essay writing competitions 2022

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Best Essay Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 50 contests that match your search.

The Hudson Prize

Black Lawrence Press

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

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or prose. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers.

Additional prizes:

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $28

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Irene Adler Prize

Lucas Ackroyd

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel

I’ve traveled the world from Sweden to South Africa, from the Golden Globes to the Olympic women’s hockey finals. I’ve photographed a mother polar bear and her cubs and profiled stars like ABBA, Jennifer Garner and Katarina Witt. And I couldn’t have done it without women. I’ve been very fortunate, and it’s time for me to give back. With the Irene Adler Prize, I’m awarding a $1,000 scholarship to a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution.

2x honorable mentions: $250

📅 Deadline: May 30, 2024

Rigel 2024: $500 for Prose, Poetry, Art, or Graphic Novel

Sunspot Literary Journal

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

Literary or genre works accepted. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Closes: February 29. Entry fee: $12.50. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope

$500 + publication

Runners-up and finalists are offered publication

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

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African Diaspora Awards 2024

Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

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

Up to $1000 in cash prizes for the African Diaspora Award 2024. African-themed prose and poetry wanted. Top finalists are published in Kinsman Quarterly’s magazine and the anthology, “Black Butterfly: Voices of the African Diaspora.”

Publication in anthology, "Black Butterfly: Voices of the African Diaspora" and print and digital magazine

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize

Gotham Writers Workshop

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts. Selected Shorts is recorded for Public Radio and heard nationally on both the radio and its weekly podcast. This years entries will be judged by Carmen Maria Machado (In the Dream House, Her Body and Other Parties).

$1000 + free 10 week course with Gotham Writers

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Annual Contest Submissions

So To Speak

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, LGBTQ, Non-fiction, and Poetry

So To Speak is seeking submissions for poetry, fiction, and non-fiction with an intersectional feminist lens! It is no secret that the literary canon and literary journals are largely comprised of heteronormative, patriarchal, cisgender, able-bodied white men. So to Speak seeks work by writers, poets, and artists who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer.

💰 Entry fee: $4

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest

Jane Austen Society of North America

Genres: Children's and Essay

JASNA conducts an annual student Essay Contest to foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen's works in new generations of readers. Students world-wide are invited to compete for scholarship awards in three divisions: high school, college, and graduate school.

$1,000 scholarship

Two nights’ lodging for JASNA’s Annual General Meeting

📅 Deadline: June 02, 2022 (Expired)

Vocal Challenges

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

Enter themed storytelling contests to put your creativity to the test and be in with a chance of winning cash prizes and more. To submit, you'll need to sign up for a monthly fee of $9.99, or $4.99/month for 3 months.

$1,000 — $5,000

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: March 07, 2024 (Expired)

Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award

Trio House Press

Genres: Essay, Memoir, and Non-fiction

We seek un-agented full-length creative nonfiction manuscripts including memoir, essay collections, etc. 50,000 - 80,000 words.

📅 Deadline: May 15, 2024

Tusculum Review Nonfiction Chapbook Prize

The Tusculum Review

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

A prize of $1,000, publication of the essay in The Tusculum Review’s 20th Anniversary Issue (2024), and creation of a limited edition stand-alone chapbook with original art is awarded. Editors of The Tusculum Review and contest judge Mary Cappello will determine the winner of the 2024 prize.

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024

Solas Awards

Best Travel Writing

Extraordinary stories about travel and the human spirit have been the cornerstones of our books since 1993. With the Solas Awards we honor writers whose work inspires others to explore. We’re looking for the best stories about travel and the world. Funny, illuminating, adventurous, uplifting, scary, inspiring, poignant stories that reflect the unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. We hope these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.

📅 Deadline: September 21, 2024

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Shuswap Association of Writers

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

Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (up to 2,000 words), nonfiction (up to 2,000 words), and poetry (up to three one-page poems).

💰 Entry fee: $11

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Writing, and Short Story

The Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing will be administered to the winner of a literary contest designed to champion innovative hybrid and cross-genre work.

💰 Entry fee: $22

📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)

Red Hen Press Women's Prose Prize

Red Hen Press

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

Established in 2018, the Women’s Prose Prize is for previously unpublished, original work of prose. Novels, short story collections, memoirs, essay collections, and all other forms of prose writing are eligible for consideration. The awarded manuscript is selected through a biennial competition, held in even-numbered years, that is open to all writers who identify as women.

Publication by Red Hen Press

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2024 (Expired)

Work-In-Progress (WIP) Contest

Unleash Press

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Young Adult

We aim to assist writers in the completion of an important literary project and vision. The Unleash WIP Award offers writers support in the amount of $500 to supplement costs to aid in the completion of a book-length work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Writers will also receive editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.

Coaching, interview, and editorial support

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2024

National Essay Contest

U.S. Institute of Peace

Genres: Essay

This year, AFSA celebrates the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service. Over the last century, our diplomats and development professionals have been involved in groundbreaking events in history – decisions on war and peace, supporting human rights and freedom, creating joint prosperity, reacting to natural disasters and pandemics and much more. As AFSA looks back on this century-long history, we invite you to join us in also looking ahead to the future. This year students are asked to explore how diplomats can continue to evolve their craft to meet the needs of an ever-changing world that brings fresh challenges and opportunities to the global community and America’s place in it.

Runner-up: $1,250

📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)

Creative Nonfiction Prize

Indiana Review

Genres: Essay, Fiction, and Non-fiction

Send us one creative nonfiction piece, up to 5000 words, for a chance at $1000 + publication. This year's contest will be judged by Lars Horn.

Berggruen Prize Essay Competition

Berggruen Institute

The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition, in the amount of $25,000 USD for the English and Chinese language category respectively, is given annually to stimulate new thinking and innovative concepts while embracing cross-cultural perspectives across fields, disciplines, and geographies. Inspired by the pivotal role essays have played in shaping thought and inquiry, we are inviting essays that follow in the tradition of renowned thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Publication in Noema Magazine

International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition

Vine Leaves Press

Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Novel

Small presses have potential for significant impact, and at Vine Leaves Press, we take this responsibility quite seriously. It is our responsibility to give marginalized groups the opportunity to establish literary legacies that feel rich and vast. Why? To sustain hope for the world to become a more loving, tolerable, and open space. It always begins with art. That is why we have launched this writing competition.

Book publication

📅 Deadline: July 01, 2024

Climate Change Writing Competition

Write the World

This month, dear writers, ahead of COP27, help us raise the voices of young people in this urgent fight. In a piece of personal narrative, tell the world’s leaders gathering in how climate change impacts you. How has this crisis changed your environment, your community, your sense of the future? Storytelling, after all, plays a critical role in helping us grasp the emergency through which we are all living, igniting empathy in readers and listeners—itself a precursor to action.

Runner-up: $50

📅 Deadline: October 18, 2022 (Expired)

Indignor Play House Annual Short Story Competition

Indignor House Publishing

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Indignor House Publishing is proud to announce that our annual writing competition (INDIGNOR PLAYHOUSE Short Story Annual Competition) is officially open with expected publication in the fall of 2024. Up to 25 submissions will be accepted for inclusion in the annual anthology.

2nd: $250 | 3rd: $150

Goldilocks Zone

Sunspot Lit is looking for the perfect combination of craft and appeal in stories, CNF, novel or novella excerpts, artwork, graphic novels, poems, scripts/screenplays. Literary and genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024

Military Anthology: Partnerships, the Untold Story

Armed Services Arts Partnership

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Partners are an integral aspect of military life, at home and afar, during deployment and after homecoming. Partnerships drive military action and extend beyond being a battle buddy, wingman, or crew member. Some are planned while others arise entirely unexpectedly. Spouses, family, old or new friends, community, faith leaders, and medical specialists all support the military community. Despite their importance, the stories of these partnerships often go untold. This anthology aims to correct that: We will highlight the nuances, surprises, joy, sorrow, heroism, tears, healing power, and ache of partnerships. We invite you to submit the story about partnerships from your journey, so we can help tell it.

$500 Editors' Choice award

$250 for each genre category (prose, poetry, visual art)

Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

Killer Nashville

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Short Story, and Thriller

The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award is committed to discovering new writers, as well as superlative books by established authors and, upon discovery, sharing those writers and their works with new readers. There are a large number of both fiction and non-fiction categories you can enter.

💰 Entry fee: $79

A Very Short Story Contest

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, and Non-fiction

Write a great short story in ten words or fewer. Submit it to our contest. Entry is free. Winner of the bet gets a free Gotham class.

Free writing class from Gotham Writers Workshop.

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024

The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction

The Letter Review

Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, Crime, Humor, and Science Writing

2-4 Winners are published. We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Seeking Nonfiction 0-5000 words. Judges’ feedback available. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind. All entries considered for publication + submission to Pushcart.

Publication by The Letter Review

💰 Entry fee: $2

WOW! Women On Writing Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

WOW! Women On Writing

Genres: Non-fiction and Essay

Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (1000 words or less) and in any style--from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives. Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints/previously published okay; simultaneous submissions okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.

2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards

swamp pink Prizes

From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.

Hispanic Culture Review Contest 2022-2023

Hispanic Culture Review

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

As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.

$100 for photography, poetry, and essay winners

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)

Personal Essay Competition 2024

Genres: Essay and Memoir

We want to hear about an experience in your life, rife with characters and description and conflict and scene… but we also want to hear how you make sense of this experience, how it sits with you, and why it has surfaced as writing. Open a window into your life and invite your readers to enter.

Best entry: $100

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50

📅 Deadline: June 24, 2024

International Essay Competition 2023/24

Avernus Education

Welcome to our prestigious International Essay Competition. At Avernus Education, we are thrilled to provide a platform for young minds to showcase their prowess in Medicine, Engineering, Law, Economics, Psychology, History and Politics. These varied subject categories underscore the importance of interdisciplinary study, a crucial foundation for future leaders in our increasingly interconnected world. Winners receive an exclusive Avernus Education Scholarship worth over £5000 - granting them free entrance to our exclusive summer camp at Oxford University! Outstanding Runners Up receive 5 hours worth of Credits for Avernus Education courses, conferences and tutoring services.

100% Scholarship Award to our Oxford University Summer Programme (worth £5995)

Partial scholarship

📅 Deadline: February 19, 2024 (Expired)

Bacopa Literary Review Annual Writing Contest

Writers Alliance of Gainesville

Bacopa Literary Review’s 2024 contest is open from March 4 through April 4, with $200 Prize and $100 Honorable Mention in each of six categories: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Flash Fiction, Free Verse Poetry, Formal Poetry, and Visual Poetry.

📅 Deadline: April 04, 2024 (Expired)

The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Free to enter. Seeking 0-5000 word (poetry: 15 pgs) excerpts of unpublished books (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction), including most self-published and indie-published works. 2-4 Winners (publication of extract is optional). We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind.

Optional Publication of Excerpt, Letter of Recommendation

Environmental Writing 2024

The writer and activist Bill McKibben describes Environmental Writing as "the collision between people and the rest of the world." This month, peer closely at that intersection: How do humans interact with their environment? Given your inheritance of this earth, the world needs your voices now more than ever.

📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024

NOWW 26th International Writing Contest

Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW)

Open to all writers in four categories: poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and critical writing.

2nd: $100 | 3rd: $50

💰 Entry fee: $7

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

How to Craft a Killer Short Story

The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction

How to Write a Novel

Understanding Point of View

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character

Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine

On Editing:

Story Editing for Authors

How to Self-Edit Like a Pro

Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites

How to Write a Short Story in 7 Steps

How to Write a Novel in 15 Steps

Literary Devices and Terms — 35+ Definitions With Examples

10 Essential Fiction Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft

How to Write Dialogue: 8 Simple Rules and Exercises

8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character

Bonus resources

200+ Short Story Ideas

600+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You

100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors

Story Title Generator

Pen Name Generator

Character Name Generator

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

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50 Writing Contests in April 2022 — No entry fees

Erica Verrillo

Curiosity Never Killed the Writer

T his April there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $100,000 to a free writing class. None charge entry fees.

Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month’s contests go to Free Contests . Most of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline is past, you can prepare for next year.

______________________

Creative Capital Award . Restrictions : Entrants must be US citizens or permanent residents, aged 25+, with 5+ years’ professional writing experience, and not be full-time students. Genre : Performance, Technology, and Literature. Grant : Up to $50,000. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

The Orwell Society Dystopian Fiction Prize 2022 . Restrictions : Open to current students (both BA and MA) at British universities. Genre : Dystopian narratives of 3,000 words. Prize : £500. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

Natan Notable Books Award . Genre : Nonfic­­tion book on Jew­ish themes pub­lished for the first time between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. Prize : $5,000. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

Fountain Magazine Essay Contest . Genre : Essay on theme: Revival. 1,500–2,500 words. “After a long dormancy in this Covid era, our lives seem to be taking off for a fresh start. Vaccination is speeding up, people are mostly cautious in their interactions with less handshakes and kisses, and despite ups and downs in new cases and deaths, signs for “revival” are getting more visible every passing day.” Prize : 1st Place — $1,500, 2nd Place — $750, 3rd Place — $300, Two Honorable Mentions — $200 each. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers . Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians awards fellowships for writers to spend time in McCullers’ childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. The fellowships are intended to afford the writers in residence uninterrupted time to dedicate to their work, free from the distractions of daily life and other professional responsibilities. Award : Stipend of $5000 to cover costs of transportation, food and other incidentals. Fellowship recipients will be required to introduce or advance their work through reading or workshop/forum presentations. The Fellow will work with the McCullers Center Director to plan a presentation near the end of the residency. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

The Great American Think-Off . Genre : Essay on the theme: “Which should be more important: personal choice or social responsibility?” Entrants should take a strong stand agreeing or disagreeing with this topic, basing their arguments on personal experience and observations rather than philosophical abstraction. Essay should be no more than 750 words. Prize : One of four $500 cash prizes. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

The Maya Angelou Book Award was founded in 2020 to honor the legacy of Missouri-born author Maya Angelou by celebrating contemporary authors whose work has demonstrated a commitment to social justice in America and/or the world. Restrictions : Entrants must be U.S. Citizens and reside within the United States. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. Prize : $10,000. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize . Genre : Pieces of any genre up to 2500 words on the theme of “Freedom.” Prize : The winner receives a £10,000 cash prize and is presented with the award by the poet John Burnside. A £3,000 cash prize will go to the second place, and £2,000 to the third place runner up. The winner and two runners up are invited to attend the Fjällnäs symposium. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize . Genre : Poem on the theme of “Freedom.” Prize : £3,000 cash prize and an invitation to their symposium. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

If There’s Anyone Left . Restrictions : Open to those who identify as a person of color, LGBTQ+, disabled, or of a marginalized gender. Genre : Speculative micro-fiction. Length: Up to 500 words. Prize : $250 US. Second prize: $100. 3rd Prize: $50. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest . Now in its 21st year, this contest seeks today’s best humor poems, published and unpublished. Please enter one poem only, 250 lines max. Prize : $3,500 in prizes, including a top prize of $2,000, and publication on Winning Writers. Deadline : April 1, 2022.

Robert Louis Stevenson Fable Competition . Genre : Fable in up to 350 words, in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson. Prize: £500, £100. Deadline : April 2, 2022.

Cymera-Scotland’s Futures Forum-Shoreline of Infinity Prize for Speculative Short Fiction. Restrictions : Open to unpublished writers living in Scotland. Genre : Speculative short stories. “What could life in a world, any world, after a global life-changing event be like? How will we be living, young, adult, mature — what are the possibilities?” Prize : Awards are in 2 categories: 14 to 17 year old and 18+. The winning writers in each age-range category will be awarded £75. Deadline : April 3, 2022.

Gwenn A. Nusbaum / WWBA “Poets To Come” Award . Restrictions : Open to poets at the beginning of their careers, ages 25–35 years. Prize : $1500 scholarship. Deadline : April 4, 2022.

Gordon Burn Prize . Restrictions : Open to permanent US or UK residents. Genre : Fiction or nonfiction book first published in the US or UK between July 1 of the preceding year and July 1 of the deadline year. Prize : 5,000 pounds and 3-month writing retreat at Gordon Burn’s cottage in Berwickshire. Deadline : April 5, 2022.

Scotiabank Giller Prize . Restrictions : Open to books published in Canada in English. Books must be published in Canada in English between March 1, 2022, and April 30, 2022 to be eligible for the 2022 Prize. Must be nominated by publisher. Genre : Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize : $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline : April 14, 2022.

Mike Resnick Memorial Award: Best Unpublished Science Fiction Short Story by a New Author . Restrictions : Open to an author who has not had any work published (including short stories, novelettes, novellas, and novels in paper, digital or audio form) that has been paid a per-word rate of 6 cents a word or more or received a payment for any single work of fiction totaling more than $50. Genre : Science fiction short story, up to 7,499 words. Prize : $250.00 and publication. Deadline : April 15, 2022.

Descant . Each year, descant offers four awards:

• the $500 Frank O’Connor Award for fiction (for the best short story in a issue)
• the $250 Gary Wilson Award (for an outstanding story in an issue)
• the $500 Betsy Colquitt Award for poetry (for the best poem or series of poems by a single author in an issue)
• the $250 Baskerville Publishers Award (for an outstanding poem or poems by a single author in an issue

There is no application process or reading fee. All published submissions are eligible for prize consideration. Simply submit your work. Deadline : April 15, 2022.

Brilliant Flash Fiction . Genre : Flash fiction. Word limit: 500 words, excluding title. Prize : $100 first prize, $30 second prize, $20 third prize. Deadline : April 15, 2022.

Masks . Genre : Prose and poetry. Prize : One poet and one prose writer will be awarded a prize of $100 each and publication in their Summer 2022 issue. Deadline : April 15, 2022.

Wick Poetry Center Undergraduate Poetry Competition . Restrictions : The competition is open to any undergraduate currently enrolled at Kent State University. Genre : Poem, maximum 100 lines long. Prize : One-time $1,500 scholarship to Kent State University. Second and third prize: $1,000 and $500 one-time scholarships. Deadline : April 15, 2022.

Kingdoms in the Wild Poetry Prize . Restrictions : Open to those who have yet to publish a collection of poetry. Genre : Poetry Chapbook, 15–30 pages. Prize : $250 & Publication. Deadline : April 17, 2022.

The Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize . Genre : Book-length translation of Asian poetry into English. Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles. Book must have been published in previous year. Prize : $5,000. Deadline : April 18, 2022.

American Literary Translators Association Italian Prose in Translation Award . Genre : Translation of a recent work of Italian prose (fiction or literary non-fiction). Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles. Book must have been published in previous year. Prize : $5,000. Deadline : April 18, 2022.

Author of Tomorrow . Restrictions : Open to children and youth up to age 21. Genre : Adventure writing. Prize : 11 and Under | 500 words | Prize: £100 plus £150 book tokens for your school; 12–15 years | 1,500–5,000 words | Prize: £100 plus £150 book tokens for your school; 16–21 years | 1,500–5,000 words. Prize: £1,000. Deadline : April 22, 2022.

Voice.club . Genre : Flash fiction, 100 words max. Also 350 words max. (2 contests) Prize : $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline : April 23, 2022. Note: You have to join in order to enter . See themes .

The Young Romantics Prizes . Restrictions : Open to anyone aged 16–18 years old. Genre : Essay or poem on theme. (See website for themes). Essays must be no shorter than 750 words and no longer than 1000, including quotations. Poems should be: no more than 30 lines in length and must fit onto a single A4 page. Prize : £5,000. Deadline : April 24, 2022.

Science Me A Story . Genre : Scientific stories for children (ages 6–12) of up to four pages by authors over age 18. Stories can be in English or Spanish. Prize : £150, £100 or £50. Deadline : April 24, 2022.

Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant . Restrictions : Open to US citizens and residents only. Genre : Creative nonfiction. Whiting welcomes submissions for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences, philosophy, criticism, food or travel writing, and personal essays, among other categories. Writers must be completing a book of creative nonfiction that is currently under contract with a publisher. Prize : $40,000. Deadline : April 25, 2022.

Rabbi Sacks Book Prize . Genre : Published nonfiction book that contributes significantly to the arena of modern Jewish thought. Prize : $50,000. Deadline : April 29, 2022.

Sunken Garden Poetry Festival’s Fresh Voices Competition . Restrictions : New England high school students. Prize : Reading at the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival and publication. Deadline: April 29, 2022.

Toronto Book Awards . Genres : All genres accepted. Restrictions : Submission “must evoke the city itself, that is, contain some clear Toronto content (this may be reflected in the themes, settings, subjects, etc.). Authors do not necessarily have to reside in Toronto. Ebooks, textbooks and self-published works are not eligible. Prize : A total of $15,000 CD will be awarded. Each shortlisted author (usually 4–6) receives C$1,000 and the winning author is awarded the remainder. Deadline : April 29, 2022. (For books published between March 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022.)

The John Byrne Award . Restrictions : Open to residents of Scotland. Genre: A piece of creative work on a chosen theme or value (written work must be no more than 15,000 words in length). Prize : £7500. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Coastal Shelf Ceiling 200 Contest . Genre : Very short fiction or prose poetry under 200 words. Prize : 1st Place: $250, 2nd Place $100, 3rd Place $50. All submissions are considered for publication in Coastal Shelf (which has a payment of $30 currently). Deadline : April 30, 2022.

