Best Writing Contests in 2026

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Enter our 91st Annual Writing Competition for the chance to have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. [$20 for a poetry entry, $30 for a manuscript entry]

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 Each entry should be original and previously unpublished.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

The Heroica Poetry Prize is a competition aimed at women and non-binary authors and poets, offering monetary rewards and publication in an anthology.

Genres: Novel

Novel Sprint gives you a month of structure, momentum, and community to help you make serious progress on your book. Join thousands of writers for live workshops, writing sprints, and a shared goal: 50,000 words in November. At the end of the month, those who have written at least 50,000 words in Studio can submit their first chapters to our Reedsy Novel Sprint Contest.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Travel

The contest aims to publish a magazine of short stories across various genres. Stories must fit specific word counts and themes, and will be evaluated by staff judges.

Genres: Poetry

The Autumn House Poetry Contest accepts manuscripts of 50-80 pages. The winner receives publication of their manuscript, a $2,500 prize, and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant.

Genres: Fiction and Crime

The Clue Awards recognize outstanding works in Suspense and Thriller genres, emphasizing detective work, police procedural, and crime-solving narratives. The contest aims to discover and promote new talent while rewarding excellence in these literary categories.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Plough’s inaugural annual short fiction contest is open to writers anywhere in the world. Submissions should be short fiction that honors the mysterious nature of reality and finds transcendence and redemption in unexpected places; the contest is not limited to magical realism or a traditional "tale" voice.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Novel, and Novella

The contest is open to authors who published a romance book in 2024. It focuses on various criteria for judging, including plot creativity, grammar, romantic conflict, and character believability.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The BPA Short Story Award is for unrepresented writers worldwide. Judges include literary agent Corissa Hollenbeck and writer Sussie Anie. Genres are any genre except children’s fiction and non-fiction (YA permitted with adult crossover).

Genres: Christian, Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Travel

The New Deal Writing Competition invites writers to create a short story inspired by a specific painting. The current painting is 'Playtime' by Fred Ross. This is the ninth annual contest, intended to celebrate creativity and connect art and writing.

Genres: Poetry

The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition is an annual prize open to original, unpublished poems in English of up to 40 lines. It celebrates poetry and offers substantial prizes while encouraging international participation.

Genres: Short Story

An annual short story competition dedicated to Seán Ó Faoláin, one of Ireland’s notable story writers. The competition is open to original, unpublished, and unbroadcast short stories in English.

Genres: Flash Fiction

The Clevedon LitFest Flash Fiction Award invites entries of original short stories of no more than 500 words. The competition emphasizes evocative writing and a compelling story arc within strict word limits.

Genres: Fiction and Non-fiction

Established in 2015, this prize honors outstanding debut literary works by first-generation immigrants. The prize alternates yearly between fiction and nonfiction, highlighting themes of identity and migration.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Short Story

The WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest aims to inspire creativity and recognition for writers. Open to all genres of flash fiction, it has been running since 2006 and has awarded over $100,000 in cash prizes to participants. The contest allows entries globally, and submissions must be in English.

Genres: Poetry

The Poetry Wales Award is a single-poem competition allowing poets worldwide to submit new, unpublished works. The competition opens on 17th December 2024 and closes on 17th February 2025. The judge for this year is Jeremy Dixon, a prize-winning poet.

Genres: Fiction and Novel

The AWP Award Series is an annual competition for the publication of excellent new book-length works. The series is open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality or residence. The competition includes various genres, and the James Alan McPherson Prize specifically focuses on novels.

Genres: Short Story and Fiction

The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction is an internationally recognized writing contest that supports emerging writers. It offers monetary awards and publication opportunities, celebrating a diverse range of voices.

Genres: Children's and Poetry

The Rattle Poetry Prize awards $15,000 for a single poem published in the winter issue of Rattle. Ten finalists receive $500 each and a chance for the $5,000 Readers’ Choice Award. The contest emphasizes fair judging through anonymized reviews by editors.

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.

Genres: Poetry

The TCK Publishing Poetry Awards Contest is an international poetry contest established in 2021. The contest invites writers from all backgrounds to submit poems. The winner receives a $1,000 honorarium and publication on the TCK Publishing website.

Genres: Poetry

The Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize invites submissions of poetry manuscripts. The prize includes cash awards and publication for the winner. Contest judge for 2025 is Elaine Equi.

Genres: Fiction

The SHELLEY Book Awards honor exceptional works in supernatural and paranormal fiction, evaluating based on compelling storytelling, professionalism, and uniqueness. The competition includes multiple categories and offers significant promotional opportunities.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The F(r)iction Short Story Contest invites submissions of short stories, poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction. It encourages experimental and boundary-pushing literature.

Genres: Fiction

The contest invites young writers across Canada to explore the theme 'Community of Stories,' encouraging submissions that reflect connections through family, friendship, and culture.

Genres: Essay, Fiction, and Non-fiction

This bi-annual contest recognizes emerging writers with submissions of previously unpublished fiction or nonfiction up to 6,000 words. Judged by Colin Barrett, it awards $3,000 for first place, $300 for second, and $200 for third, along with agency reviews for finalists.

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, 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 James Laughlin Award recognizes and supports a second book of poetry forthcoming in the next calendar year. It is endowed by a gift from the Drue Heinz Trust and is named after the poet and publisher James Laughlin.

Genres: Non-fiction

The J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, in the amount of $10,000, is given annually to a book­-length work of narrative nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern that exemplifies the literary grace, commitment to serious research and original reporting that characterized the distinguished work of the award’s namesake.

Genres: Humor and Poetry

Now in its 25th year, this contest seeks today's best humor poems. It accepts both published and unpublished work with no entry fee. A total of $3,750 is available in prizes, and entries are judged anonymously.

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.

Genres: Essay

Invites Australian writers to tell nature stories that deepen appreciation for the natural world and inspire care for its future. Theme is "Writing of place". Entries are digital essays of 3,000–5,000 words set in an Australian landscape, environment or seascape.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction invites writers to break traditional writing rules while crafting compelling stories. Participants have 60 hours to produce a story of up to 500 words in response to prompts. The contest is held quarterly, with cash prizes totaling AU$4,000 each round.