over. Multiple poems are allowed, with a maximum of 30 lines for each poem.

Genres: Poetry

The Bridport Poetry Prize is a prestigious competition open to poets worldwide, encouraging original and unpublished works. It features significant cash prizes and opportunities for publication in an anthology.

Genres: Poetry

The Plough Prize is an international poetry competition open for poems in English, limited to 40 lines on any subject. The contest emphasizes anonymity in judging, with a focus on quality.