The FuPo Poetry Contest . Genre : “FUnny and POignant” poems under 60 lines. “We want witty, we want dark humor, we want to look at things in a new way or learn a fact that fits perfectly into a well-told-tale. We aren’t looking for linguistic puzzles, but we’re also not looking for Ogden Nash — apologies to Nashites.” Prize : 1st Place: $250, 2nd Place $100, 3rd Place $50. All submissions are considered for publication in Coastal Shelf (which has a payment of $30 currently). Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Friends of Falun Gong, Poetry Contest . Genre : Poem. Submit one or two poems of no more than 50 lines each. Poems must encompass at least one of the following themes: Advocate for Falun Gong practitioner’s fundamental human rights. Expose the crimes against Falun Gong perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party. Share in the beauty, peacefulness and good nature of Falun Gong. Prizes : $500, $250, $100. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

#GWstorieseverywhere . Genre : Micro fiction. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. See themes. Prize : Free Gotham class. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Baen Fantasy Adventure Award . Genre : Adventure fantasy, 8K words max. Prize : Winner will be published as the featured story on the Baen Books main website and paid at industry-standard rates for professional story submittals. The author will also receive a handsome engraved award and a prize package containing $500 of free Baen Books. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Al Blanchard Crime Award . Restrictions : New England residents only. Genre : Crime short story. Prize : $100. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Claudia Ann Seaman Awards For Young Writers . Restrictions : High school students. Genre : Stories and poems. Prize : $200. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Erbacce-prize for Poetry (UK) Genre : Poetry collection. Prize : Winner will be given a publishing contract with erbacce press who will publish a perfect-bound collection of the winner’s book. “We will pay all costs including the legal registering of the book and supplying copies to the major libraries. The book will be sold through our sales/shop pages and the poet will be paid 20% royalties.” Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Jacklyn Potter Young Poets Competition . Restrictions : Open to high school students in the Washington, DC region. Genre: Poetry. Prize : A reading with honorarium in the Miller Poetry Series, a summer program occurring in June and July. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Contest for Canadian Youth . Restrictions : Open to Canadian citizens or residents attending junior high or high school. Genre : Poetry. Prize : C$400 in each of two age categories: Junior (grades 7–9) and Senior (grades 10–12). Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers . Restrictions : The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $750 in any single year. Genre : Animal Nonfiction. Prize : First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Finalists will receive $50. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Principia Perspectives Writing Contest . Restrictions : Open to middle school and high school students. Genre : Essay on theme of Transformation. Prize : $200. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Sunlight Press . Genre : Essay. Prize : $500. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Rune Bear Quarterly . Genre : Drabble: 100 words on the theme “Through the Looking Glass.” Prize : $10. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

E-waste Scholarship . Restrictions : You must be a high school freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior or a current or entering college or graduate school student of any level. Home schooled students are also eligible. There is no age limit. You must also be a U.S. citizen or legal resident. Genre : 500- to 1,000-word essay about e-waste. Prize : $1000 scholarship. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

SA Writer’s College Short Story Award . Restrictions : Open to unpublished writers in South Africa. Genre : Short stories. Theme: You Only Live Once. Prizes : 1st — R 10 000; 2nd — R 5 000; 3rd — R 2 000. Deadline : April 30, 2022.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to “revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful.” Genre : Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize : $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline : April 30, 2022. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Like this article? For more articles about the publishing world, useful tips on how to get an agent, agents who are looking for clients, how to market and promote your work, building your online platform, how to get reviews, self-publishing, as well as publishers accepting manuscripts directly from writers (no agent required) visit Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity .

Written by Erica Verrillo

Helping writers get published and bolstering their flagging spirits at http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/

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2022 Writing Contests – When, How and Why to Enter

• on Nov 01, 2021
• in Writing Tips
• Last update: January 3rd, 2024

Note: Be sure to check out 2024 writing contests !

Who doesn’t love a good writing contest? The thrill of winning is always incomparable! Nothing pumps up a writer’s adrenaline and makes him up his game like competing with other greatest writers. Whether you have a passion for horror, science fiction, or even tragedy, proving yourself amongst your peers will help you get ahead in the writing field.

If you’re up for the challenge, we’ve gathered some of the best writing contests happening in 2022 to help you find the right one for you.

The 2021 Exeter Novel Prize

Eligibility & Restrictions

To apply, submit a 10,000 word novel in English. The novel can’t have been published by a traditional publishing house. Anyone above 18 can enter. All genres excluding children’s, but including Young Adult and New Adult, are acceptable.

Mississippi Review Contest

The contest is open to all writers in English except current or former students or employees of The University of Southern Mississippi. Fiction and non-fiction entries should be 1000-8000 words; poetry entries should be three to five poems totaling ten pages or less.

The Hunger Winter Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. You may submit up to 3 poems; please include them all in the same file. Multiple submissions are allowed with a separate entry fee for each submission.

The Tony Hillerman Prize For Best First Mystery Set In the Southwest

Anyone above 18 and is a resident of one of the US, the District of Columbia or Canada can enter. Entries must be unpublished, publication on an entrant’s website of a single one-chapter excerpt from a work is eligible. The Manuscript must be written in English and must be approximately 60,000 words or 220 pages. The theme is murder or another serious crime and should focus on the solving of the crime(s) rather than the details of such crime(s).

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Teens in grades 7–12 (ages 13 and up) can apply. Critical essay: 500-3,000 words. Dramatic Script: 500-3,000 word. Flash Fiction: 1,000 words. Humor: 500-3,000 words. Journalism: 500-3,000 words. Novel Writing: Up to 3,000 words. Personal Essay & Memoir: 500-3,000 words. Poetry: 20–200 lines. Science Fiction & Fantasy: 500-3,000 words. Short Story: 500-3,000 words. Deadlines vary between December 2021 and January 2022, depending on your region.

Mississippi Review Prize

Submit three to five poems totaling up to 10 pages or a short story or essay of 1,000 to 8,000 words,

NCH Essay Competition

The NCH London Essay Competition is open to students who are currently in their penultimate (second to last) year of secondary education (Year 12 in England) and who are interested in studying humanities or social sciences at university. Pupils can submit up to 1,500 words, choosing from a range of set essay titles that span a broad range of topics including humanities, philosophy, social issues, the law and creative writing.

Stacy Doris Memorial Poetry Award

Anyone can enter. Minimum 3 pages; maximum 10 pages. You can only submit one entry. Submission must be previously unpublished material. Students currently enrolled at San Francisco State University are ineligible.

James Knudsen Prize for Fiction

Anyone can enter. Submissions must be original, previously unpublished work of fiction, no longer than 7500 words. UNO students and alumni are ineligible. All current and former Bayou staff, previous contest winners, and current or former students of the judge are ineligible to submit.

Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry

Anyone can enter. Submissions must be original, previously unpublished poetry. You may enter up to three poems per entry. UNO students and alumni are ineligible to submit. Previous contest winners, along with current or former students of the judge are also ineligible to submit.

Korean Spirit and Culture

Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project is hosting its first National Essay Contest in the United Kingdom. The Essay Contest is open to students in two groups: Group A (Years 6 – 9) and Group B (Years 10-13). Choose from one of two topics based on the book ‘Chung Hyo Ye’.

North Carolina Writers’ Network

Submit a short story or essay of up to 3,000 words

San José State University Steinbeck Fellowships in Creative Writing

Anyone can enter. Residency in the San Francisco Bay Area is required during the academic year. Submit a writing sample up to 25, a project proposal for work to be written, a résumé, and three letters of recommendation.

Fan Story 80 Word Flash Fiction Contest

Anyone can enter. The submitted work must be between 78 – 82 words.

Gemini Magazine Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Entries Must Be Unpublished, Poems on Personal Blogs Are Eligible,

Gemini Magazine Poetry Open

Submit up to three poems of any length with an $8 entry fee

Fan Story 20 Syllable Poem Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a poem that has exactly 20 syllables. Any format.

2022 Book Prize (unleash press)

All submissions must be in English. The minimum length of a manuscript is 30,000 words. Genres accepted include fiction and creative nonfiction. Author must have full rights to reprint entries

The Henshaw Short Story Competition

Anyone can enter. Entries must be fictional short stories of up to 2000 words on any theme. All entries must be the original work of the author, must not have been published before the date of submission.

National Youth Foundation

Each entry must incorporate the theme of Local Heroines. From the time of submission, entries become the property of the National Youth Foundation and will not be returned. All students must be in grades K to 8 and live in the United States. Each book must be between 20 and 30 pages. The cover, dedication and back pages do not count towards this number

Nova Writes Competition

Entry must be a work of short fiction or an excerpt from a longer work of fiction (up to a maximum of 3,000 words) and may be in any genre (historical fiction, literary fiction, mystery, romance, speculative fiction, or otherwise). You must be 16 years of age or older.

Fan Story 3-6-9 Poem Contest

Anyone can enter. This poem has three stanzas. The subject can be anything.

Song Writing Competition 2022

Bethesda essay contest.

Residents of Montgomery County, MD and Upper NW Washington, D.C. (20015 and 20016 ZIP codes) are eligible. The contest will take entries in two categories: High School (grades 9-12) and Adult (ages 18+). Essays must be limited to 500 words or less about a topic of the writer’s choosing. Only one entry per person. Stories must be limited to 4,000 words or less.

The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing

Anyone above 18 can enter. The English short story should have a maximum of 2,500 words. Entries must never have been published, self-published, broadcast or published on any website, blog or online forum. Entries must be the sole work of the entrant.

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

Any United States high school students in grades 9-12 may apply. Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917. Length: 1,000 words max with a minimum of 700. Past winners and finalists, employees of John Hancock Financial Services and members of their families are not eligible to participate.

Magma Poetry Competition

Anyone can enter. Poems may be on any subject, and must be in English and your own original work. They must not have been published, self-published or accepted for publication in print or online, broadcast, or have won or been placed in another competition at any time. Length: 11–50 lines.

The Royal Society of Literature Encore Award

The Award is open for any published second novel, which must be a full-length work of fiction. The writer must have been resident in the United Kingdom (UK) or the Republic of Ireland (RoI) for the past three years. Novellas or children’s books are ineligible. Books published with vanity publishers are not eligible.

Law Day Contest

Writing – Grades 1st through 12th: Students will respond to a prompt based on their grade level provided below or may submit an essay based on a prompt relating to the Law Day theme. Each prompt provided has been tailored to align with the Oklahoma State Department of Education social studies standards. Poetry and creative writing entries will also be accepted as part of the writing contest. There is no word-count minimum or maximum requirement.

Rattle Chapbook Prize

Anyone can enter. Each poet may submit 15–30 pages of poems in English only (no translations).Individual poems may be previously published in any format, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished as a collection.

Driftwood Press Short Story Contest

Anyone can enter. The entry should be between 1,000-5,000 words. The work must not have been previously published. Submit works written in English only, no translations.

Driftwood Press Poem Contest

Submitters may send up to five poems in a single document for consideration. Each poem must not exceed sixty lines. Prose poetry, experimental poetry, and poetry with a visual element are all welcome. Any submissions should be written primarily in English.

Rose Post Creative non-fiction Contest

The competition is open to any writer who is a legal resident of North Carolina or a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Theme: Lasting non-fiction that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians. Subjects may include traditional categories such as reviews, travel articles, profiles or interviews, place/history pieces, or culture criticism. Each entry must be an original and previously unpublished manuscript of no more than 2,000 words.

William Matthews Poetry Prize

Anyone can enter. Submit 3 poems in a single file, any style, any subject, any length. Previously published work and translations are not eligible. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but notify us immediately if a poem is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Desert Writers Award

Anyone can enter. Length: no more than 10 pages, double spaced with 1-inch margins. You may submit published, unpublished, or work in progress but it must be an original work.

Heron Tree Volume 8

Anyone can enter. Poems that have previously appeared online (temporarily or permanently, on your own or a third-party site) should not be submitted, nor should work that has already been published electronically or in print. Simultaneous submissions are welcome with timely notification of acceptance elsewhere.

Storytellers of Tomorrow

we’re inviting all high-school-age students to submit unpublished, original English-language stories of up to 2,000 words in length for the 7th Annual “Storytellers of Tomorrow” Contest. The sole criterion for earning prizes in this contest is simply overall quality, meaning that well-edited, engaging, and evocative stories have the best chance of winning over the judges.

Border Crossing Contest

Fiction: No longer than 5000 words, with title and page number on each page after the first. NonFiction: No longer than 5000 words, with title and page number on each page after the first. Poetry: submit 3-5 poems in one file up to 10 pages; do not submit poems separately. Please note that you may only submit one file per reading period; multiple submissions will not be considered.

Novella-in-Flash Award

Anyone above 16 can enter. Entries can be on any theme or subject but must be original, unpublished previously, not have won a prize, and written in English between 6,000 and 18,000 words long.

Emma Howell Rising Poet Prize

Poets 35 or younger who have not previously published a book-length poetry manuscript are eligible. Poets who have previously published chapbooks are welcome to enter. Submissions must be original, book-length poetry manuscripts (minimum of 48 pages) written in English. There is no maximum page count. Translations are not accepted. One manuscript per submission.

The Bournemouth Writing Prize

Anyone above 16 can enter. Short Story length: Up to 3000 words maximum. It can be about any topic and in any style. Poetry length: Up to 42 lines. We are looking for poetry that is fresh and unexpected. All entries should be in English and be accompanied by a short (75 word) biography of the author and postal address. Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been previously published, or broadcast or won a prize in another writing competition.

great weather

One prose/creative nonfiction piece, two if both under 500 words. Maximum word count: 2,500. Please include the word count on the first page.

Calibre Essay Prize

Anyone can enter except ABR staff and board members. Essay length: 2,000 to 5,000 words, written in English. Exclusivity is essential for longlisted essays.

Past Search Prize for Non-Fiction

Anyone can enter. Maximum 1,000 ~ 1,500 words.

North American Book Award

Anyone can enter. The book of poetry submitted must be the work of a single author, at least 64 pages long, and published in 2020 by an established press. Manuscripts, videos, CDs, chapbooks, and self-published books are not eligible, nor are books that have won awards, including a pre-publication award by the publishing press. It is expected that the book will contain both new and previously published poems.

Poetry Society of Virginia 2022 Contest

Anyone can enter. All entries must be in English, typed, unpublished, origi­nal, and not scheduled for publication before May, 2020. All entries not in compliance with category specifications will be disqualified.

Stage It! 10-Minute Plays Competition

Anyone can enter. Plays should be in generally-accepted script format and in English. Length: 10 pages or a 10 minutes read.

DISQUIET Prize

Anyone above 18 can enter. Only previously unpublished work in English can be submitted by authors who have not yet published more than one book. For the Novel/short story category: One short story or novel excerpt, maximum 25 (double-spaced) pages per entry. For the Poem category: No more than SIX poems per entry, up to 10 pages total and for the Nonfiction category: One piece of non-fiction, maximum 25 (double-spaced) pages per entry.

8th Ó Bhéal Five Words International Poetry Competition

Anyone can enter. Poems cannot exceed 50 lines in length (including line breaks), and must include all five words listed during this week. A modicum of poetic license is acceptable. Poems should be newly written, during the relevant 7-day period.

Fan Story Nonet Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. It has to be a nonet, but it can be on any subject and rhyming is optional.

Horror Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Put your readers on edge or terrorize them.

Manchester Poetry Prize

The Competition is open internationally to anyone aged 16 or over who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry. Entrants may submit as many entries as they wish, but each submission must be submitted as a separate entry with payment of a separate entry fee.

Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Send up to 5 of your best unpublished poems, any style or subject matter, no more than 7 pages in total.

Manchester Fiction Prize

The Competition is open internationally to anyone aged 16 or over who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry, a portfolio comprising a minimum of three and a maximum of five poems. There is no minimum or maximum line limit for each individual poem, but the overall maximum length of the poems combined must not exceed 120 lines.

Fan Story Share A Story In A Poem Contest

Anyone can enter. In this contest you are challenged to write a poem that tells a story and also rhymes.

First Chapter Competition

Anyone can enter. International entries are welcome but first chapters must be written in English and can be up to 3,500 words (no minimum word count) and on any theme and subject (except children’s fiction). The novel should be unpublished and not have been accepted by a publisher.

Parracombe Prize 2022

To enter, simply submit a short story of no more than 2,022 words. Entries must be in English, your own original work, must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere.

3rd Annual Short Short Story Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a short short story no longer than 100 words. The contest is open to prose, any genre. Topics: ants, bowling, 1940s, water.

The Kent and Sussex Poetry Society Open Competition

Anyone can enter. Poems must be in English, unpublished, not accepted for publication, and must be your original work. They must be no longer than 40 lines.

Fish Publishing Short Memoir Prize

Anyone can enter. The entries can’t have been previously published. Maximum number of words is 4,000 in English.

GCWA Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Youth category: 11-17; adult category: above 18. Your entry must be original, in English, unpublished, and unproduced, not accepted by any other publisher or producer before April 1, 2022. Fiction/non-fiction/children’s —1500 words maximum. Poetry – 40 lines maximum.

Lancashire Authors’ Association Open Competition

Anyone 16 or above can enter. The story must be exactly 100 words. Entries must be original, unpublished work which is not currently submitted for publication or entered into any other competition or award.

The Big Moose Prize

Anyone can enter. The Big Moose Prize is open to traditional unpublished novels as well as novels-in-stories, novels-in-poems, and other hybrid forms that contain within them the spirit of a novel. Manuscripts should be 90-1,000 pages in length.

The Brucedale Press Annual Acrostic Story Contest

Anyone under 18 can enter. Stories entered must be original, unpublished work created by the entrant, not previously entered in this contest. Stories may not be longer than 26 sentences. The first sentence must begin with “Because I can…”. Any subject or theme is acceptable, provided there is no profanity, obscenity, ageism, racism or sexism.

The BookLife Prize

Anyone can enter. Both unpublished or self-published books in the English language are eligible for the BookLife Prize. Entries must contain 40,000 to 100,000 words.

Clash of the Query Letters

One page—maximum 500 words, Only original, unpublished, unrepresented work may be submitted, Word documents & PDFs accepted, The winning submissions will be published on the Chopping Blog, All entrants will be notified of winners and shortlist by email.

The Fiction Desk

We are able to consider stories that are between 1,000 and 20,000 words in length; please do not send anything longer or shorter than this. Most of the stories we publish are between about 2,000 and 7,000 words.

Arts & Letters

Send only one submission per genre at any one time. (In other words, submitting a short story and an essay at the same time is fine, but please wait to hear from us before submitting another story.), All submissions must be typed and all prose double-spaced.

The Page Prize

Fiction: Manuscripts should be double-spaced. Please use 1″ margins and include page numbers. Maximum length is about 5000 words. NonFiction: Manuscripts should be typed and double-spaced. Please use 1″ margins and include page numbers. Manuscripts should be no more than about 5,000 words. Poetry: A maximum of three poems may be submitted.

The Danuta Gleed Literary Award

All entries must be Canadian-authored titles published in English between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 and available through bookstores and libraries. Submission must be a first collection/first edition of short fiction, no co-authored entries, no posthumously published works, electronically published works not eligible, submission must be made by a publisher. Translations from other languages into English are eligible if all other criteria are met.

Cambridge Autumn Festival Short Story Competition

Anyone can enter. The word limit is 1500 words.The theme for this year’s competition is “Lockdown”.

Cúirt New Writing Prize 2022

Poetry entries must consist of up to three poems under 50 lines each. Short stories should be no longer than 2,000 words. Entry costs €10 in total which covers one story or up to three poems. Entries are welcome in English and Irish. An Irish language adviser will be approached to assess entries in the Irish language. The story or poems submitted should not have been accepted for publication elsewhere.

Bluefire 1000-Word Short Story Contest

Anyone in school grades 6-12 can enter. Entries must be original and not previously published. Length: exactly 1000 words. Previous grand prize winners are not eligible to submit in the same grade category (6-8, or 9-12) in which they have won.

EngineerGirl Essay Contest

Anyone in school (grades 3-12) can enter. Submit a piece of writing that salutes engineering’s role in meeting and defeating the challenges presented by COVID-19. Check guidlines for your category. Grades 3-5: 600 words limit. Grades 6-8: 650 words limit. High school: 700 words limit.

St. Gallen Symposium Esay Competition

Anyone enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master level or higher) and born in 1992 or later can enter. Essay should be in English and length should be max. 2,100 words. The essay must be written exclusively for this contest.

Arizona Mystery Writers Mary Ann Hutchison Memorial Story Contest for Youths

Writers from 9-16 years of age. Submission must be up to 2500 words (about 10 double-spaced pages).

Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award

Anyone can enter. Submit a short story of no more than 8,000 words, that shows the near future (no more than about 50-60 years out) of manned space exploration.

Blinkpot Flash Fiction Awards

Anyone above 18 can enter. The entry must be in English and must have been written by the person making the submission. Entries must not have been previously published, broadcast or won a prize. Entries can be on any theme or subject. Maximum entry length is 100 words and minimum length 80.

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize

Graywolf awards the Nonfiction Prize to a previously unpublished, full-length work of outstanding literary nonfiction by a writer who is not yet established in the genre. The Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize seeks to acknowledge—and honor—the great traditions of literary nonfiction. Whether grounded in observation, autobiography, or research, much of the most beautiful, daring, and original writing over the past few decades can be categorized as nonfiction.

EngineerGirl Writing Contest

You should submit an informative essay about the role of engineering in meeting one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals. All entries are limited to 650 words. High school students are also required to submit a reference list with their essay. A reference list is optional for middle and elementary school students. This list does not count toward the word limit.

Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards

Current high school seniors at a public high school in the United States graduating Spring of 2022, 21 years of age and under, Plan to enroll in an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or approved vocational-technical school Fall 2022, ubmit one original literary composition in English in one of the following genres of poetry, spoken word, fiction/drama or personal essay/memoir. Only the first 1000 applications will be accepted.

Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition

Stories must be original unpublished fiction, typed and double-spaced, and may not exceed 3,500 words in length. There are no theme or genre restrictions. Copyright remains the property of the author.

1000 Words Contest

open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12. Each entrant may submit a fiction piece consisting of exactly 1,000 words (not including title or author’s name). The fiction piece can be on any topic, as long as it is not vulgar or offensive, does not use inappropriate profanity, and is the original work of the entrant not previously published.

The Southampton Review

Fiction: We accept short stories and novel excerpts.5,000 words max. Flash Fiction is welcome!, NonFiction: We accept creative nonfiction, memoir, personal essay, traditional essay, and hybrid forms. 5,000 words max. Poetry: 5 poems max per submission.

Ottawa Travel Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Eligible entries include items in English or in French that have appeared in magazines, newspapers, or online media in 2021 that highlight Ottawa as a travel destination.

Accenti Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Submissions for original and unpublished English prose texts only. Maximum length: 2000 words. No poetry, plays, reviews, and scholarly essays. No footnotes and endnotes. No pseudonyms. Submissions can be an English translation of the author’s unpublished original work in another language.

Adamah Media writers’ competition

This competition is open to young adults, aged between 18 and 28. The writers’ competition is open to articles in English submitted by applicants globally and from all nationalities. All images used within any entry should be credited in the image description, otherwise these images will not be used and alternatives will be found for publication. word limit: 1000-1500 words

Fan Story 2-4-2 Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a 2-4-2 syllable poem. The subject can be anything.

The National Federation of Press Women’s Communications Contest for High School Students

All high school students in the US can enter. All 2022 contest entries must have been published, e-published, broadcast, or issued between February 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022. Entries must be produced by a current high school student or a recently graduated student who produced the work in their senior year after February 1, 2021.

The National Federation of Press Women’s Communications Contest for Professionals

The NFPW Communications contest is open to anyone regardless of sex, professional status or location. College students do not have to be 18 to enter any of the categories in the Collegiate Division. High school students may enter the professional contest if they are acting in a professional capacity. Entrants must enter the contest into their home state if that state is sponsoring a contest. Entrants who reside in a state without a contest must enter the at-large contest. Entries in the at-large contest may be regionally divided depending upon entries. All work must have been published or broadcast between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, to be eligible for entry.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards is open to all indie book authors and publishers who have a book, a manuscript, or a galley proof written in English and published in 2020, 2021 or 2022 or with a 2020, 2021 or 2022 copyright date.

Writers’ & Artists’ Short Story Competition

Anyone can enter. Submit a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words.

The Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize

The competition is for novel manuscripts in any genre by unpublished women writer residents in the UK and Ireland. Literary and genre fiction are equally welcomed, and novels for children and young adults may be entered as long as they are primarily word-based. Picture books are not accepted. To enter, send the first 30 to 50 pages and a synopsis between three and five pages.

Scissortail Creative Writing Festival

All Oklahoma high school students (9th – 12th grade) are eligible. Poetry (up to 100 lines) or Short Fiction (up to 6,000 words) is acceptable. Limit 5 poems and 1 short fiction piece per student. All entries must be the original work of the student. All entries must be neatly typed; please double-space fiction entries.

Create The Future Writing Competition

Individual entrants can enter one submission. Poetry (up to 40 lines), Short stories (up to 2,000 words), All other creative prose (up to 2,000 words), Entries must not have been published (including self-published, published on a website, broadcast or featured amongst the winners in another competition). The competition is open to all writers over the age of 18, The Create the Future competition is open worldwide and applicants from non-English-speaking countries are warmly welcomed.

Adventures in Fiction Spotlight First Novel Award

Anyone can enter. To enter, submit the first page of your novel and a one-page synopsis. The winner should be prepared to submit the manuscript of their novel in hard copy (12pt, double-spaced, single side of the paper only) to Adventures in Fiction by the beginning of April. Prize: A Stage One Mentoring package for a novel of up to 550 pages/170,000 words including a full manuscript appraisal, a development strategy and two consultations and a dedicated page on the Adventures in Fiction website including a profile of you and your novel.

IndieReader Discovery Awards

Only books that have been either self-published or published by an independent publisher and have an ISBN or ASN can enter.

Achievement Awards in Writing

All 11th grade students in the current academic school year are eligible to be nominated by their school’s English department. Schools in the United States, Canada, Virgin Islands and American Schools Abroad are eligible. Nominating schools must be US accredited. Participating students submit two types of writing: themed writing (AWA prompt) and best writing. 2022 prompt: My Community. Writing options include poetry, short story, personal narrative, essay, or graphic storytelling. Themed Writing: max 4 pages. Best Witing: max 6 pages.

Promising Young Writers Program

All 8th grade students in the current academic school year are eligible to be nominated by their school’s English department. Schools in the United States, Canada, Virgin Islands and American Schools Abroad are eligible to nominate juniors. Nominating schools must be US accredited. Participating students submit two types of writing: themed writing (AWA prompt) and best writing. 2022 prompt: Change; Amidst isolation in 2020. You may produce any genre, or kind, of writing. Themed Writing: max 4 pages. Best Witing: max 6 pages.

Ambroggio Prize

Any US citizen or resident for the ten-year period prior to the submission deadline can enter. Poets are not eligible to apply if they have studied with the judge in full-time accredited courses within the last three years The manuscript must be originally written in Spanish and accompanied by a translation in English. Poets may translate their own work or collaborate with a translator who may or may not be a poet. The poet and translator must share the $1,000 prize. Poems may have been previously published in periodicals or chapbooks, but the collection must not have been previously published, including self-publications and e-books. The original manuscript in Spanish must contain original poetry by one poet and must be between 48 and 100 pages, typed single-spaced, unless the poems are meant to be presented using nonstandard spacing.

Morton and McCarthy Prizes

Open to any short fiction writer in English. Employees and board members of Sarabande Books, Inc. are not eligible. Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a short novel. Works that have previously appeared in magazines or in anthologies may be included.

Apprentice Writer

Only high school students can enter. You can submit poetry, chorepoetry, spoken word submissions, graphic fiction and non-fiction, and prose.

New Welsh Writing Awards

Writers from the UK and Ireland as well as those who have been educated in Wales for over six months can enter. Entries should be prose with a Welsh theme or setting and should be an unpublished book (between 5,000 and 30,000 words) in English. Entries this year may vary across the categories, from short form Welsh-themed- or Welsh-set non-fiction to a novella or short story collection set in Wales or with a Welsh theme.

Robert Watson Literary Prize

Anyone who is an active Greensboro Review subscriber can enter. Entries must be previously unpublished. No simultaneous submissions. Length restrictions: no more than 7,500 words or 25 pages for fiction; up to 500 words for flash fiction; up to 10 pages for poetry.

Guernsey Literary Festival 2022

Your poem could be on show in 2022. The Guernsey Literary Festival, together with Guernsey Arts and Guernsey Post, presents a competition that could deliver your work to thousands of readers. Winning entries are selected in two phases: 21 poems will be chosen, and 9 of these will take part in a second, Entries must be no longer than 14 lines and must fit on a single A4 page.

Harold Morton Landon Translation Award

resident of the United States for the ten-year period prior to the submission deadline, Only books published in the United States during 2021 are eligible for the 2022 prize. Books must be published in a standard edition (48 pages or more). Self-published books will not be considered.

Short Prose Competition

Original, unpublished fiction or nonfiction up to 2,500 words in the English language. Writers who have had no more than one book published (traditionally or self-published) in any genre or language and who are not currently under contract for a second book. Writers not published in book format are also eligible. Writers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

SPJ/JEA High School Essay Contest

All 9-12 high school students in the US can apply. The essay should be 300-500 words of original work. Entrants must write about: “Why must journalists strive to improve diversity and representation in both their coverage and in their newsrooms, and how might this happen?”

Willow Run Poetry Book Award

Anyone can enter. Must be an unpublished English book length collection of poetry of 75 to 100 pages.

This Sentence Starts The Story

Anyone can enter. Write a story that starts with this sentence: It’s happening tonight. You have the option to put it in quotes (for dialogue) and to change the punctuation at the end for proper grammar.

Writing for Children Competition 2022

Waxing & waning tennessee tempest edition.

Anyone can enter. Poetry: 1-5 poems, up to 3,000 words. Fiction / creative non-fiction: 100-5,000 words (if any longer, it should be good enough to merit the space it will take up).

Waxing & Waning Screenplay Contest

Anyone can enter. Screenplays or plays can be up to 25 pages (may be a part of a whole).

The George Floyd Short Story Competition

All genres/styles are accepted. Word count shouldn’t exceed 5000 words. This year’s theme is climate change.

The Chaucer Tales Writing Competition

The competition is open to all students of school age including not only those in schools and college communities (ages 5-18), but also students who are home educated and in any other young people’s community organisations. The maximum word count is 500 words in English. The special theme of the competition this year is Be Careful What You Wish For!

Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition

Anyone can enter. The international competition is open to all – both published and unpublished authors from all over the world – and is for short stories of up to 3,500 words. The story cannot have been previously published anywhere, or shortlisted for this competition.

The Exeter Writers Short Story Competition

The competition is open to anyone. Writing is ok in any genre except children stories. Stories must not have been previously published nor won a prize in any other competition. Previous prize-winning stories are not eligible for re-entry. Length: 3,000 words max.

Flash 500 Short Stories competition

Anyone can enter. Stories should range between 1,000 and 3,000 words, with strong characters, a well-crafted plot and realistic dialogue (where used).

Fish Publishing Flash Fiction Prize

Anyone can enter. Maximum number of words is 300 and it must be in English. The winning stories must be available for the Fish Anthology and, therefore, must not have been published previously. Fish will hold publishing rights for one year only after publication.

Reflex Fiction Flash Fiction Competition

Anyone above 16 can enter. Entries must be in Enflish and must be the work of the entrant and must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere in print or online including blogs or personal websites. Entries must be fiction but can be on any subject, and written in any style or form. No fan fiction or use of copyrighted material, characters, song lyrics etc.

Southword Poetry Prize

Anyone can enter. All poems must be previously unpublished. Works of translation where the original author is still in copyright will require the bios of both the original author and the translator. There is a suggested limit of 40 lines per poem.

The annual Lancaster Writing Award

All students in year 12-13 can enter. Categories: criticism, fiction, poetry, script and screen writing. Students may enter in more than one category and write in any style they wish. The word limit for criticism and fiction is 1500 words.The limit for poems is 25 lines. The limit for screenplays is 8 pages.

Scottish Arts Trust Short Story Competition

Anyone above 16 can enter. Length: 2,000 words or fewer. The entry should not have been previously published, online or in print. Short stories entered for the competition may be on any topic. Stories do not have to be set in Scotland or on Scottish themes but they must be in English.

The Isobel Lodge Award

Anyone above 16, is unpublished, and a resident of Scotland or studying in Scotland can enter. Entry can be published online or in print without compensation can qualify for the Isobel Lodge Award. Writers also qualify if they have self-published a work of fiction. Length: 2,000 words or fewer. The story should not have been previously published, online or in print. Stories do not have to be set in Scotland or on Scottish themes but they must be in English.

Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest

Any Canadian (citizen or resident) can enter. Topic: poems written in response to an existing occasion, personal or public, or poems that make an occasion of something ordinary or by virtue of the poet’s attention. No word limit, must be unpublished nor accepted for publication elsewhere.

Minds Shine Bright’s first annual competition

Short stories: 5000 words/Flash Fiction: 1000 words /Poetry: 240 lines/Scripts: 90 pages, Each submission must be original, unpublished fiction written by the submitting author. Each submission must be entered into one of four categories including: poetry, micro/flash fiction, short stories or script writing.

Blue Mesa Review

accepts previously unpublished work in Fiction (up to 6,000 words), Nonfiction (up to 6,000 words), Poetry (up to 3 poems).

The Debut Dagger Award

the opening of a crime novel not exceeding 3,000 words and a synopsis of up to 1,500 words. You do not need to have completed the novel in order to enter. You must never have had a traditional publishing contract for any work of fiction over 20,000 words.

Self-Publishing Literary Awards

This contest is free and open to all self-published authors who meet the requirements. All eBooks submitted to the contest must be: In the poetry or fiction genres, A PDF or an ePUB file, In the English language, An original work that you own the rights to, Written by an African American author born in the U.S.

Red Hen Press Women’s Prose Prize

25,000 word minimum, 80,000 word maximum. Entries will be accepted via Submittable only. The award is open to all women writers with the following exceptions: Authors who have had a full-length work published by Red Hen Press, or a full-length work currently under consideration by Red Hen Press, Employees, interns, or contractors of Red Hen Press, Relatives of employees or members of the executive board of directors

Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize

The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers.

Deep Wild 2021 Undergraduate Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. The entry should be a single poem of up to 70 lines.

Southword Fiction Story Prize

Anyone can enter. There is an upper limit of 5000 words for short stories. Only unpublished work.

Blue Mesa Awards

This competition is open to original English language works in the genres of Fiction, and Nonfiction. The submission must be an unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. accepts previously unpublished work in Fiction (up to 6,000 words), Nonfiction (up to 6,000 words). For the poetry category, Submissions of up to 3 unpublished poems are accepted.

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Have never published a book, Have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying, Writers may apply in poetry and/or fiction (only one manuscript per category). Poetry manuscripts should not exceed ten pages, single or double-spaced (minimum of 7 pages). Fiction manuscripts should not exceed 25 pages and must be double-spaced. Fiction manuscripts may include stories and/or excerpts from novels.

The Christopher Tower Poetry Competition

Open to submissions from students between 16-19 years of age who are educated in the UK. Entries must be on written in English, and be no more than 48 lines in length. Entrants must be in full or part-time education at a school, college or other educational institution in the United Kingdom. Each poem must be the entrant’s own work, joint authorship is ineligible.

Fowey Festival Short Story Competition

Anyone above 16 can enter. The title for the competition is “Breaking Point”. Length: max 1500 words. Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been previously published, commended, long-listed or short-listed in another writing competition.

True Story Contest

Anyone can enter. Share a true story from your life. Write a story that shares a moment, an object, a feeling, etc. This does not have to be a profound memory, but should allow readers insight into your feelings, observations and/or thoughts. Use at least 100 words. No poetry.

Cheshire Prize for Literature

The writer must have been born, live or have lived, study or have studied, work or have worked, in Cheshire. Entry must be an original and previously unpublished piece of creative work in one of four categories themed around all aspects of the pandemic including “lockdown”: poetry, short fiction, children’s literature and scriptwriting.

Geographies of Justice: Call for Submissions

Anyone can enter. Poetry/Lyric: no more than 50 lines. Fiction, essays, creative non-fiction and other prose: up to 4000 words. Must hold the rights to the work and must be unpublished.

Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition

Anyone above 16 can enter. Any genre or subject, must be unpublished and original, aimed at adults only. Length: max 2,500 words.

Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction

Anyone can enter. The stories must be at least 10 pages (or 2500 words) but no more than 50 pages (12,500 words). Stories must be previously unpublished.

Eludia Award

All women age 40 and above, who do not yet have a book-length publication of fiction, can enter. The author must be unpublished and the entry should be in English.

Minute Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. The Minute Poem is a poem that follows the “8,4,4,4” syllable count structure. It must have 12 lines total and 60 syllables.

James Jones First Novel Fellowship

Have never published a novel, Are U.S. citizens or permanent residents of America with Green Cards, May have published any other type of work including non-fiction articles and short stories. A two-page (maximum) outline or synopsis of the entire novel and the first 50 pages of the novel-in-progress are to be submitted. A specific format for the outline or synopsis is not required.

The 15th Annual Short Story Challenge

Anyone can enter.

The Phare Write Words Poetry Competition

Anyone 18 or above can enter. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast, or won a prize. They can be on any theme or subject but must be written in English. Non-fiction and fiction/poetry written for young adults or children is not eligible. Length: 40 lines max.

The Phare Write Words Short Story Competition

Anyone 18 or above can enter. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize. They can be on any theme or subject but must be written in English. Non-fiction and fiction/poetry written for young adults or children is not eligible. Length: 3000 words max.

The Phare Write Words Flash Fiction Competition

Anyone 18 or above can enter. An entry can only be made by the work’s individual author. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize. They can be on any theme or subject but must be written in English. Non-fiction and fiction/poetry written for young adults or children is not eligible. Length – 1000 words max.

Never Such Innocence Poetry Competition 2022

Poems must not be longer than 40 lines and should be your own, original work.

Two Line Poem

Anyone can enter. Write an essence poem. The poem should be of two lines with six syllables per line, each containing an internal rhyme and an ending rhyme.

Op-Ed Competition 2022

Young writers ages 13-18, 600 – 1,000 words.

5-7-5 Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. The entry should be a 5-7-5 poem that follows the structure of a Haiku but without any limitation to the topic.

SWAMP Writing

Anyone enrolled in a postgraduate program in any university across the globe can enter. Entries must be unpublished poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction and memoir. This year’s theme: Reflection.

Free Verse Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. No restrictions.

The Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest

All Canadians (citizen or resident) can enter. No word limit (2,000 – 5,000 expected), must be unpublished nor accepted for publication elsewhere.

Four Line Poem

Anyone can enter. Write a four line poem that has a specific syllable count. The subject can be anything.

Driftwood Poetry Collections

Anyone can enter. It should be between 40-100 pages of poetry. Experimental poetry, hybrid work, poetry with a visual element, prose poetry, and any avant-garde poetry are welcomed! Submissions should be primarily in English, but collections with a moderate bilingual component will of course be considered.

Dark Tales Short Story Competition

Anyone can enter. Each entry must be no longer than 5000 words, must be the original, unpublished work of the stated author.

Dream One Quest Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Previously published poems in other contests, books, magazines, etc. are accepted and welcomed as long as they are original works created by the contest entrant(s). All entries must be composed or translated into the English language. Poems must be 30 lines or fewer.

Dream One Quest Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Previously published short stories in other contests, books, magazines, etc. are accepted and welcomed as long as they are original works created by the contest entrant(s). All entries must be composed or translated into the English language. Any fiction, non-fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, diary, journal entries, and short stage-plays and screenplays are accepted within a maximum of (5) pages or less.

Rubery Book Award

Anyone can enter. Your entry must be a book that is either self-published or published by an independent press.

Fish Publishing Poetry Prize

Anyone can enter. Poem length is restricted to 60 lines. The title is not included in the word limit, and it must be in English. The winning poem must be available for the Fish Anthology and, therefore, must not have been published previously. Fish will hold publishing rights for one year only after publication.

The Lascaux Prize in Poetry

Poets may enter more than once, and as many as five poems may be submitted per entry (all pasted into one document). There are no length restrictions. All genres and styles are welcome.

Wild Atlantic Writing Awards

For both categories, They’ve decided on an intriguing theme for both which is Time. The maximum length of your story should be 500 words, not including the title.

The Word Guild 2021 Fresh Ink Student Writing Awards

All entries must be published in 2021 and have a 2021 copyright date. Eligible entries must be in English or French. Self-published entries are admissible. We suggest the work be edited by a professional editor with experience in the publishing industry. The Word Awards are limited to writers who are Canadian. Submitter must confirm all entrants have Canadian Citizenship or Legal Permanent Resident Status.

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2022

Anyone above 16 can enter. The poem has to appeal to children aged 7-11 and it must be original and previously unpublished.

The Blue Mountain Novel Award

Anyone can enter. Entries must be original, and in English. It must be of a published novel of any length.

The Writers Of The Future

All amateur writers can enter. Entries must be original works by the entrant, in English. No excessive violence or sex. Entries may not have been previously published in professional media. Entries must be works of prose, up to 17,000 words in length. No poetry, or works intended for children.

The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing

The contest is open to first-generation immigrants of their country. Entries should be unpublished and in English (translations welcome). Fiction manuscripts must be complete, a minimum of 45,000 words. non-fiction submissions must consist of either a complete manuscript, or a sample of at least 25,000 words and a detailed proposal.

Princeton 10-Minute Play Contest

All entrants must be students in the eleventh grade in the U.S. (or international equivalent of the eleventh grade).

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Length limit: 250 lines maximum. Authors from all countries eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions). The poem you submit should be in English.

Zone 3 First Book Award in Poetry

Anyone can enter. Only unpublished work of a full-length collection of poems (48 pages or more) is eligible; those with chapbooks may participate. Manuscript should be 48-80 pages.

The Orison Prizes in Poetry & Fiction

Anyone can enter. Must be book-length manuscripts. Submissions should be of full-length poetry and fiction (minimum 30,000 words) manuscripts. Original English work only; no translations.

Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest

There are two divisions: Grade 6-8 (Junior Division) and Grades 9-12 (Senior Division). Each NFSPS member state may submit ten (10) poems in each division. Poems may have been printed and/or have won previous awards. Each poem must be neatly typed or computer-generated and have no more than 35 lines including space lines with no line having more than 60 characters including spaces and punctuation. Every poem entered should appear on a single sheet.

2022 White Rose Memorial Essay Contest

Middle school Essay: Length: 500-1000 words. Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8 at the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year may participate. Students may win an award only once in each school category. High school essay: Length: 750-1500 words, Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12 at the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year may participate. Students may win an award only once in each school category. Use entry form attached.

Claymore Award

The contest is limited to only the first 50 double-spaced pages of unpublished English-language manuscripts containing elements of thriller, mystery, crime, or suspense NOT currently under contract.

Books By The Banks Writing Contest

This year’s contest theme is Home. You are encouraged to interpret this theme as literally or figuratively as you desire. Fiction, non-fiction, and poetry are welcome. Submitted work must be original and unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

The Alpine Fellowship Academic Writing Prize

Anyone 18 and above can enter. Awarded for the best piece of academic essay writing on the theme of the 2021 Alpine Fellowship. A maximum of 4000 words per entry. Text must not have been published, self-published or accepted for publication in print or online, or have won or been placed in another competition at any time.

The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize

Anyone 18 and above can enter. All genres permitted. A maximum of 2,500 words per entry. Text must not have been published, self-published or accepted for publication in print or online, or have won or been placed in another competition at any time (including the Alpine Fellowship Academic Writing Prize).

Nonfiction: We seldom publish prose that is more than 5,000 words in length. Fiction: We seldom publish prose that is more than 5,000 words in length. We will consider novel excerpts and flash pieces. Poetry: please submit no more than 6 poems.

Seaborne Magazine: Call for submissions about the sea

Anyone can enter. They are looking for rich, atmospheric fiction, non-fiction, poetry and visual artwork about the sea. Submissions must be formatted to UK spelling. They do not accept previously published submissions, in other magazines, websites or personal blogs. Fiction should be between 2,000-5,000 words for short stories, and 300 words for vignettes. Creative non-fiction should be between 800-1,500 words.

The American Foreign Service Association’s National High School Essay Contest

Students whose parents are not in the Foreign Service are eligible to participate if they are in grades 9 – 12 in the US, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, or if they are U.S. citizens attending high school overseas including home-schooled students. Previous first-place winners and immediate relatives of directors or staff of the AFSA and Semester at Sea are not eligible to participate. Length: 1,250 words max.

Oklahoma Poem Contest

Only Oklahoma residents are eligible to enter. Poems will be judged in 4 categories: K-4th, 5th-8th, 9th-12th, and Adult, The maximum length for poems is 30 lines, Poems can be rhymed or unrhymed, One poem per person, Previous winning poems cannot be submitted again.

The Colin Sutton Cup for Humour

Maximum 12-page spreads (totalling to 24 internal pages). No more than 500 words. Let your illustrations tell the story, Use whichever medium you’re most comfortable with, paint, pencil, collage, print etc….but don’t be afraid to experiment, word limit: 500, 12 page spreads (24 pages in total).

Ada Cambridge Biographical Prose Prize

Anyone 18 and above who lives in the state of Victoria can enter. Stories must be biographical. Stories must be between 1000 to 3000 words. The work must be original, written in English and not have been previously published. It should not have won a prize in any other competition.

Fan Story Dribble Flash Fiction Contest

Anyone can enter. The submitted work must be between 48 – 52 words.

Fan Story New Arrival Flash Fiction Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a story that uses exactly 100 words.

Fan Story Future Flash Fiction Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a flash fiction story that takes place in the future. Maximum length 500 words.

Etel Adnan Poetry Prize

Anyone of an Arab heritage can apply. Only first or second full-length books of poetry written in English may be submitted. Chapbooks are not considered as a previous publication in this regard. Manuscripts must be between forty-eight and ninety pages. Individual poems may have been published in chapbooks, journals, and anthologies. Work in translation is not accepted.

The Art and Writing Environmental Awareness Contest

All winners will be notified of the results in late April- mid May, Students ages 12-26 anywhere in the world are eligible to apply, Entries must involve the environment/environmental awareness,

We the Students Essay Contest

All students who are legal US residents or citizens, older than 14 and younger than 19, may apply. Stay tuned for updates on the 2021 contest prompt.

Fan Story Faith Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. The theme for this poetry contest is “faith”.

Poetry & Spoken Word Competition 2022

100 word flash fiction.

Anyone can enter. The entry should be exactly 100 words.

Ayn Rand anthem contest

Entrant must be at least 13 years old and in 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade for any part of the school year in which the contest is held. Essays must be submitted electronically through the online portal. Essays must be written in English only, and must be no fewer than 600 and no more than 1,200 words in length, double-spaced. One entry per student per contest.

Ayn Rand The fountainhead contest

Entrant must be in 11th or 12th grade for any part of the school year in which the contest is held. Essays must be submitted electronically through the online portal. Essays must be written in English only, and must be no fewer than 800 and no more than 1,600 words in length, double-spaced. One entry per student per contest.

Tanka Poetry Contest

Marsh hawk press poetry prize.

Anyone can enter. Manuscripts must be between 48 – 84 pages in length. Individual poems from the manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, anthologies, or chapbooks of less than 25 pages, but the collection, as a whole, must be unpublished.

The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards For Young Writers

High School students from anywhere in the world are eligible to submit original work written in English. Creative writing that was not previously published, can be submitted in the categories of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. Submit a maximum of three pieces across the three genres. Poetry, up to 80 lines. Fiction and creative non-fiction must be 1,800 words or less.

FAPA President’s Book Awards

Any English writing author can enter. All entries must be books with a copyright date from 2020 to 2022. Ebooks should be submitted in PDF format

3 Minute Drama Competition

The competition is open to all, but the script must be in English, and in PDF format. Warranty and Copyright. The script must be an original work that does not infringe upon another person’s copyright or other rights. It may or may not have been published before. The copyright in your script will remain your sole property.

Adventure Writer’s Competition

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Romance not allowed! – we can’t state it more straightforward than that unless we change the name of the competition to “The Not SciFi, Fantasy, Dystopian or Romance Competition.”,

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition

Anyone can enter. This competition is for original, previously unpublished poems in English, on any subject, in any style up to 50 lines long. Poems posted on members-only non-public groups for review/critique as part of the creative process are not deemed to have been previously published.

Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition

Anyone can enter. The competition is open to any theme or genre, but your story must be a maximum of 1,500 words and must be written in English. Entries must be the original and unpublished work of the entrant. This includes publication online, including (but not limited to) personal blogs or websites. Each entry must not be currently submitted for publication nor for any other competition or award.

The Ernest Hemingway Short Fiction Prize

Anyone can enter. Entries should be approximately 1500 words or less. Submissions should be unpublished.

Ver Poets Open Competition

Anyone 16 and above can enter. Poems should not have been published, or accepted for publication, in print or online. They should not have won prizes in other competitions, be simultaneously entered for other competitions or be translations of other poets’ work. Poems must be your own original work and may be on any theme. Length: no longer than 30 lines.

Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest

Limit: 100 words per entry. Submit as many entries as you’d like. Writers: All ages. All genders. All nationalities. All writers welcome. Theme: The power of words.

CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Jan 1, 2019 will be disqualified. All works that have been published must be published after Jan. 1, 2019. Novels must be 60,000 plus words. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.

World Historian Student Essay Competition

Only students enrolled in grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools, and those in home-study programs can apply. Past winners may not compete in the same category again. The entry should be approximately 1,000 words.

Bristol Short Story Prize

Anyone above 16 can enter. The maximum length of submissions is 4,000 words in English. Stories can be on any theme or subject and are welcome in any style including graphic, verse or genre-base .Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been previously published, in print or online, or broadcast or won a prize in another writing competition.

15 Syllable Poem

Anyone can enter. Write a poem with exactly 15 syllables.

Writers’ Digest Annual Writing Competition

Anyone can enter. All entries must be in English. Only original works that have not been published (at the time of submission) in print, digital or online publications, Self-published work, unproduced scripts. Entries in the Print or Online Article category may be previously published.

Fan Story Non-Fiction Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Submit literary works of non-fiction on any topic. It doesn’t matter if it’s spiritual, political, intellectual, emotional, funny, serious, or an essay about your DVD player. New entries only. Minimum length 500 words. Maximum Length 7,000 words. Recommended length 2,000 – 3,500 words.

3 Line Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. The poem has to have a syllable count of either 5-7-5 or 5-7-7. It shouldn’t rhyme. But the poem must address a loved one.

The Montreal International Poetry Prize

The Montreal Prize is awarded every 2 years for a single poem of 40 or fewer lines. Submissions open in January 2022. Entry fee rises to $25 CAD ($20 USD) from 2nd May.

James Laughlin Award

Any US citizen or resident for the ten-year period prior to the submission deadline can enter. Book must be under contract with a U.S. publisher and scheduled to be published between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021.Must be published by December 31, 2021. The author must have published one book of poetry in a standard edition (48 pages or more). Entries must be an English. Submissions are welcome from small presses, university presses, and trade publishers that have previously published at least four books of poetry. Translations and new editions of previously published books are not eligible.

Sports Writing Competition 2022

Fan story flash fiction contest.

Anyone can enter. Entry should be exactly 150 words.

Lazuli Literary Group Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, philosophical ruminations, stageplays, fragments, chapters, and excerpts are all acceptable.

Time Travelers Contest

You must write at least one chapter – there’s no maximum chapter limit. Because this contest is open to all audiences, your entries must not be sexually explicit and can’t feature graphic displays of gratuitious violence. Fan-fic novels are not eligible. The main character or characters of your entry must go through a change of temporality and must have a significant impact on the plot. This change must occur in the story before the end of the fourth chapter and must be mentioned in your book description.

The Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award

All Canadians who haven’t published either a first novel or short story collection can enter. No word limit (2,000 – 5,000 expected), must be unpublished nor accepted for publication elsewhere.

Rhyming Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a poem that has a rhyme scheme. How it rhymes is up to you.

Script Pipeline TV Writing Contest

The 2022 Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition heads into its 15th season, continuing the search for up-and-coming talent and connecting them with top producers, agencies, and managers. As one of the longest-running and most successful screenplay contests, we focus specifically on finding writers representation, supporting diverse voices, championing marketable, ambitious storytelling, and pushing original projects into production.

First Novel Prize

Entry is open to writers in the English language worldwide, regardless of the author’s country of residence. Entry is open to unpublished or independently published/self-published novelists only. Self-published/independently published means the author owns the rights to the work in full. Both represented and unrepresented novelists are welcome to enter the Prize. Only completed novels of over 50,000 words will be accepted, there is no maximum requirement for the number of words.

Accenti Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Submissions are open for entries unpublished and not under consideration by any other publication. Maximum length: 40 lines. Submissions can be an English translation of the author’s unpublished original work in another language.

Fiction Factory Poetry Competition

Fiction Factory welcomes submissions to its first ever poetry competition, judged by novelist and poet: Helen Cox. Maximum length: 40 lines.

Jane Austen Society Essay Contest

All students in school, university, or graduate school can apply.

Farnham Flash Fiction Competition

Anyone can enter. Story length: 500 words.

Fan Story Write A Script Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a script of any size (can be a small script as shown in the example) for any medium on any topic.

Bath Flash Fiction Award

Anyone above 16 can enter. Entries can be on any theme or subject but must be original and written in English. They must also be for adult or young adult readers. Non-fiction and fiction written for children under 13 years are not eligible. Max length is 300 words. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.

Fan Story ABC Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a one-stanza, five-line poem.

Fan Story 6 Word Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a poem with only 6 words.

Ocean Awareness Contest

All students aged 11 – 18 can apply. All entries must be original work in English and not previously submitted. Students ages 11-14 may enter the Junior Division (Creative Writing: up to 750 words; Poetry & Spoken Word: no more than 1 page). Students ages 15-18 may enter the Senior Division (Creative Writing: up to 1,250 words; Poetry & Spoken Word: no more than 2 pages).

Fan Story Haiku Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Only haiku poems.

Narrative Prize

We accept submissions only through our electronic submission system. We do not accept submissions through postal services or email. All manuscripts should be in 12-point type, with at least one-inch margins, and sequentially numbered pages. Fiction and nonfiction should be double-spaced. Poetry should be single-spaced.

Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

Eligible works must have been first published in English between January 1, 2021 and January 1, 2022. To be eligible for the Silver Falchion Award, works must be published the year previous the competition and must be readily available to a North-American audience (either in print or digital format).

Baby Boomer Plus

he word count for this contest is 900 – 4000 words. Stories Through The Ages – Baby Boomers Plus is open to people born 1966 or earlier. There is no prompt for the contest Authors may write about any topic.

Poetry Chapbook Prize

Each manuscript should consist of a 20-30 page chapbook in a standard 12-point font. Chapbooks may not have been previously published nor be forthcoming, though individual poems may have been published elsewhere (provided rights have reverted to the author).

International Essay Contest for Young People

Essays may be submitted by anyone up to 25 years old (as of June 15, 2022) in one of the following age categories: a) Children (ages up to 14) b) Youth (ages 15 – 25) Essays must be 700 words or less in English or French, or 1600 characters or less in Japanese. Essays must be typed, with your name and essay title included at the top of the first page

TCK Publishing Flash Fiction Contest

This contest is open to writers from all countries, backgrounds, and levels of experience and we invite you to join the 2022 TCK Publishing Flash Fiction Contest. Any writer (regardless of who your publisher is or if your work has been previously published) may submit a short story totaling no more than 500 words (less is fine).

Food Writing Competition 2022

The lascaux prize in flash fiction.

Writers may enter more than once, and as many as three stories may be submitted per entry (all pasted into one document). Individual story length should not exceed 1,000 words. All genres and styles are welcome.

Fan Story Cinquain Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Entries must adhere to the contest’s syllable specifications.

Fan Story Love Poem Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. But it must clearly be a love poem.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Open to writers who have published a novel or a book-length collection of fiction in English. Translations are not eligible if the translation was not done by the author. Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Length: 150 – 300 pages.

North Street Book Prize

Anyone can enter except those from Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions). Length limit: 200,000 words maximum in English. You may submit a collection of short stories or essays as a single entry.

The Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest

Anyone can enter. Must be original and unpublished. Each entry must consist of a single sentence. The entry shouldn’t go beyond 50 or 60 words.

Blackwater Press short story contest

Anyone can enter. Word limit should be between 1000 words to 10,000 words.

The Orison Chapbook Prize

Anyone can enter. Must be manuscripts of 20-45 pages, in any genre (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or hybrid). Original English work only; no translations. Individual poems, stories, or essays—or excerpts—may have been previously published in periodicals and/or chapbooks, but the manuscript as a whole must not have been published in book form, whether digital or in print. Self-published manuscripts are not eligible.

Saudi Historical Fiction Awards

The AWARDS are open worldwide for entries, and there are no eligibility criteria except that manuscripts must be historical, in the English language and with a Saudi setting. To qualify for the prize, your novel must total at least 60,000 words and should be no longer than 150,000 words.

The Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize

The Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening page of an unpublished novel. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers.

Fantasy Writing Competition 2022

Short story competition clean vs green.

Open to all – international writers are encouraged. All submissions must be in English and unpublished. A short story of between 1000 and 3000 words. Please submit your short story plus around 200 words on your thinking behind your approach and how your story meets the criteria. The title of the document should be the title of your story.

Fan Story Rhyming Poem Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a poem of any type. But there must be a rhyme scheme.

Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mystery Book Awards | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Dec. 31, 2019 will be disqualified. Novels must be 60,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

WOW! Women on Writing Creative non-fiction Essay Contest

All women can enter. Entries should be creative non-fiction in English. Maximum words: 1000. Minimum words: 200.

Polar Expressions National Poetry and Short-Story Contest

Any Canadian resident or citizen can enter. There are two seperate prize categories: 1) ages 16 and above, and 2) ages 15 and under. All work must be original. Entries should not have been previously published and no simultaneous submissions. Poems must be 48 lines or less. Short stories must be 750 words or less. Fanfiction and essays are not permitted. Entries should be in English or accompanied by an English translation.

Highlands & Islands Short Story Association

Any amateur author can enter. Any theme (unusual story lines preferred), must be unpublished and original and won no prize before. Short Story length: max 2,000 words. Flash Fiction length: max 500 words.

Fan Story New Arrival Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. This is a “New Arrival” contest which is designed to welcome new members to the site.

Red Hen Press Novella Award

15,000 word minimum, 30,000 word maximum. Entries will be accepted via Submittable only. The award is open to all writers with the following exceptions: Authors who have had a full-length work published by Red Hen Press; or a full-length work currently under consideration by Red Hen Press, Employees, interns, or contractors of Red Hen Press, Relatives of employees or members of the executive board of directors.

Western, Pioneer, & Civil War, Americana Historical Fiction Novels, and First Nations Novels | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Historical fiction pre-1750s writing contest | chaucer | chanticleer book reviews.

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Copyrighted works before Dec. 31, 2017 will be disqualified. Novels must be 60,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

Historical Fiction Post 1750s Writing Contest | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Copyrighted works before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified. Novels must be 60,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

The Orison Anthology Awards

Anyone can enter. Submissions are for single works in 3 genres (poetry, fiction, an non-fiction). Submit up to 3 poems (10 pp. max), 1 story (up to 8,000 words), or 1 work of non-fiction (up to 8,000 words). You may submit in multiple genres, and/or submit multiple entries in each genre.

Fan Story Loop Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Loop Poetry requires that the last word of each line becomes the first word of the next line. The rhyme scheme is abcb.

Fan Story My Faith Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Share a poem that is about your faith or how faith has impacted your life. Any type of poem accepted.

Flash Fiction Competition 2022

Anthology magazine short story competition.

Anyone can enter. Stories submitted must be on the theme of ‘Memories’ in English. To enter, submit an original, unpublished short story, written in English on the subject of ‘Memories’ with a maximum of 1,500 words.

Young Adult and Teen Writing Contests | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified. Novels must be 50,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

Middle Grade Fiction Writing Contests | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified. Novels must be 50,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest. 20,000+ word count .

Oxford Flash Fiction Prize

Anyone can enter. All entries must be the work of the person entering and must not have been published anywhere online (including blogs and websites) or accepted for publication elsewhere. It must be in English. The copyright remains with the author. Length: 1000 words, no minimum word limit.

Fan Story Take A Photo Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter. Write a poem about a photo you’ve taken.

Aesthetica Poetry Creative Writing Award

Anyone can enter. Poetry entries should be no more than 40 lines. They accept works on any theme.

Aesthetica Short Story Creative Writing Award

Anyone can enter. Fiction entries should be no more than 2,000 words. They accept works on any theme.

Romantic Fiction Writing Contests | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before January 1, 2018 will be disqualified. Novels must be 50,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

Coniston Prize for Women Poets

All women can enter. Submit 3-6 previously unpublished poems in English. This award recognizes an exceptional group of poems.

Blue Mesa Review Writing Contest

Anyone can enter. Must be in English, unpublished original work, simultaenous submissions acceptable. Please submit a packet of up to 3 poems or up to 6,000 words of prose.

Miller Williams Poetry Prize

Anyone can enter. Length: Manuscripts must be between sixty and ninety pages. The manuscript must be previously unpublished. Individual poems may have been published in chapbooks, journals, and anthologies. Work in translation is not accepted.

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Anyone can enter except those from Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions). Length limit: 250 lines maximum per poem. The entry should be your own original work and in English. You may submit the same poem simultaneously to this contest and to others, and you may submit poems that have been published or won prizes elsewhere. (However, please do not submit work that has previously received recognition at Winning Writers.)

The Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction may include memoirs, chronicles, personal essays, humorous perspectives, literary journalism—anything the author has witnessed, experienced, learned, or discovered. Writers may enter more than once. Length should not exceed 10,000 words. All topics are welcome; pieces should be written in a nonacademic style

Thriller, Suspense Writing Contest | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. 12 point font – Times New Roman suggested. Single or double-spaced. Single spaced preferred by judges. Name, title, and word count on cover page. Pages should be numbered. Digital WORD documents or PDF only. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified. Novels must be 60,000 plus words. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee. You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

Little Peeps Picture Books and Early Readers Writing Contests | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. Published works before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

Non-Fiction Writing Contests | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Books may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. Books may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. All published books must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Works published before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified. Books must be 50,000 plus words. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee. You may enter more than one book into a given contest.

The Crucible First Novel Award

Anyone can enter. Submit the first 5,000 words of their manuscripts, along with a 150 word ‘elevator pitch’. Manuscripts which have been published in any form, either traditionally or self-published, are ineligible to enter. Entries which fall within the genres of crime, mystery, thriller, or their sub-genres are eligible.

Embracing Our Differences Quotation Contest

Anyone can enter. Entries can be no longer than 20 words on embracing our differences. Please consider submitting an original quotation.

The Calvino Prize

Submit up to 25 industry standard (double-spaced, 12-point font, pages numbered) pages of a novel. Do not send publication history of the author.

The Raven Short Story Contest

This contest is for previously unpublished short fiction between 250 and 2500 words in length. Multiple entries welcome. Total entries limited to 200.

The Galley Beggar Press

Submissions must be no longer than 6,000 words.

Letter Review Prize for Short Stories

submit an original unpublished short story which is 400 – 3000 words, written in English, in size 12 font, as a word doc. Include a short biography of less than 200 words. Don’t include your name in the title of your document, or in your story, as the Prize is judged blindly.

Fiction Factory Short Story Competition

Length of story: max 3,000 words. Entries should be as a Word document. All types of stories are welcome (excluding Children’s and Young Adult Fiction).

The Larry Brown Short Story Award

The submitted story must be less than 4,000 words. No previously published work will be considered. The writer’s name and contact information should only appear within the cover letter box in Submittable.

Flash 500 Novels competition

Anyone can enter. Entries may have appeared online in private (password protected) peer review sites, but should not have been published in any commercial online form including blogs or personal websites or accepted for publication elsewhere. Chapters must not exceed 3,000 words and must be accompanied by a one page synopsis of the balance of the story. Entries must be in English.

OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction | Sword & Sorcery Fiction | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Copyrighted works before Dec. 31, 2019 will be disqualified. Copyrighted works before Dec. 31, 2019 will be disqualified. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.

Paranormal Writing Competition | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Dec. 31, 2019 will be disqualified. Novels must be 50,000 plus words. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.

Global Thriller Writing Contest | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Virginia b. ball writing contest.

All students in grades 8-11 during the 2022-2023 school year are eligible to apply. Poetry: Your sample should include 1-4 poems/spoken word pieces. Fiction: Your sample should include 1-3 stories, novel or story excerpts, or flash fiction pieces. Each piece should be fewer than 3,500 words.ersonal essay/memoir: Your sample should include 1-3 essays. Each piece should be fewer than 3,500 words.Screenwriting: Your sample should be fewer than 20 pages. Playwriting: Your sample should be fewer than 20 pages.

CIBA Fiction Series Book Awards | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels must be PUBLISHED: Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pubs accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation. Unpublished Manuscripts are not accepted into the CIBA Book Series Awards. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Each book in the series must be at least 60,000 plus words. YA and Middle-Grade Works may be less but at least 40,000 words. The first book in the series must have been published AFTER January 1, 2010. Three Books or more is the qualifying number of works to be considered a series in the CIBA Series Book Awards. You may enter in more than one category. However, each complete series entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.

20c Wartime Historical Fiction | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pub accepted. All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Published works before Dec. 31, 2018 will be disqualified. Novels must be 60,000 plus words.You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.

Satirical & Allegorical Fiction Book Awards | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Contemporary & literary novel writing contest | chanticleer book reviews, non-fiction guides and how-to book awards | chanticleer book reviews.

Books may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pubs accepted. Word Documents and PDFs are accepted. All published books must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Works published before December 30, 2018 will be disqualified. Books must be 50,000 plus words OR at least 75 pages for Photobooks, Graphic Books, Charts, and other types of visual books or cookbooks/instructional books (knitting, etc). You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee. You may enter more than one book into a given contest.

You may enter more than one book into a given contest.

Works may be published on the web or in print or may be non-published. E-pubs accepted. Word Documents and PDFs are accepted. International entries are accepted but they must be written in the English language. Entries must be in the English language. STYLE GUIDERS ACCEPTED: AP, Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, and APA. Works published before December 30, 2018 will be disqualified. Works must be 10,000 plus words. Works must be 10,000 plus words. You may enter more than one work into a given contest.

Business, Technology, and Enterprise Non-Fiction Guides and How-To Book Awards | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Books may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published E-pubs accepted. Word Documents and PDFs are accepted. All published books must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. Entries must be in the English language. Works published before December 31, 2018 will be disqualified. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee. You may enter more than one book into a given contest.

Mind and Spirit Non-Fiction Guides and Works | Chanticleer Book Reviews

Books may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published. E-pubs accepted. Word Documents and PDFs are accepted. All published books must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission. Entries must be in the English language. No erotica. No graphic violence. Works published before January 1, 2019 will be disqualified. Books must be 40,000 plus words. You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee. You may enter more than one book into a given contest.

Hearten Book Awards for Uplifting Non-Fiction Works | Chanticleer Book Reviews

The grindstone novel prize.

The 2022 International Novel Prize is open to authors from all countries, providing their submissions are in English. The prize is open to authors who are; unrepresented and unpublished, unrepresented and self-published, or previously published but currently unrepresented. Entrants are asked to submit the first 5,000 words of their finished or part-finished manuscripts, accompanied by a brief synopsis. Manuscripts must have a finished, or projected-finished length of at least 50,000 words. Entries of all genres are accepted, with the exception of worked aimed at children. YA is accepted.

Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize

Typically novels are 60,000 – 95,000 words. Submit three chapters (minimum of 4000 words, maximum 10,000 words), including the first chapter, another chapter that best showcases how your novel meets the green stories criteria, and a third chapter (the final chapter if possible). Prepare a synopsis between 500 and 1000 words that covers genre, plot, characters, and details of how it meets the green stories criteria of showcasing positive visions of a more sustainable society or incorporating green solutions into the context of an otherwise mainstream story.

H.E. Bates Short Story Competition

Anyone can enter. Must be unpublished (except on social media) and original work, and won no prize before. Length: max 2,000 words.

Daisy Pettles Women’s Writing Contest

All women writers, age 40 or older.

Dynamo Verlag Book Contest

This contest is open to all authors who have not published more than one (1) full length book in their primary genre (this does not include self-published works). Current and under-contract Dynamo Verlag authors are ineligible, as are any persons employed or associated with the press.This contest is open to primarily textual poetry or prose, minimum 8,000 words for poetry and maximum 75,000 words for prose.

7 Day Story Writing Challenges

The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over at the time of entering. International entries are welcome. All entries must be written in English. You must register for the competition using your real name. You can only register once.

Flash Fiction Competition

Entries must be in English. Entries must be the work of the entrant and must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere. The competition is international and welcomes non-UK entrants. Copyright remains with the author.

The Moth Poetry Prize

The Prize is open to anyone (over 16), as long as the work is original and previously unpublished. There is no line limit, and the poems can be on any subject.

Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Contest

Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better. Write about real emotions and feelings and that you have, some special person, or an occasion that comes to mind as you write. Poems are judged on the basis of originality and uniqueness. English-language entries only, please.

53-Word Story Contest

Your story must be 53 words—no more, no less—titles are not included in the word count. Stories not meeting this rule will be disqualified. Send only stories; poetry with line breaks will not be considered. Hyphenated words count as one word. One submission per person. there are no age restrictions.

Shooter Flash

We welcome stories up to 1,000 words long on a rolling basis, any theme/genre. Stories must be no longer than 1,000 words excluding title. Stories may be submitted at any time as submissions are open on a rolling basis. Stories can be previously published or unpublished, and writers may submit multiple stories for consideration.

Keeping your writing hidden won’t do much for your self-esteem and help you advance in your chosen career. Joining contests and competing with the best writers out there is the one way to give yourself the boost you need.

Read more here.

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Amber Byers

Thanks for including the Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest in your valuable directory of writing contests for 2022!

We’re excited to let you know that we are now hosting this contest twice a year—with deadlines every April 30 and November 30.

If you make any updates to this list, would you kindly include our updated deadlines?

Many thanks! Amber https://www.tadpolepress.com/100-word-writing-contest

Hello Amber, Thanks for letting us know. We’ll make sure to add the new dates in the next update.

Michael Gordon

As a writer I would suggest other writers to take part in writing contests because they are a great way to increase your exposure.

oussama boutoual

We at Neovel are excited to announce our upcoming writing contest with the theme of “Suspense” and the name The Mysterious Case We are seeking talented writers to submit their best work and compete for a chance to win prizes and gain recognition.

We would be grateful if you could help spread the word about our contest to your audience of writers and readers. We believe that your website is a great platform to reach out to potential participants and we would be honored if you could feature our contest on your website.

The contest is open for submissions starting 06/02/2023 and will close on April 2, 2023. The winners will be announced on May 8, 2023.

The entry is completely FREE

The prizes for winning authors are:

1st place: 500€,

2nd place: 250€,

3rd place: 100€.

Additionally, we will also be offering prizes for readers who read the most chapters from books that are participating in the contest :

1st : 1 year of free premium membership,

2nd : 6 months of free premium membership

3rd : 3 months of free premium membership.

Here is the link to the contest for more details : https://neovel.io/contest/the-mysterious-case-contest

If you have any questions or need more information about our contest, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you can help us make this contest a success.

If you have any questions, please contact Oussama at oussama@neovel.io for further assistance.

Best regards, The Neovel Team.

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51 Writing Contests You Can Submit to Now (June - September 2022)

Find 51 excellent writing contests below with deadlines between June 2022 and September 2022. Polish your manuscript and submit it to one of these great writing contests (and, if you're looking for a class in fiction , poetry , nonfiction , or screenwriting , we've got you covered):

Bauhan Publishing

May sarton new hampshire poetry prize.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Rebecca Kaiser Gibson will judge. Using only the online...

Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry

Griffin poetry prize.

Two prizes of $65,000 Canadian (approximately $51,123) each are given annually for poetry collections by a Canadian poet or translator and by an international poet or...

Poetry London

Poetry london prize.

A first-place prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,762), a second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,705), and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,353) will be...

University of North Texas Press

Katherine anne porter prize.

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

Twyckenham Notes

Joe bolton poetry award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Twyckenham Notes is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission...

Lascaux Review

Prize in flash fiction.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review online and in print is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published stories are eligible. Using...

International Short Story Prize

A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,423) is given annually for a short story. A prize of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with a €250 (approximately $285...

University of Pittsburgh Press

Drue heinz literature prize.

A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book...

Cider Press Review

Editors’ prize book award.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review , and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...

Winning Writers

North street book prize.

A grand prize of $8,000 and seven additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published books of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, children’...

Los Angeles Review

Literary awards.

Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay. Joshua Rivkin will...

Barrow Street Press

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Tina Chang will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25...

Hidden River Arts

William van wert memorial fiction award.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or a novel excerpt. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 25 pages of fiction (and a synopsis if...

Omnidawn Publishing

Poetry chapbook contest.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ruth Ellen Kocher will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to...

Claremont Graduate University

Kingsley & kate tufts poetry awards.

The $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award is given annually to honor a book of poetry by a midcareer U.S. poet. The winner will spend one week in residence at Claremont Graduate...

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Barbara mandigo kelly peace poetry award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit...

Conduit Books & Ephemera

Marystina santiestevan first book prize.

A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 30 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Bob Hicok will judge. Submit a manuscript...

Regal House Publishing

Petrichor prize for finely crafted fiction.

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novel. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 350 pages with a $25 entry fee...

Ghost Story

Screw turn flash fiction competition.

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website and in the 21st Century Ghost Stories anthology is given twice yearly for a work of flash fiction with a...

The Story Prize

A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a short story collection written in English and published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up receive $5,000 each...

Bellevue Literary Review

Prizes in poetry and prose.

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the...

Comstock Review

Muriel craft bailey memorial award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. Ellen Bass will judge. Submit up to five poems of no more than 40 lines each...

Cincinnati Review

Robert and adele schiff awards.

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in poetry,...

Poetry Contest

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The poetry editors will judge. Using only the online submission system,...

The Word Works

Tenth gate prize.

A prize of $1,000, publication by the Word Works, and 30 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published at least two full-length books of...

Poetry Prize

A prize of $15,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a single poem. A Reader’s Choice Award of $5,000 is also given to one of ten finalists. Submit up to...

Santa Fe Writers Project

A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Santa Fe Writers Project is given biennially for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the...

Poetry and Short Story Awards

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...

Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a story collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of approximately...

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Dogfish head poetry prize.

A prize of $500, publication by Broadkill River Press, 10 author copies, and two cases of Dogfish Head craft beer are given annually for a poetry collection written by a poet...

Munster Literature Centre

Seán o’faoláin international short story collection.

A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,178) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong residency at the Anam Cara...

Award for Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Tom Lombardo will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 120 pages with...

New Millennium Writings

New millennium writing awards.

Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short...

Prairie Heritage, Inc.

Jan garton prairie heritage book award.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published book of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-continental prairies.” Authors...

Red Wheelbarrow

A prize of $1,000 and publication in  Red Wheelbarrow  is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the...

Staunch Book Prize

A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,303) will be given for a thriller novel in which “no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped, or murdered.” Books published or...

Howling Bird Press

Book contest.

A prize of $2,500 and publication by Howling Bird Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2023 prize will be awarded in...

Spring Story Contest

A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative...

Connecticut Poetry Society

Experimental poetry contest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Connecticut River Review will be given annually for an innovative poem. Richard Deming will judge. Using only the online submission...

Sewanee Review

Fiction, poetry, and nonfiction contest.

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Richie Hofmann will judge in poetry,...

Radar Poetry

Coniston prize.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Radar Poetry is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who identifies as a woman. Dorianne Laux will judge. Using only the...

Delaware Division of the Arts

Individual artist fellowships.

Three Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and three Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative...

Granum Foundation

Granum foundation prizes.

A prize of $5,000 will be given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support the completion of a manuscript-in-progress. Up to three finalists...

Literary Arts

Oregon literary fellowships.

Fellowships of $3,500 each are given annually to Oregon writers to initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. These include...

Aspen Words

Literary prize.

A prize of $35,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published in the current year that “illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power...

Gival Press

Short story award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Gival Press website is given annually for a short story. Submit a story of 5,000 to 15,000 words with a $25 entry fee by August 8....

TulipTree Publishing

Stories that need to be told contest.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “tells a story that needs to be told.” The winner will also receive a two-year subscription to...

Grayson Books

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grayson Books is given annually for a poetry collection. John Sibley Williams will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

Open Book Prize

A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Shane McCrae will judge. Submit a manuscript of 40 to...

Other Futures Award

A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of innovative poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work “that challenges...

Indiana Review

1/2 k prize.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for a poem or a work of flash fiction or creative nonfiction. Submit up to three poems, stories,...

Kallisto Gaia Press

Poetry and short fiction prizes.

Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Ocotillo Review are given annually for a poem and a short story. Zoë Fay-Stindt will judge the Julia Darling Memorial...

Masters Review

Short story award for new writers.

A prize of $3,000 and publication in  Masters Review  is given twice yearly for a short story by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book are eligible, as...

Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,089) and publication by the Munster Literature Centre is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive accommodations...

Talking Gourds

Fischer prize.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also be featured in a Bardic Trails online reading in 2023 and will receive a $100 honorarium for...

Utica College

Eugene paul nassar poetry prize.

A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a...

Creative Writing Award

Two prizes of £2,500 (approximately $3,256) each and publication in Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. In addition, the...

University of New Orleans Press

A prize of $10,000 and publication by University of New Orleans Press is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

Prize in Translation

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given in alternating years for a group of poems or a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. The 2022...

Barthelme Prize for Short Prose

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a short work of prose. Submit a prose poem, a work of flash fiction, or a micro essay of up to 500...

Gemini Magazine

Flash fiction contest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of up to 1,000 words with a $7...

Black Lawrence Press

St. lawrence book award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors will judge. Using only the...

Off the Grid Poetry Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Garrett Hongo will judge. Using only the online...

American-Scandinavian Foundation

Translation awards.

A prize of $2,500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative...

Academy for Teachers

Stories out of school flash fiction contest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in A Public Space will be given annually for a work of flash fiction about teachers and school, in which the protagonist or narrator is...

Academy of American Poets

First book award.

A prize of $5,000, publication by Graywolf Press, and a six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet...

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Dogwood are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10...

Finishing Line Press

New women’s voices chapbook competition.

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a writer who identifies as a woman and has not yet published a full-length...

Nature Writing Prize

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,089) and publication in the Moth is given annually for a poem, story, or essay that features “an exploration of the writer’s...

Fordham University at Lincoln Center 

Poetic justice institute prizes.

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Fordham University Press are given annually for poetry collections. The winners also receive a publicity consultation and headline...

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The Winners of Our 3rd Annual Personal Narrative Essay Contest for Students

Eight short, powerful essays from teenagers about the moments, big and small, that have shaped them.

By The Learning Network

For a third year, we invited students from 11 to 19 to tell us short, powerful stories about a meaningful life experience for our Personal Narrative Writing Contest . And for a third year, we heard from young people across the globe about the moments, big and small, that have shaped them into who they are today: a first kiss that failed to meet expectations, a school assignment that led to self-acceptance, an incident at airport security that made the world look much less sweet, and more.

Our judges read more than 11,000 submissions and selected over 200 finalists — eight winners, 16 runners-up, 24 honorable mentions and 154 more essays that made it to Round 4 — whose stories moved us and made us think, laugh and cry. “I’m always blown away by the vulnerability and tenderness so many of these stories hold,” one judge commented.

Below, you can read the eight winning essays, published in full. Scroll to the bottom of this post to find the names of all of our finalists, or see them here in this PDF .

Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who shared their stories with us.

(Note to students: We have published the names, ages and schools of students from whom we have received permission to do so. If you would like yours published, please write to us at [email protected] .)

The Winning Essays

“the best friend question”, “504 hours”, “t.s.a. and cinnamon buns”, “lips or slug”, “the bluff”, “autocorrect”, “purple corn”.

By Blanche Li, age 13, Diablo Vista Middle School, Danville, Calif.

“All right, class, settle down! Your last Spanish essays were the worst I’ve read in my 22 years of teaching. So today, I’m requiring you to be specific. You must use new vocabulary to write about your best friend. I don’t want to hear that your best friend is nice. I want to know how. Begin, and no talking!” my Spanish teacher, Señora Morales, shouted at the class.

I sat with my pencil hovering over my paper and then slowly began to write in Spanish: My best friend is Hayley. She’s a soccer champion who colored a red streak in her hair to support her team. She plays cello, like I do, and we car pool to our orchestra every Saturday. She uses funny English words like “shenanigans” and “bamboozle,” and describes angry people as “ballistic.” We’ve been best friends since fourth grade.

This is my standard response to the “best friend” question, no matter who asks. The problem is, Hayley isn’t real. I had to come up with a fictional best friend because there have been too many writing prompts asking me to describe this person, too many moments when I’ve replied, “I don’t have one,” and too many times I’ve heard, “Why not? Are you just not the type of person who wants a best friend?” It’s as if people think I’m too introverted and gloomy to even bother. Truth is, during school, I’ve watched with envy the best friends who ice skate together and the best friends who call each other nicknames like “Homeskillet” and “Key Chain.”

Of course, I have plenty of acquaintances — those who I talk to at lunch about conspiracy theories: that the school’s macaroni and cheese has neither macaroni nor cheese and that our beloved janitor is actually God. But the friend who I can depend on when my bully calls me “Bleach” doesn’t exist.

I’ve often wondered, does not having a best friend make me defective? Should I be embarrassed that the only people I hang out with at the farmer’s market are my parents? Should I be worried that my primary cure for loneliness is my cats? Will I have to face heartbreak and failure alone?

Not having a best friend means I have no one to text late at night when I can’t fall asleep and no shoulder to cry on when I fail my orchestra audition. Sometimes I tell myself, “You’re such a baby; just toughen up. There’s no way you’ll ever succeed because you can’t deal with the smallest issues in life.” Considering these thoughts makes me lock myself in my room, sit against the door, and take psychology tests on my phone to prove why I am defective.

But as I scroll through my phone, I ask myself, what would Hayley say to me right now? As an imagined character, Hayley can say what my mind tells her to. So Hayley sits down and puts her arm around me. Her lips curl slightly upward, and her brown eyes zoom in on my face. She tells me, “You can only do so much, and bringing yourself down uses most of the ‘so much’ you can really do.”

When Señora Morales hands back my paper describing Hayley, she tells me, “She seems like a great friend!”

“Yeah,” I grin. “She’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

By Lyat Melese, age 16, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.

The shrill sound of a whistle slices through the gym, slowly halting the bouncing basketballs, squeaking tennis shoes and background chatter. My P.E. teacher stands in the middle of the room, looking around in distaste at the disarray of basketballs, hula hoops, and volleyball nets. He asks for volunteers to help clear the gym.

Saanvi raises a lone hand into the air. Everybody else refuses to meet the teacher’s eyes, focusing on the floor, their hands or the ceiling.

I sigh as it strikes again.

It is hard to define the Amharic word in English. It describes the feeling comprising a mishmash of extreme empathy and the inability to say “no.” It is a trait I see in my mother and, much to my annoyance, myself. While yilugnta makes me a kind and respectful daughter at home, it makes me a pushover susceptible to guilt-tripping at school.

I raise my hand, “I can do it.”

Saanvi and I collect all the balls and ropes, rolling the carts into the storage room.

We are alone when she suddenly stops and looks at me.

“Did you get accepted?” she asks, referring to the highly selective admission to the local STEM high school.

“Yeah,” I reply. “You?”

She looks away. Her hands fist at her sides as a frown is etched on her face.

I look down. “I’m sorry. I know how badly you wanted to go.”

“You don’t understand,” she spits out. “You obviously got in because you are Black.”

I don’t respond, focusing instead on the colorful hula hoops I am stacking in a pile: green, yellow, blue.

When we first moved to America, my parents went to great lengths to avoid the term “Black.” They instilled in me that I was not just Black, I was Ethiopian. I used to think it was because they didn’t want me to forget my culture. Now I think they were protecting me because the term “Black” shoulders the weight of history.

My Nigerian neighbor always grits his teeth and talks to himself when he watches Nigerian news. He blames Britain for forcing the tribes together. He says Nigeria should not have existed. Now, his wife hides the remote because his blood pressure grows too high.

My mom’s friend’s African-American partner goes to town halls and protests every week. He still waits for the day he will get the reparations his ancestors were owed.

My mom tells me that we are not like them. Our ancestors were not colonized or enslaved. Don’t carry the burden that is not yours.

In my head, I want to scream that I did not choose to carry anything. It was shoveled on top of my head. Much like my yilugnta , it is a trait I have to own, no matter how I wish otherwise.

The age of shackles and scramble for land has long passed, but the aftermath reverberates in our ears, whispering words like “victim,” “predator” and “diversity hire.”

Black is black is black.

I turn back to look at Saanvi.

“The admissions are race-blind,” I state.

“Everybody knows that’s not true,” she scoffs. “So few Black people apply, you are guaranteed a spot.”

She pushes past my shoulders and marches out of the room.

Her bag lies forgotten on the floor, a key chain with a colorful peace sign dangling from the front.

I stare at it, contemplating leaving it there.

I pick up the straps and haul it over my shoulder, once more carrying the weight I do not own.

By Elise Spenner, age 15, Burlingame High School, Burlingame, Calif.

It felt like there was no air in the room. Mom sat on the mint green chair in the corner. The white exam paper crinkled under me as I gripped my knees to my chest and rocked back and forth. My tears blurred the cheery posters on human anatomy, balanced eating and mask etiquette into a mosh pit of swirling words and colors. The doctor’s words were garbled, blocked out by a rushing storm of shame.

“Hospital … patient care … check if they have beds.”

“Disordered eating … bradycardia … not enough blood to the heart …”

I didn’t need to listen to her. I already knew everything. I am a straight-A student. I have a solid grasp on cause and effect. Two plus two is four; not eating and exercising too much is an eating disorder. I’ve watched enough “Grey’s Anatomy” to know when doctors have bad news. I could tell by the way she walked into the room: the weary smile that screamed pity and heartache and the look that said, “I came into this profession to save lives, but that means I have to ruin yours.” I knew before that, when the nurse’s brow furrowed at the 42 on the heart rate monitor, and her icy fingers pressed my wrist to recalculate. I knew when I left that morning for my ritualistic five-mile run, leaving the remains of a breakfast pecked at and shuffled around on the plate. Of course I knew.

For a moment, as I listened and cried and the world swirled around me, I was relieved. Relieved that I could let go. That I wouldn’t have to think about what I ate or how fast I ran because my hands were being forcibly removed from the steering wheel.

But the world wouldn’t stay on hold until I was ready to start living again.

While I sat shellshocked, Mom canceled next week’s vacation to the bungalow rental by the beach. Dad sent a terse email to my soccer coach explaining why I would miss our first training camp in a year. For the next three weeks, I would participate in my summer courses from the four walls of a hospital room, with my computer angled to block out the nurse that would routinely flush my IV, the tangled mess of green and yellow wires that would tie me to a 24-hour heart rate monitor, and the makeshift sofa that one of my parents would sacrifice their back to sleep on each night. And two months later, my dad would open the mail to find a bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Enough to account for the 504 hours I would spend in a hospital room, the 126 meals and snacks I would eat over those 504 hours, and the nurses who would wait on me for every single one of those 504 hours.

As I rocked compulsively on the glaring, white exam paper, relief quickly gave way to guilt. Gnawing guilt that in my undying pursuit for some ideal, I had destroyed my parents, my relationships and my life. I thought the numbers on the scale were some test to be passed or game to be won, until winning left me in a hospital bed for the summer. My choices were real. And the consequences? They were even more real.

First, after I finished sobbing, I wanted to scream, “Why me?” Then I wanted to pray to a god I didn’t believe in to turn back the clock and rewrite my story. But finally, with my face still buried in my knees, all I could do was whisper “I’m sorry” over and over and over again.

By Ruhani Chhabra, age 16, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, Calif.

“You’re going to have to take that thing off, sir.”

Yet another T.S.A. officer had just arrived. I cast a nervous glance at my father, who was extremely calm, even as he explained — for the third time — that he couldn’t unwrap the turban on his head. One, it would take too long to put back on. Two, it was against his faith.

The sentence hung heavily in the cinnamon-scented air. I resisted the urge to run through the metal detectors, shoes on and everything.

Make no mistake, I didn’t want to be embarrassed about my religion; in Sikhism, dignity is as fundamental as the turban. But when you’re 12 years old, awkward, pimply and painfully aware of the stares and mutterings from speedy holiday travelers, it’s hard to muster that pride.

It shouldn’t have turned out like this. My father and I had embarked on an impromptu trip to surprise his relatives, and the events resembled a Charlie Brown Christmas special — until we reached that dreaded corner of the airport.

To distract myself, I concentrated on the sugary aroma coming from the diner in the terminal. We always ate there before our flights; I loved their cinnamon buns. I associated a peculiar sense of freedom with those baked goods — their sweet taste meant we’d finished with security, freed of scrutiny.

Having brown skin and a head-covering means you’re practically begging for a “random” T.S.A. check. I figured that out at around the same age that I learned how to put on an airplane seatbelt on my own. However, this demand was significantly worse. Still, I wanted him to comply, wanted to rid myself of the scathingness of being “different.”

My father, who knew he would forever be considered “different” from the moment he walked into this country, persisted. He’d been to this airport before, and they let him have his turban scanned instead of removing it — what could’ve changed?

“It’s the holiday season,” the palest officer said, rolling his eyes. “Security is tighter. Just make a decision. Can’t you see your little girl’s waiting too?”

If I was embarrassed before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. With all eyes on me, I wanted to shrink to the ground.

I had always feared the possibility of such humiliating “precautions” imposed on my father, and I had always thought that I would speak up. Even a simple “Don’t talk to him that way” would suffice.

Yet I looked up, turned to my father, and said, “Just take it off.” And the way he sighed let me know that I’d won. It was a rather haunting victory.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh on my younger self. After all, I was severely insecure and surrounded by years worth of schoolyard ignorance (“So … why does your dad wear that rag?”), which morphed into my buried shame, and it took me a while to realize I had to dispel it. It took me even longer to learn how.

In the years to come, I’d discover the cathartic space of transcribing my feelings on paper. At that moment, though, I simply internalized everything: the embarrassment, the confusion and, most of all, the gnawing guilt. I watched impassively as my father removed his turban, every layer of meaningful fabric peeled away in front of a whole crowd.

The officers, circling him like angry piranhas, took one long look and then dismissed us. It was over.

Or so I thought. My father, never one to hold a grudge, still bought me some cinnamon buns. I took them onto the flight and looked out the window at the bright blue American sky, wondering why they didn’t taste as sweet as before.

By Daniella Canseco, age 17, Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio

When I was younger, I romanticized the thought of my first kiss. I thought it would be the most extravagant thing I would experience with the most handsome boy ever. I wanted the whole shebang: a Zac Efron look-a-like, roses, candles. When I did have my first kiss, was it like this? Nope. My first kiss was in a church parking lot after a musty dinner at the local food court. Just like everyone else, I remember the experience vividly, even though I try to forget.

The first red flag with this guy should’ve been the fact that when my mother Googled him, a picture of my last failed attempt at a relationship came up. They knew each other. Why didn’t I bail that very moment? Well, I was so desperate for even a hue of male validation that I put my blinders on for all red flags. I even ignored the fact that he had shirtless mirror pictures on his Instagram. How I cringe.

In my blue Mazda with the sticker “Let me see your kitties” on the back, I drove into the desolate Mission City Church parking lot, not knowing what fate awaited me. For about 30 minutes this guy showed me his entire music library, which consisted of subpar rap songs that his ex-girlfriend had introduced him to, and his entire camera roll, which was all pictures of him shirtless in front of a mirror, except for two, which were, surprisingly, shirtless pictures of him not in front of a mirror. So unpredictable!

A heavy rain started and, with each drop of water smacking my car, a loud slap would reverberate inside and inhibit our ability to hear one another. This unfortunate turn of events resulted in a conversation where the question “WHAT?” was said every other statement. We made small talk by screaming (well, him just screaming about himself at me) for about 10 minutes until the atmosphere in the car thickened with anticipation.

“Have you ever been kissed before?” he asked, breaking the silence.

“HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KISSED BEFORE?!” he howled at me.

Taken aback by this overwhelming question, I felt heat rush to my face as my body tinged with panic: Will he think I’m weird if I say no? Should I lie? I shouldn’t have eaten that Greek salad with onions.

“It’s OK if you haven’t.”

I pulled out my metaphorical white flag of surrender and admitted to my lack of achievement of this milestone. Suddenly, I saw his body lean over the dashboard that separated us; his hand reached for my cheek and, just like that, he started kissing me. The fumes of hot onion breath were shared between us as his wet lips slid against mine like a slug. This went on for a good three seconds, which really felt like a good three years, until I pushed him away, overwhelmed by the discomfort I had just experienced. My hand lunged for my cup of water as I attempted to wash down the dissatisfaction of something I had yearned for for years.

“Oh, are you OK?” he questioned, as I violently gulped down my water.

“ARE!? YOU!? OK!?”

“OH! YEAH, I-I JUST NEED TO GET BACK.”

I drove him back to his house, the only sounds the ending of the once violent storm and his ex-girlfriend’s rap music playlist. The awkward end-of-date goodbye ensued, and I drove back home in silence rethinking what happened, my lofty expectations deflated. Most of life’s presumptions will not be close to reality, but that’s just how things work.

By Marion Cook, age 14, The Wheeler School, Providence, R.I.

Thirty feet below me and the quivering gray of the diving board, the ocean howled its lonely tune. It whispered and wept like a child lost at the market. It was restless. The wind blew to the same beat at which my heart quickened. It thumped almost audibly despite the shouts of encouragement from strangers, their presence adding a touch of surrealness to my already fraught situation.

I wonder how many people I disappointed that day. I wonder if they remembered my face as I disappeared into the lottery of daily life.

Slowly, my cousins began to run off the sharp angle of the board. I watched some of them fall; there was always this flutter of panic before they all resurfaced, laughing.

I wanted to, too. I wanted to be like them. They said it felt like flying. I remembered thinking that I wanted to know what it felt like to have wings.

The concept of voluntary risk leaked from my brain in the same way water leaks through one’s cupped hands. I think I blame cancer. My mom was diagnosed. Skin cancer. On her head. Not like one surgery and it’s gone type cancer, like fighting for more time type cancer. I was nine years old. Instead of worrying about what to wear to school, I worried about whether or not my mom would wake up in the morning. And how I wouldn’t know until later because a hospital bed cradled her arms and IV bags hugged her, instead of me.

I didn’t really think about my partially broken urge to take on fear because I was too busy with school and birthday parties and the full-time occupation of being the kid of a sick person.

So I didn’t. For years I would come back. Sometimes I would watch my cousins or strangers fall and just say that I didn’t feel like it or that I had just dried off or that the water was too cold. The ocean didn’t judge me, and the sky didn’t care.

But I still felt regretful whenever I walked away. Slowly, I remembered that I had still wanted to know what it felt like to fly.

All of life is temporary and like a dream in the sense that when it will end is as obscure as the already forgotten beginning. Perhaps the greatest people are those who understand that risk is what makes life count. You can be alive for lifetimes without ever really living at all. Sometimes fear is what makes existence tangible as we crisscross our strings of consciousness, floating haphazardly in the void.

I remembered this. I think, to some degree at least, it saved me in a way. I ran off the board. Partially because heights and I are not compatible, and partially because life’s too short to spend time hesitating.

And I did fall. I think I screamed. The whole ordeal happened as spontaneously as the disease that had engulfed my mother. It was over faster, though. And hurt less than radiation and needles and drugs sometimes did. My mom was there that day. Despite relapses and tumors, by the time I was 14, she was extraordinarily cancer-free. The ocean consumed me. I felt small again, like a kid, like I had traveled back to before the Big Bang, and everything forever was silence and the bubbles caused by the air escaping my lungs. And then I resurfaced. I was OK.

I was going to be OK.

By Ellen Xu, age 16, Del Norte High School, San Diego

I stare at the texts on my phone screen, sent from Dad an ocean away: “Love you.” “Miss you.” “Call?” When I was young, I used to play a game where I would repeat a word enough times for it to sound foreign. Now, I’m playing the same game but in reverse, attempting to remember what it was like when his texts still held their meaning.

Out of habit, I type out “Lub”— my way of saying “love”— and press send, a fraction of a second too late before I see the letters rearrange themselves on their own accord. “Lin.” My mom’s name. Not again. I’m convinced autocorrect has a mind of its own; or, maybe it knows that there is a part of me that has a hard time letting go, that wants to revert to a time when her name was not taboo when sent to him.

Dad moved to China the summer after sixth grade. I remember the long nights we would sit at kitchen table discussions, a tug of war between “job” and “family.” Whenever I look back, I’m reminded of the movie “Interstellar”; not just because it was our favorite movie, but because if I had only been smart enough like Murphy, I would have told him to stay. It was not long after he left that distance severed the bond between my parents, like the expanding universe pulling stars out of orbit. Like Cooper pounding his fist on an interdimensional bookshelf, I am banging on the keyboard hoping the right words will fall out. But all that ends up on the other side is empty text and autocorrect.

I write “Lub” again, this time removing the autocorrect and appending a gauche apology. He texts back: “Call for just one minute?” I think of all the things I want to say: It’s not the same to call. It’s been two years since I was last with you. I just had my first driving lesson today and don’t you remember promising me years ago that you would be the one to teach me to drive? Do you know how many memories we’ve traded for texts and calls?

But I don’t say this. I bite back the frustration and text back “OK,” and in the next instant, his face lights up my screen.

We don’t say much in that minute. He doesn’t ask me how I am, because “good” is never a good enough answer. I don’t ask about his new life, his job, his family, or any of the questions I used to hurl at him. His tear-filled smile, creased with hope and sadness, makes me swallow all the things I want to say. The fact that he is OK with this, that he would keep calling and texting me every night even if I never answered, that just being able to see me on the other side of the screen is enough, makes it enough for me to let go. To move past my anger and regret at how, when I needed it the most, my words came out jumbled in those crucial moments at the kitchen table, where I could have changed things.

I’m not angry anymore. He looks at me and tells me he loves me. And for once, my words come out just as I want them to: no longer autocorrecting to the bitterness of a past left behind.

“I lub you, too.”

By Lillian Sun, age 17, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.

Part of my youth remains in China, in the suburbs of Hangzhou where the children feed stray cats on the open streets and the elders take leisurely walks in the quiet parks. The roads were barely wide enough for one car to pass through, not that very many people knew how to drive. My grandpa owned a bicycle that he used to take me to wherever I wanted to go. At 70 years old, he could still pedal the two of us through the town fast enough for the wind to tousle my hair and send my hat flying.

The bicycle only had room for one passenger, so I walked with my grandpa and grandma whenever all three of us went downtown in the summer. We bought our groceries in a spacious multistory shopping mall that sold everything from cellphones to raw meat. I wasn’t tall enough back then to push the cart and decided to drift from stall to stall, eyeing the different foods on display designed to catch the eye of a wandering child. No matter how much I begged, my grandpa never bought me shiny red candy or steamed custard buns: Wai puo and I can cook better food for you.

Once back in our apartment, my grandparents got to work, creating an aroma that seeped through the kitchen and into the living room where I was reading an old book. Within half an hour, a whole steamed fish, white rice, and purple corn were laid out on the table. I always finished the fish and rice first, leaving the corn for last.

My grandparents only bought the freshest vegetables, especially so when it came to purple corn. They knew which corn was the most tender just by looking at the husks. Then, they boiled the corn for a good 10 minutes on their gas stove to ensure that it was fully cooked.

I was not a patient granddaughter and often burned my fingers picking up the purple corn, though my complaints were forgotten after the first bite. The kernels stuck to my teeth and filled my mouth with warmth. I chewed the glutinous corn until my jaw ached and my teeth were stained purple, leaving a wholesome aftertaste on my tongue.

After two years of living with my grandparents, I flew back to the United States. The streets here were loud and dogs barked all day long. The corn in American grocery stores was pale yellow, small and watery. I didn’t burn my fingers when I ate it, nor did I chew it for very long. Juice from the corn dripped down onto my plate and I wished I was back in China, walking hand in hand with my grandparents. Here in America, I could eat all the candy I wanted, but there were only so many pieces I could swallow before the sugar became nauseating and I threw up, crying.

My mother eventually found frozen purple corn at a Chinese supermarket, packaged in Styrofoam and plastic wrap. When boiled, the corn softened to a chewy texture, but I could no longer taste Hangzhou summers in this purple corn.

Student Personal Narrative Contest Finalists

In alphabetical order by the writer’s last name.

Daniella Canseco, age 17, St. Mary’s Hall, San Antonio: “Lips or Slug?”

Ruhani Chhabra, age 16, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, Calif.: “T.S.A. and Cinnamon Buns”

Marion Cook, age 14, The Wheeler School, Providence, R.I.: “The Bluff”

Blanche Li, age 13, Diablo Vista Middle School, Danville, Calif.: “The Best Friend Question”

Lyat Melese, age 16, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.: “Guilted”

Elise Spenner, age 15, Burlingame High School, Burlingame, Calif.: “504 Hours”

Lillian Sun, age 17, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.: “Purple Corn”

Ellen Xu, age 16, Del Norte High School, San Diego: “Autocorrect”

Bailee Cook, age 17, Hanford High School, Richland, Wash.: “To Cry”

Esther Lee, age 16, St. Paul Preparatory, Seoul: “Warmth Behind Unfamiliarity”

Anjanette Lin, age 14 Groton School, Groton, Mass.: “Orange Nikes”

Jimmy Lin, age 17, BASIS International Park Lane Harbor, Huizhou, Guangdong, China: “The Front Seat”

Robin Linden, age 13, The Wheeler School, Providence, R.I.: “Goodnight, Mom”

Sybellah Kidd-Shugart, age 15, Sprayberry High School, Marietta, Ga.: “A Watch Wound Back Seven Years”

Sim Khanuja, age 17, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Mo.: “An Angel’s Eyes”

Maximus Masucci, Harmony Middle School, Purcellville, Va.: “How I Learned to Break Out of My Shell: An Autistic Boy’s Perspective on Communication”

Pranav Moudgalya, age 17, University High School, Irvine, Calif.: “Talking Turkey”

Jack Quach, age 17, St. Ignatius High School, San Francisco: “A Mighty Pen”

Sum Yu Tian, age 15, The Hockaday School, Dallas: “The Ever-Moving Train”

Ryan Thomas, age 16, Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, Ill.: “The Pyrotechnician”

Yihan (Laura) Wang, age 13, Shrewsbury International School Bangkok Riverside, Bangkok: “Confession”

Elizabeth Warren, age 17, The Hockaday School, Dallas: “El Xbox”

Stella Wu, age 16, Taipei American School, Taipei, Taiwan: “Anonymous”

Jerry Xu, age 16, Sacred Heart Schools Atherton, Atherton, Calif.: “What’s in a Name?”

Honorable Mentions

Jayda Brain, age 15, Illawarra Christian School, Albion Park, Australia: “The Viking Revenge Flume”

Claire Beeli, age 15, Woodrow Wilson High School, Long Beach, Calif.: “When Airplanes and Rocket-Copters Were Stars”

Tony Cai, age 17, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H.: “A Coin Never Delivered”

Czarina Datiles, age 16, Academy of Our Lady of Peace, San Diego: “Bystander”

Jinane Ejjed, age 13, The Seven Hills School, Walnut Creek, Calif: “The Flying Turtle”

Elena Green, age 17, Washington-Liberty, Arlington, Va.: “Modern Education”

Viona Huang, age 16, Diamond Bar High School, Diamond Bar, Calif: “Born a Crime”

Chloe Jacobs, age 17, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Conn.: “Heart Hearth”

Yoo Jin Cho, age 16, Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Sydney: “Lost Your Voice?”

Eve Kaplan, age 16, Community High School, Ann Arbor, Mich.: “Boy Crazy”

Liana Kim, age 15, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, Va.: “Echoes of My Blood”

Gwen McNulty, age 14, Lincoln High Schoo, Lincoln, R.I.: “You Don’t Dry Them”

Asher Mehr, age 17, De Toledo High School, West Hills, Calif.: “I Remember August”

Atena Mori, age 16, Iolani School, Honolulu: “Not Throwing Away Any Soup”

Eojin P.: “Withering Cards”

Anya Pan, age 14, International School of Beijing, Beijing: “White Rabbit Under the Sun”

Raymond Pan, age 17, Aurora High School, Aurora, Ontario: “10,000 Kilometers”

Stewart Payne, age 16, Western Albemarle High School, Crozet, Va.: “Playing Games”

Arian Salamat, age 17, Branham High School, San Jose, Calif.: “Boneco”

Alexander Sayette, age 16, Winchester Thurston School, Pittsburgh, Pa.: “400 Meters”

Lauren Strauch, age 18, St. Mary’s Hall, San Antonio: “Two Women Baking”

Cheyenne Toma, age 17, Leonardtown High School, Leonardtown, Md.: “Mourning the Dad I Never Had in Nine Innings”

Paul Wallace, age 16, Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, Ill.: “Unholy Night”

Madison Xu, age 17, Horace Mann School, Bronx, N.Y.: “Table for Three”

Round 4 Finalists

A PDF of all the winners and 154 more great narratives that made it to Round 4.

Thank you to all of our contest judges!

Sara Aridi, Erica Ayisi, Edward Bohan, Julia Carmel, Amanda Christy Brown, Kathryn Curto, Nicole Daniels, Dana Davis, Shannon Doyne, Alexandra Eaton, Jeremy Engle, Arden Evers, Vivian Giang, Caroline Gilpin, Michael Gonchar, Robyn Green, Emma Grillo, Annissa Hambouz, Michaella Heavey, Kimberly Hintz, Callie Holtermann, Jeremy Hyler, Susan Josephs, Tina Kafka, Shira Katz, Varya Kluev, Megan Leder, Phoebe Lett, Kathleen Massara, Keith Meatto, Sue Mermelstein, Andy Newman, Amelia Nierenberg, John Otis, Fran Pado, Kim Pallozzi, Olivia Parker, Ken Paul, Anna Pendleton, Raegen Pietrucha, Natalie Proulx, Christina Roberts, Kristina Samulewski, Katherine Schulten, Juliette Seive, Jesica Severson, Rachel Sherman, Ana Sosa, Arman Tabatabai, Mark Walsh and Kim Wiedmeyer

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, registrations are now open all essayists must register  here  before friday 31 may, 2024.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition. To register, click here .  

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of th e deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

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The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

The best writing contests to enter in the second half of 2022

The first half of this year may have already passed, but there’s still plenty of time left to enter writing competitions in 2022. If you’re ready to unleash your creativity, there are writing contests with free entry and some with a minimal entry fee open around the world. Here’s a list of writing competitions currently open until to December 31, 2022.  

Short Story Competitions

The Reedsy Prompts Contest 

Enter a short story using a theme from one of Reedsy’s weekly newsletters released every Friday with five writing prompts. Writers have one week to submit a short story based around the prompts.

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Different themes each week.

Open to: No restrictions stated

Deadline: Weekly* December 31, 2022

*Word limit: Submissions between 1,000 – 3,000 words

Prize: $250 to the weekly winner with the story published on the Reedsy Blog within seven days.

Sydney Hammond Short Story Writing Competition

Want to write stories that allow your imagination to go wild? 

Genre: Fictional tale or a fictional tale inspired by a true story

Theme: Water under the Bridge

Deadline: 6pm August 1, 2022

Word limit: 1000 words

Entry fee: $15

Prize: First prize $250AUD Hawkeye Publishing Gift Voucher plus an anthology cover based on the winner’s story.

The Woollahra Digital Literary Award

This national literary award supports innovation in Australian literature and publishing, and if you’re a writer producing work in a digital medium, read on – there are two categories.

First Competition: 

Genre: Fiction. A novella or short story collection – published in the first instance online or in an electronic format that can be accessed on a computer, tablet or mobile device

Theme: Not stated

Open to: Entries must be submitted by authors that are Australian Residents over 16 years of age. 

Second Competition:

Genre: Non-Fiction. A monograph, collection of essays or a long essay – published in the first instance online or in an electronic format that can be accessed on a computer, tablet or mobile device.

Theme: Not stated  

Open to: Entries must be submitted by authors that are Australian Residents over 16 years of age.

Deadline: August 29, 2022

Word limit: 3,000-30,000 words (on both Fiction and Non-Fiction stories.)

Entry fee: N/A

Prize: $2,500 AUD for each competition category

2022 Alice Sinclair Writing Competition

Genre: Not stated

Theme: Out of the shadows

Open to: All writers

Deadline: August 31, 2022

Word limit: up to 2,500 words

Entry fee: $15 for each entry (maximum two entries per entrant)

Prize: $150 + certificate for first; $100 + certificate for second; certificate for third (most commended).

2022 The Minds Shine Bright Writing Competition

The arts business Minds Shine Bright runs two fiction writing competitions per year. This is their current competition. It’s open to short stories, poems, short scripts and flash fiction.

Theme: Storm – the theme must be included in each entry

Deadline: September 30, 2022

Word limit: 2,500 words across all categories except flash fiction which is 1000 words

Entry fee: $5 for each entry (maximum two entries per entrant)

• The winner receives $500
• Second place – $400
• Third place – $300
• Fourth place – $200
• Five commended entries receive $100 each.
• Minds Shine Bright will also publish the winners and commended entries in an e-book.  

The Letter Review Prize for Short Stories 2022

Theme: Not stated. Accept all varieties of original unpublished short stories. Must be written in English.

Open to: Anyone from anywhere in the world over 12 years of age

Deadline: 11:59 pm on 31st October 2022.

Word limit: 400 – 3,000 words

Entry fee: $20 USD per story (Can submit multiple stories)

Prize: The total prize pool is $1000 USD. $600 USD and publication for first place, $250 USD and publication for second, $150 USD and publication for third.

Creative Writing Competitions

The Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) and Westerly prize for Life Writing

This popular competition highlights life writing and encourages writers to pursue creative approaches as they contemplate their memories and life experiences.

Genre: Non-fiction and creative non-fiction. Submissions of autobiography, biography, memoir, and essays

Open to: Writers across Australasia, at all stages of their journey; including emerging and established writers.

Deadline: July 31, 2022

Word Limit: Entries should not exceed 3,500 words.

Entry Fee: $20 AUD

Prize: The winner will receive a $500 AUD cash prize, a one-year subscription to Westerly , and conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP, where the winner is invited to read their work.

Entry is via: https://meniscusliteraryjournal.submittable.com/submit

For further information visit: http://www.aawp.org.au/news/opportunities/

Australasian Association of Writing Programs AAWP/Express Media Sudden Writing Prize

Genre: Short-short fiction, sudden fiction, sketchy stories, creative nonfiction and poetry.

Theme: Open

Open to: Emerging writers under 25 years of age across Australasia.

Deadline: Midnight July 31, 2022

Word limit: Up to 400 words prose, 40 lines for poetry, 200 words for prose poems.

Entry fee: $5 AUD

Prize: The winner receives $500 AUD, and a Voiceworks subscription, and a one-year membership to the AAWP. The winning work is published on the Express Media website.

The Unsealed

Write a letter to your children/ child or future children about what you want them to know about you.

Genre: Non-Fiction

Theme:  The letter must be a true story about your life

Open to: You must be over 18 and a member of The Unsealed Community. 

Deadline: Midnight October 3, 2022

Word limit: From 500 – 1,000 words

Entry fee: $5 USD

Prize: First Place $250 USD Second place $100 USD

Poetry Competitions

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is one of the biggest poetry competitions in the world for 11-17 year olds

Open to: International writers aged from 1 – 17-years

Word limit: Any length and any style

Entry fee: Free and submit as many entries as you wish

Genre: Open to 11- 17 year olds,

Word limit: submit as many poems of any length as they like, on any theme

Entry fee: Free

Prize: The top 15 Foyle winners are invited to attend a week-long writing retreat or receive alternative mentoring. All 100 winners will receive a year’s Youth Membership of the Poetry Society and a range of books.

The 2022 Venie Holmgren Environmental Poetry Prize

Theme: Poems must have an environmental theme and be written in English

Open to: Entrants must be citizens of Australia or have permanent residency in Australia.

Deadline: 11.59pm August 10, 2022

Word limit: Poems must be no more than 80 lines of text

Entry fee: $10 AUD for each entry

Prize: $1,000 AUD The winning poems will be published on www.holmgren.com.au and in Rabbit

This is an Australian literary award highlighting innovation in literature and publishing by encouraging writers who are producing poems for a digital medium.

Genre: Unknown

Theme: Works of poetry published in the first instance online or in an electronic format that can be accessed on a computer, tablet or mobile device.

Open to: Entries must be submitted by authors that are Australian residents over 16 years of age.

Word limit: Maximum 3000 words. No minimum word count

Prize: $1,000 AUD

Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre – International Poetry Competition

Open to: New and established poets from around the world aged 18 or over at the time of entering in two categories:

• Open category (open to all poets aged 18 years and over)
• English as an Additional Language (EAL) category (open to all poets aged 18 and over who write in English as an Additional Language.

Word limit: All poems must have a title and not exceed 50 lines in length (excluding title.)

Entry fee: The first three poems submitted cost £5 per poem. Subsequent entries in the same submission cost £4 per poem. Entrants may submit a maximum of ten poems, following the instructions in the Oxford Brookes Shop.

Prize: The winners of each category will receive £1,000 and both runners up £200.

2022 Alice Sinclair Writing Competition – Poetry

Word limit: Free or traditional to 50 lines

Entry fee: $15 AUD for each entry (maximum two entries per entrant)

Prize: $150 AUD + certificate for first; $100 AUD+ certificate for second; Certificate for third (most commended).

Anthology Poetry Award

Theme: Dreams

Open to: Poets of all nationalities, living anywhere in the world

Deadline: Midnight October 31, 2022

Word limit: 40 lines

Entry fee: Early Bird : 31 July 2022 – €10 per poem After that is €15 per poem

Deadline: 31 October 2022 

Prize: The winner will receive a €500 cash prize and have their work published in a future issue of Anthology . The winner will also receive a one-year subscription to Anthology magazine.

The National Poetry Competition 2022

Theme: Any must be written in English

Open to: Poets worldwide aged 18 or over.

Deadline: October 31, 2022

Word limit: Must not exceed 40 lines (excluding title)

Entry fee: The first poem submitted costs £7. Subsequent entries in the same submission cost £5 per poem.

Prize: Ten Prizes:

• 1st prize: £5,000

• 2nd prize: £2,000

• 3rd prize: £1,000

• Commendations: £200

The Moth Poetry Prize 2022

The Moth is an international arts and literature magazine, based in Ireland. The Moth Poetry prize is considered one of the most prestigious prizes for an unpublished poem.

Theme: Any subject. The poem must be original and previously unpublished and written in English.

Open to: Anyone over the age of 16. 

Deadline: December 31, 2022

Word limit: No line limit

Entry fee: 15 € per poem subsequent entries in the same submission cost £5 per poem.

Prize: 

• The overall winner  € 6,000 is to be announced at a special award ceremony at Poetry Ireland in Dublin in the spring of 2023.
• 3 runner-up prizes of €1,000
• 8 prizes of €250 for commended poems

About the writer:

Jennifer Johnston is a freelance writer who writes about travel, people, business, the environment, culture, history, health, and wellbeing. She also is a content creator. Jennifer lives in Brisbane, and she loves sharing her stories to inspire others to be curious and seek out new adventures.

You can find more about Jennifer  at her blog  or on connect with her on  Instagram

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MEET THE WINNERS OF THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION 2022

The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world's oldest international schools' writing contest, established by the Society in 1883. With thousands of young people taking part each year, it is an important way to recognise achievement, elevate youth voices and develop key skills through creative writing. 

Each year, entrants write on a theme that explores the Commonwealth's values, fostering an empathetic world view in the next generation of leaders and encouraging young people to consider new perspectives to the challenges that the world faces. Themes have included the environment, community, inclusion, the role of youth leadership, and gender equality. 

In the past decade alone, this high-profile competition has engaged approximately 140,000 young people, over 5,000 schools and thousands of volunteer judges across the Commonwealth. 

This year, the competition theme was 'Our Commonwealth', reflecting on our Patron Queen Elizabeth II's seven decades of service to the Commonwealth as an inspiring example of the steadfast commitment and important contribution we can all make to our societies.

We were thrilled to receive a record-breaking 26,322 entries to the QCEC from every Commonwealth region, with the winners and runners-up from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and India. Find out more about this year's winners below and watch their reactions on discovering this significant achievement!

Sawooly Li 

Senior Winner 

Age 17, New Zealand 

Sawooly Li is a 12th grade student from Rangitoto College in New Zealand. Reading and writing have always been second nature for her—a way of expressing visions, thoughts, and emotions. She loves drawing inspiration and learning from other great writers and their works. Both reading and writing are things which Sawooly aspires to continue far, far, into the future.

Sawooly also has a love for maths and physics, and is heavily involved in such areas in her school, running clubs and participating in competitions. Fostering a strong sense of community, she also leads several in-school organisations, such as UN Youth and UNICEF. In the winters, Sawooly enjoys snowboarding in New Zealand’s beautiful mountains with friends and family.

Read Sawooly's winning entry, 'Willow Trees and Waterholes' .

Madeleine Wood

Junior Winner 

Age 14, Australia 

Madeleine is 14 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is in grade 8 at Camberwell Girls Grammar School.

She loves travelling, particularly through Europe, and enjoys visiting the museums, historical landmarks and cities in each country. It is from these experiences that she gained a love for ancient, medieval, and renaissance history.

She is also an avid reader, plays the violin and spends much of her time playing basketball or swimming.

Read her winning poem, 'Catalina' .

Amaal Fawzi

Senior Runner-up

Age 17, United Kingdom

Amaal Fawzi is a 17-year-old girl who was born in Egypt, raised in Lebanon, and now lives in East London. She has an Iraqi father and a British mother, and because of the education system in Lebanon, she has started university a year early! She studies English Literature with Creative Writing and has been writing poetry for many years, though she wouldn’t say she’s been writing poetry well for all of them.

Most of the poetry and prose she likes to write is concerned with culture and identity. Her years in Lebanon formed the majority of her character and cultural experiences, so learning to interact with that in the UK has been a very interesting season. It makes for a lot of writing material, and she’d say that the way she writes is always personal and drawn somehow from her own life.

Read Amaal's poem, 'Nursing Homes' . 

Maulika Pandey

Junior  Runner-up

Age 13, India

Maulika Pandey, is an 8th grade student from Aurum the Global School.

She has always enjoyed writing since she was a child as she feels writing gives her the power to express her feelings in a creative way. Maulika also enjoys sketching and playing the guitar. Basketball is her favourite sport.

She aspires to be a successful entrepreneur but will definitely continue writing in the future.

She is a dedicated advocate for anti-bullying and body positivity.

Read her entry titled, 'The Molai Forest' .

2022 Essay Competition Winner – Anais W

Home › Essay Competition 2024 › Essay Competition Winners › 2022 Essay Competition Winner – Anais W

Table of Contents

Take a look at one of this year’s winning entries to the Immerse Education Essay Competition from the Creative Writing category. Congratulations to all participants and in particular to those who have won 100% scholarships!

Which key attributes make a protagonist likeable?

Protagonists shape the way we interact with stories. They become our immediate association with a series or perspective – Harry Potter memorably recalled by its titular figure – and their memorable attributes accumulate iconic significance over time – such as the emergence of ‘Bah. Humbug!’ as a loveably universal aphorism.

Likeable protagonists form the eyes we see narratives through attracting our empathy and admiration through a mix of relatability, growth, and iconic memorability. These protagonists often embody a liminal dual role of relatable and aspirational quality. Author Amanda Skenandore cites a mix of ‘all-too human flaws and larger-than-life qualities’ [1] to construct a grounded, likeable protagonist. This hybridised concept is manifest quite literally in the mischievous student/talented wizard- ‘Chosen One’ Harry Potter. Sadie Hoagland extends this tenet through her assertation of powerful, ‘revealable’ characters [2]. Authors may also embrace a relatable image of ‘nuanced, human selves’ through initially complex or murky characterisation, leading to cathartic ‘reveals’ or vicarious self-discovery throughout a series; the magical backstory of Jackson and Potter intensifies and symbolises their own, otherwise relatable ‘coming-of-age’ arcs.

Contrasting consistently familiar qualities, to be likeable, protagonists must also be fluid. Protagonists, coined by Barthes as the ‘accomplices’ to discourse [3], mirror the progression of narrative: microcosmically modelling thematic change. Harry Potter’s role as a primarily relatable insert of the audience into the wizarding world expands as stakes grow higher- culminating in his self-realisation after Dumbledore’s death, and eventual legacy/family of his own. Scrooge initially commands little sympathy, yet in fable-like fashion comes to epitomise lofty ideals of Christmas cheer, courting the favour of both moralistic Christian and generally festive readers [4].

Conversely, gradually corrupted, less-reliable characters, consumed by Robert Garner McBrearty’s concepts of ‘strong longings’ [5], attract the adoration of immersed readers. Aristotle notes in Poetics that heroes should be ‘consistently inconsistent’ [6] with flaws, even fatal hamartia, which reads as engaging and, to some degree, justified. In Rebecca, the obsessive, morally grey unnamed narrator commands our loyalty through ambiguating resurged Gothic fantasy and deceptive reality- even as Mrs de Winter grows disconnected from logic and reality, her amplified human desires engender a likeability in her eventual self-determination- ‘I am Mrs de Winter’ [7]. Protagonists, as they evolve and shift, embrace an essentially human fluidity and fragility, captivating audiences to engage with their journey.

Ultimately, likeable protagonists are memorable: they encourage devotion and engagement in the reader. McBrearty notes effective protagonists ‘surprise us!’ [5]; even subtly, they subvert. In conservative Victorian Britain, Scrooge’s arc of humanist redemption embodies revolutionary empowerment and individual autonomy. Harry Potter’s adolescent struggles, recontextualised into fantasy fiction, achieve a memorable rendition of relatable human experience. In Rebecca, the distinctive voice of an ironically unnamed narrator – ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again’ [8] – constructs a dark, psychological reflection on self-determination [9].

Each protagonist exemplifies an essentially relatable body of social ideas through distinctive, iconic individual voice- resonating with readers, and inspiring likeability. The popularity of Harry Potter, A Christmas Carol and Rebecca is evidenced by countless contemporary engagements in fanfiction, and even reinterpretations in film. Each uniquely likeable protagonist – Harry Potter as an audience stand-in; Scrooge as an allegorical parable of redemption; and Mrs de Winter as an abject reflection of shadowed Romanic urges – exemplifies reliability, fluidity and memorability to impress their engaging narrative message, embodying a character ultimately ‘worthy of readers’ investment’ [10].

Bibliography

Aristotle. “Poetics”. In The Internet Classics Archive. Translated by S. H. Butcher. 350BCE. 2009. [classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.1.1.html last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Barthes, Roland. “The Reality Effect.” In The Rustle of Language. Transcribed by Richard Miller. New York: Hill and Wang, 1986.

Cox, Don Richard. and Gilbert, Elliot L. “Scrooge’s Conversion”. PMLA, 90:5 (1975): 922-924. Du Maurier, Daphne. “Rebecca”. London: Virago Press, 2018.

Hoagland, Sadie. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov. [https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-a-good-protagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Linkin, Harriet Kramer. “The Deceptively Strategic Narrator of “Rebecca””. Journal of Narrative Theory, 46:2 (2016): 223-253.

McBrearty, Robert Garner. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov. 2021. [https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-agood-protagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Rohan, Ethel. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov.[https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-a-good-protagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Skenandore, Amanda. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov. 2021. [https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-a-goodprotagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Why Apply To The Immerse Education Essay Competition? 

Are you a highly motivated student aged 13-18? Have you ever wanted to experience studying at Cambridge or Oxford? 

The Immerse Education essay competition allows you the chance to submit an essay for the chance to be awarded a scholarship to the award-winning Cambridge summer school . 

How To Apply To The Immerse Education Essay Competition? 

The Immerse Education annual essay competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a scholarship to a Cambridge or Oxford summer school . 

If you’re aged 13-18 and you’re interested in applying to the Immerse Education essay competition then please visit our essay competition page for more details.

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Global Essay Competition

Compete in our Global Essay Competition and qualify for participation as a Leader of Tomorrow in the world’s premier opportunity for cross-generational debates: The St. Gallen Symposium.

Meet 300 of society’s brightest young minds. Present and debate your ideas with 600 senior leaders. Be inspired by some of the world’s most impressive speakers. Gain a unique and new perspective on this year’s topic. Become a member of a unique global community. Participate in the symposium with us. Win prize money of CHF 20,000 split amongst the three winners.

Topic Question

Striving for more or thriving with less – what pressing scarcity do you see, and how do you suggest to tackle it.

Scarcity generally refers to a situation where human needs exceed available resources . This year’s Global Essay Competition invites young leaders worldwide to focus on a specific contemporary or future challenge related to scarcity and propose an innovative way to address it.

Be creative in thinking about proposed solutions: do we need to strive for more and find ways to boost the availability of the resource in question? Or does it focus on ways to thrive with less and thus rethink our needs and demand?

Be free in choosing which scarce resource you focus on: examples include – but are NOT limited to – human labour, capital, natural resources, or intangibles like time, creativity, or care. Be bold and precise in describing a contemporary or future challenge of scarcity and the specific kind of resources you focus on, and offer a concrete and actionable idea of how we should confront it.

Registration window for the GEC for the 53rd St. Gallen Symposium is closed.

If problems occur during registration, please clear your cached images and files in your browsing history or consider using the browser Google Chrome. If you still cannot apply, use the following  link. For any unanswered questions please contact us via e-mail at  [email protected]

Prerequisites

Qualify with an excellent essay.

We expect a professional, creative and thought-provoking essay. Be bold, unconventional, and distinctive on the competition question.

For your contribution to be valid, the following criteria must be met

Check your eligibility and prepare documents, to be eligible, you must fulfill all of the following criteria:.

• Enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university
• Born in 1994 or later

Make sure you can provide the following documents:

• Copy of passport or other identification (in English for non-Roman languages)
• Confirmation of matriculation/enrolment from your university which proves your enrollment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of 1 February 2024 (download sample document  here )
• Your contribution file with no indication of your name in the file name, the file metadata or the file itself

Meet us and ask your questions!

Meet our student representatives to learn how you can qualify for a participation in the 53 rd St. Gallen Symposium. We will have physical presentations at your university again as well as regular webinars to answer your questions!

Accompanying a Leader of Tomorrow

General questions, who can compete for a participation as a leader of tomorrow at the st. gallen symposium.

Students enrolled at a regular university, who are matriculated in a graduate or postgraduate programme.

What is the St. Gallen Global Essay Competition?

The St. Gallen Global Essay Competition is a global student essay competition, offering students who study at graduate or postgraduate level around the world the opportunity to apply for participation at the St. Gallen Symposium.

What is the Knowledge Pool?

The Knowledge Pool is a group of Leaders of Tomorrow with a strong affiliation to topics of relevance to the St. Gallen Symposium. They show outstanding track records in the particular fields they work or study. They are hand-selected by the International Students’ Committee. It is not possible to apply for membership in the Knowledge Pool.

How much does it cost to participate? 

The participation in the symposium is free for all Leaders of Tomorrow. Moreover, expenses for travel, board and lodging are covered by the ISC. However, we recommend bringing a small amount of pocket money for your convenience.

Essay Competition

Who is eligible for the 54 th  st. gallen symposium.

Students enrolled at a regular university, who are matriculated in a graduate or postgraduate programme as of 1 February 2025, from any field of study, born in 1995 or later.

What is a “regular university”?

In the context of the Global Essay Competition, a regular university is defined as an institution of higher education that also conducts research and offers at least one PhD programme. Exceptions are possible and are granted on a case-by-case basis.

Can Bachelor students participate?

Unfortunately, students on bachelor level do not fulfil the eligibility criteria and therefore cannot enter the competition. There is no other way to apply for participation and we, therefore, encourage all students to join the competition once they pursue with their studies at a graduate level. You may, however, be eligible if the level of study in your current year is equivalent to international graduate level which must be confirmed in writing by your university.

Can teams participate?

Only individual submissions are allowed as we can only grant participation to one contender per contribution.

How long should the contribution be? 

The maximum amount of words is 2,100 (excluding bibliography or graph descriptions and the like). There is no minimum word count. Please make sure to state the exact word count in your document. Also keep in mind that you must not state your name in the contribution.

Do I have to quote my sources?

All sources must be quoted and all essays are scanned for plagiarism. You must refer each source to the respective text passage. Please note that plagiarism is a serious offense and that we reserve the right to take further steps in case of deliberate fraud. Self-plagiarism will also result in disqualification, as the work has to be written exclusively for the Global Essay Competition of the St. Gallen Symposium.

Can I have a look at previous Winner Essays?

Yes, you can find winner essays as well as other publications from the Global Essay Competition here .

What file formats are accepted?

Please make sure to hand in your essay in either a doc, docx or pdf format. The document must allow to copy the text easily (no document protections).

What documents do I need to submit?

In addition to your contribution, make sure to upload

• a copy of your passport (or any other official government ID but no driver’s license) to verify your age
• a confirmation of matriculation from your university confirming your graduate or postgraduate student status as of February 2023
• a short abstract (200–300 words) which can be entered in the registration form directly

in the applicable field of the registration form.

What happens after I submitted my application?

The ISC will verify your eligibility and check all submitted documents for completeness and readability. Due to the large amount of essays we receive, our response may take some time, so thank you for your patience. If the jury selects your essay in the top 100 , you qualify as a Leader of Tomorrow for an expenses-paid participation in the 52 nd St. Gallen Symposium (4-5 May 2023). The results will be announced via e-mail by mid-March 2023. The jury selects the three awardees based on the quality of the idea on paper. The award is endowed with a total prize money of CHF 20,000. In addition, there will be a chance for the very best competitors (including the awardees) to present their ideas on the big stage at the symposium. For this, the students will be asked to pitch their idea on video beforehand.

Who’s in the jury?

The Award Jury consists of leading executives, journalists and professors from all around the world. The Academic Jury is composed of young top academics from the University of St. Gallen and the ETH Zurich.

When will the results be announced?

The jury’s decision will be announced by mid-March at the latest.

Participation

How do the travel arrangements work.

The organizing committee will get in touch with you prior to the symposium to discuss your itinerary and to book your travel.

Can the organising committee help me get a visa?

All Leaders of Tomorrow are self-responsible to get a visa. However, we will inform the applicable Swiss embassy about the invitation and will provide you with the necessary documents. Should a problem arise anyway, we are happy to help. Expenses for visa application are borne by the Leaders of Tomorrow themselves.

Where am I accommodated during the symposium?

All Leaders of Tomorrow are accommodated at private student flats across the city. Please give us an early notice should you have any special requirements (e.g. female flatmates only).

What transport is provided?

We book flights or train tickets and provide shuttle service from and to the airport. Furthermore, all Leaders of Tomorrow receive a free ticket for the public transport in St. Gallen during the week of the symposium.

How much money do I need? 

We recommend bringing some pocket money (CHF 100–200) for your convenience. Please note that depending on your time of arrival and departure, some meals might not be covered.

Can disabled people participate as well? 

Yes, of course. Most of the symposium sites are wheelchair-accessible and we are more than happy to help where we can. Although our ability to provide personal assistance is very limited, we do our best to provide the necessary services.

Is there any touristic programme and do I have time for sightseeing?

During the symposium there will be no time for sightseeing. However, we may offer selected touristic programmes a day before or after the symposium. These days can, of course, also be used for individual sightseeing. Nearby sites include the old town of St. Gallen, the lake Constance and the mountain Säntis.

Can I extend my stay in Switzerland?

Yes, upon request we can move your return flight to a date of your choice. If the new flight is more expensive, we may ask you to cover the price difference. Please note that we are unable to provide any services such as accommodation or transportation after the end of the symposium week.

Can I bring a spouse?

Unfortunately, we cannot provide any services such as travel, room, board or symposium access to any additional person.

Past Winners & Essay Reviews

Out of approx. 1,000 annual contributions submitted by graduate and post-graduate students from all around the globe, the jury selects three winner essays every year. Meet our competition’s past winners and read their contributions.

2023 – A New Generational Contract

Elliot gunn, gaurav kamath, megan murphy, essay question:.

The best or worst legacy from previous generations: How to preserve or replace it?

A great deal of our lives is influenced by when we were born. As those currently alive, we have inherited the world which previous and older generations have built. We owe a great deal to the efforts of our forebears, but we also inherit problematic legacies.

2022 – Collaborative Advantage

Sophie lara neuber, anton meier, bryan kwang shing tan.

Collaborative Advantage: what should be written into a new intergenerational contract?

 The idea of a “generational contract” embodies the principles that younger and older generations rely on each other to provide mutual support across different stages of their lives. Inclusive education systems, sustainable welfare states and meaningful environmental action are some of many challenges requiring a cross-generational collaborative effort. Yet, with the climate crisis, rapid technological change and societal aging in many countries, the generational contract and notions of intergenerational fairness have been challenged. Members of the younger generation are raising their voices as they reflect on how their futures are being compromised by current decision-makers.

 What’s your specific and actionable idea that should be written into a new generational contract? Choose an area where you see evidence that intergenerational fairness is – or, going forward, will be – challenged and where the generational contract needs to be rewritten. Potential areas include, but are not limited to, business strategy and the economy, inclusive governance and education, the welfare state and health care, environmental sustainability, or the world of work. Describe your problem and offer concrete and practical proposals how inter-generational fairness can be restored or reinvented. Explain your idea’s impact for the future.

2021 – Trust Matters

Janz irvin chiang.

1st place – Peking University

Joan  Nyangena

2nd place – York University

Karl Michael Braun

3rd place – Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

A Matter of Trust: How Can Trust be Repaired When It’s Lost?

In recent years, we have seen many reports about “trust crises” in the realms of politics, health, business, technology, science, and media. Political and corporate scandals, mass protests, and deteriorating trust indicators in global perception surveys support this diagnosis. As a result, senior leaders in many of these sectors publicly aspire to “rebuild trust” in their decisions, products, or institutions. What would be your advice to them?

Choose an area in one of the above-mentioned sectors where you see evidence that citizens’, consumers’, regulators’, employees’ or other stakeholders’ trust has been lost. Describe your example of an apparent loss of trust; offer concrete and practical proposals on repairing damaged trust. Describe your idea’s impact for the future.

2020 – Freedom Revisited

Symposium  postponed.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the final review and communication of the results of the contributions to the Global Essay Competition was stopped prematurely.

Freedom Revisited: Which aspects of freedom need to be defended, or recalibrated, to meet the challenges of our time?

Domestically and on the international stage, values of individual, economic, and political freedom are subject to critical inquiry or outright attack. Diverse phenomena such as populism, global power shifts, climate change, the digital revolution, and global migration call for a reflection on the value of freedom for the way we live, do business, and organize politically in the years ahead. While some call for a defence of established freedoms, others call for recalibration of our concept of freedom, or the balance we strike between freedom and other values, such as equality, sustainability, and security. Where do you stand in this debate? Choose one of the following positions as you develop your essay:

In defence of freedom: Choose an area in the realm of business, economics, politics, or civil society where current concepts of freedom are under pressure and where they need to be defended. Describe the problem and offer a concrete and practical proposition of how established concepts of freedom should – and can be – defended. Describe its impact for the future.

In defence of recalibrating freedom: Choose an area in the realms of business, economics, politics or civil society where current concepts of freedom are unsuitable for the challenges we face and where they need to be recalibrated. Describe the problem and offer a concrete and practical proposition of how established concepts of freedom should and can be recalibrated. Describe its impact for the future.

2019 – Capital for Purpose

Reuben muhindi wambui (ke).

1st place – The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Natalie Hei Tung Lau (HK)

2nd place – University of Pennsylvania

Toan Do (VN)

3rd place – Yale University

Is it as good as it gets? – What approach would you suggest to change the current purpose of capital?

Political volatility, environmental issues, precarious labour markets, technological monopolies, managerial and investment short-termism are only a few challenges we face. The time has come to counter excessive short-termism and start doing business as unusual. Think about the status quo and its implications. What would be an idea to change it? Develop projects or actions you would trust in to bring new and expanded purposes to capital and aim for a long-term positive impact. In your essay you should consider how the use of capital (financial, human, social,…) can solve complex challenges and address substantial changes, be it by individuals, civil society, businesses or governments. Your idea must inspire leaders worldwide to take on responsibility and put it into practice. Be bold and develop a truly impactful concept to win our prestigious award.

2009 – 2018

2018  – beyond the end of work, nat ware (au).

1st place – University of Oxford

Janis Goldschmidt (DE)

João abreu (br).

3rd place – Harvard University

Robots are coming for your job. How do you augment yourself to stay economically relevant?

Author Yuval Noah Harari claims that the rapid progress of artificial intelligence technology will render the human species economically useless within decades. Imagine a world in which humans fight back, harnessing AI and other technologies to stay economically indispensable – and, ultimately, competitive against the computers. Describe the job you aspire to in the future, how it will potentially be influenced by AI, and how you would augment yourself technologically if necessary to prevail in your chosen career.

2017  – The dilemma of disruption

1st Place – University of Oxford

Benjamin Hofmann (DE)

2nd Place – University of St. Gallen

Sigin Ojulu (SS)

3rd Place – University of Southern California

Breaking the status quo – What’s YOUR disruptive idea?

The notion of disruption captures today’s innovation zeitgeist. Nowadays, it seems everyone claims to be a disruptor – particularly young people with an entrepreneurial mindset. Let’s think beyond disruptive innovation in management and look at disruption more generally as something that breaks the status quo – be it in business, politics, science, or society. Pick the one of these four fields you are most passionate about, identify a problem of greater magnitude and come up with a disruptive idea to solve it. Your idea must aspire to inspire top-notch leaders worldwide. Do not free ride on the buzzword “disruption” but rather be bold and develop a truly novel and radical concept to win our prestigious award.

2016  – Growth – the good, the bad, and the ugly

Schima labitsch (at).

1st place – Fordham University

Alexandra Ettlin (CH)

2nd place – University of St.Gallen

Colin Miller (US)

3rd place – New York University

What are alternatives to economic growth?

2015  – Proudly Small

Laya maheshwari (in).

1st place – London School of Economic

Leon Schreiber (ZA)

2nd place – Freie Universität Berlin

Katharina Schramm (DE)

3rd place – University of St.Gallen

Essay Questions:

• What is the next small BIG thing?

Think about unconventional ideas, undiscovered trends or peripheral signals that may turn into ground-breaking changes for societies. Present one idea which is not on the radar of current leaders yet but will change the game in business, politics or civil society – the best ones will be put to the test by the global audience of the St. Gallen Symposium.

• Collaborative Small State Initiative

Although small states lead the global rankings in international benchmark studies on competitiveness, innovation and wealth, they are often politically marginalised. Explore a common agenda for small and prosperous countries and identify one joint project that would increase the relevance of small states on the global stage. Go beyond politics and diplomacy by also including economic and civil players.

• Elites: small but superior groups rule the world – at what price?

Human history shows that the world has been ruled by tiny but superior groups of people. It is the elites who have been controlling societies and the allocation of resources. Given the rise of inequality, a devastating level of famine that still exists, ubiquitous corrupt systems of government, limited access to education for the underprivileged, to name just a few of the world’s greatest problems, elites are challenged to redefine their roles and agenda settings. Share your thoughts on how elites are supposed to emerge and transform in the 21st century.

2014  – The Clash of Generations

Ashwinikumar singh (in).

1st place – University of Mumbai

Martin Seneviratne (AU)

2nd place – University of Sydney

Set Ying Ting (MY)

3rd place – National University of Singapore

• Balancing Generational Claims

The presumption of an altruistic relation between generations and its positive effect on the economic well-being of societies is illusionary. Welfare states have widened fiscal gaps to an irreparable extent for the next generations. When aspiring to a sustainable welfare system, how should intergenerational claims balance without having to rely on selflessness?

• A Double-Edged Legacy

Let’s be frank: The generational contract has failed everywhere – but for different reasons. Exuberant public debts, zooming healthcare costs, unequal distribution of wealth, loss of ethical and moral anchors, loss of trust in existing institutions: each state is facing a unique set of problems. Briefly describe the situation in your country and propose a generational contract defining mutual responsibilities on an economic and social level.

• A Prospect for the Young

Highly educated and ambitious, yet unemployed. A whole generation of young is entering the labour market with little prospect of success. The implications go way beyond individual tragedies as economies with lasting high levels of youth unemployment risk social instability. Present new solutions on how we can overcome this crisis.

• Business between Generations

Slogans like “rent is the new own” or Botsmann and Rogers’s “what’s mine is yours” (HarperBusiness, 2010) mark the trend of shared economy. Although not a new economic phenomenon per se, particularly the Millennials are embracing this attitude towards doing business where they value access over ownership. The trend is gaining global mainstream acceptance which is resulting in a lasting impact on economic performance. Discuss the future of shared economy, its overall implications and the dynamics between supply and demand.

2013 – Rewarding Courage

Kilian semmelmann (de).

1st place – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Dragov Radoslav (BG)

2nd place – Rotterdam School of Management

Bree Romuld (AU)

3rd place – University of St.Gallen (HSG)

The competitors must choose from one of four competition questions, which refer to the four topic clusters “Putting incentives right”, “Coping with institutions”, “Against the current – courageous people” and “Management of excellence”

• Putting incentives right

How come that both in the corporate world and in politics, responsible courage (e.g. whistleblowing, courage to disagree with current paradigms, etc.) is hardly ever rewarded? Where the big decisions for the future are taken, anxiety, conformity and despondence prevail. How can this be changed?

• Coping with institutions

Institutions of all kinds shape our behaviour – be it economic, political or social behaviour. How should institutions be designed in order to foster a sustainable economic and social development?

• Against the current – courageous people

Observers lament that younger generations, as individualistic as they are, tend to settle for a highly streamlined social and economic world that does not ask for big decisions or unconventional thinking. Please share your opinion on this observation and explain why you agree or disagree. Please use examples that support your arguments.

• Management of excellence

New insights can only flourish within a culture of dialogue in different opinions. No assumptions should be taken for granted nor should there be any unquestioned truth. However, most people (decision makers, managers, students, etc.) often fail to deal constructively with conflicting opinions. How can companies encourage their employees to build a healthy attitude towards unconventional thinking and acting?

2012 – Facing Risk

Rodrigues caren (in).

1st place – St. Joseph’s Institute of Management

Jennifer Miksch (DE)

2nd place – Geneva Graduate Institute

Jelena Petrovic (SR)

3rd place – King’s College London

Detecting Risks

• The methodological tools that allow early detection of what will shape future trends are pivotal. While risks are emerging faster, these tools still need fostered advancement. What is the role of scenario planning and forecasting methods and who is or should be responsible for these aspects in the organisation? How should the detection of risks be addressed in an increasingly complex and interconnected global landscape?

Risk Aversion

• In wealthy societies, most people tend to suppress risk taking. Given this increasing trend of risk aversion in saturated societies, what are the long term consequences for economy and society? What are the long term consequences of a high level of risk aversion?

Emerging Risks

• There are tremendous risks facing the global community and many people have not yet become aware of their potential consequences (e.g. public debt burden). What are the societal, economic and/or political risks your generation of decision makers will be facing in the future? How could you convert these risks into opportunities?

Managing Risk

• There is often a disconnect between taking risks and bearing the burden of the consequences of doing so (e.g. risk taking in investment banking). Who should bear the consequences of negligent risk taking and why? How can healthy risk taking be fostered in wealthy societies?

2011 – Just Power

Marcelo ber (ar).

1st place – New York University

Dhru Kanan Amal (IN)

2nd place – London School of Economics

Maria de los Angeles Lasa (AR)

3rd place – Università di Camerino

• Justice and Power
• Rethinking Leadership
• Public Goods and Values

We asked you to contribute visions and ideas to the theme “Just Power” – Power in the sense of its use in various areas of politics and economics. We expected a professional work which could be an essay, a scenario, a project report or proposal, a multi- media presentation or an entrepreneurial concept. It should be constructive, provocative or instructive, inspiring thoughts and actions as well as introucing new approaches and unconventional ideas. Within the framework of the theme you may choose between three subtopics for your contribution.

2010 – Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change

Ainur begim (kz).

1st place – University of Oslo

James Clear (USA)

Christoph birkholz (de).

• What makes an entrepreneur an “agent of change”?
• Changing of the guard: Who are the new entrepreneurs?
• Corporate entrepreneurship within large companies: a concept for the future or a mere pie in the sky?
• Entrepreneurship between environmental risks and opportunities: What does it take to succeed?

2009 – Revival of Political and Economic Boundaries

Shofwan al-banna choiruzzad (id), jason george (us), aris trantidis (gr), 1999 – 2008, 2008  – global capitalism – local values, guillaume darier (ch), jacobus cilliers (za), feerasta aniqa (nz), christoph matthias paret (de), 2007  – the power of natural resources, benjamin block (us), gustav borgefalk (se), kevin chua (ph), 2006  – inspiring europe, maximilian freier (de), chen yesh (sg), elidor mëhilli (al), william english (us), 2005  – liberty, trust and responsibility, christian h. harding (de), luana badiu (ro), norbert jungmichel (de), fabien curto millet (es /fr), 2004  – the challenges to growth and prosperity, ravi rauniyar (np), peter g. kirchschläger (at / ch), xin dong (cn), 2003 – seeking responses in times of uncertainty, stefanie klein (de), rosita shivacheva (bg), 2002 – pushing limits – questioning goals, constantine (dino) asproloupos (ca / gr), manita jitngarmkusol (th), 2001 – new balance of power, marion mühlberger (at), uwe seibel (de), moses ekra (ci / ca), gerald tan (my), 2000 – time, martin von brocke (de), pei-fu hsieh (tw), tzvetelina tzvetkova (bg), 1999 – new markets, new technologies, new skills, peter doralt (fr), valérie feldmann (de), rajen makhijani (in).

“Partaking in the competition was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only was I able to come to St. Gallen and meet incredible young entrepreneurs and leaders who I’m still in contact with, but it provided me the opportunity to develop and share ideas with key decision-makers. The main idea I submitted was for a new way to finance retraining and healthcare at no cost to individuals or governments. Given the COVID- 19 pandemic, this idea is needed now more than ever, so I’m currently implementing the idea through a new organization I’ve established called FORTE ( Financing Of Return To Employment ).” NAT WARE , Founder & CEO of FORTE, Leader of Tomorrow at the 47th and 48th St. Gallen Symposium

Finished Papers

Laura V. Svendsen