Literary Contests - Mystery Writing

Adventure Writer's Competition

The AWC accepts novels exhibiting (in whole) the general action-adventure-themed genre and style. The Adventure Writer's Competition is sponsored by the Clive Cussler Collector's Society, Braveship Books and AJM Books. It is a annual writing competition for published and non published auth...

Fountain Hills, AZ   US

Agatha Awards

The Agatha Awards honor the traditional, "cozy" mystery. That is to say, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. Agatha Awards are given for materials first published in the United States by a living author during the calendar year 2014 (January 1-December 31), either in hardc...

Gaithersburg, MD   US

Anthony Awards

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery w...

Stevensville, MD   US

Audrey Jessup Award

The contest is open to Ottawa and the National Capital Region residents. The story must be unpublished and feature a crime. Maximum length 3,500 words. The judging process is blind, therefore do NOT include author’s name on the manuscript. The cover letter should include your name, address, story ...

Ottawa, ON   CA

Bath Novel Award

£2,000 international prize for unpublished or independently published writers of novels for adults or young adults. Judge: Susan Armstrong of Conville & Walsh Literary Agency. £22 entry fee per novel. First 5,000 words plus one page synopsis. ...

Avon, England   UK

Bisexual Book Awards

Books can be submitted by the author, publisher or the Bi Writers Association (BWA). However, anyone may suggest a book for us to outreach. Any book with a bisexual or bi+ character, bisexual storyline, bisexual subject matter or bisexual themes can be submitted. The book award categories are open t...

New York, NY   US

Blue Ridge Mountains CWC Directors Choice Awards

Past and present attendees of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference are eligible to submit their published work to this contest. ...

Ridgecrest, NC   US

Book Excellence Awards

The Book Excellence Awards (www.bookexcellenceawards.com) is an international book awards competition. The Book Excellence Awards is dedicated to helping authors and publishers increase their visibility, credibility and book sales through extended support and resources on topics such as publis...

Toronto, ON   CA

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards

The Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards are a set of industry-recognition awards set up by a coalition of Irish booksellers in 2007. The awards are owned by Irish Book Awards Ltd, a not-for-profit company presided over by a board comprising representatives from founding members Eason & Son Ltd, Argos...

,   IE

British Book Awards

The British Book Awards, or Nibbies, is the definitive event for honouring the commercial successes of publishers, authors and bookshops. It succeeds 2016’s British Book Industry Awards.

There have been many notable winners over the years. Faber was the first publisher of the year in 1990 and in...

London,   UK

CALIBA Golden Poppy Awards

The members of CALIBA present The Golden Poppy Book Awards to recognize the most distinguished books written by writers and artist who make California their home. The Golden Poppies are given for books published in the following categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Cooking & Food, Mystery, Romance,...

Campbell, CA   US

Carol Awards

The Carol Awards are ACFW’s recognition for the best Christian fiction published by traditional publishing houses in the previous calendar year. Beginning with the 2015 Carol Awards program, certain independently published Christian fiction will be eligible.

Qualifying titles shall be written f...

Palm Bay, FL   US

Christy Awards

Every year publishers are invited to submit novels written from a Christian worldview and copyrighted in the year preceding the awards.<p>To be eligible, you must submit a full-length work of fiction, including a novella published as a freestanding entity.<p> All eligible submissions ...

Lawrence, KS   US

CWA Communications Contest

Each year, the Cat Writers’ Association selects the best entries in each category and awards them with Certificates of Excellence. The highest-scoring Certificate-winning entry in each category receives a Muse Medallion at our Annual Awards Ceremony. Special Awards focus on a specific topic and co...

Saint Louis, MO   US

DWAA Annual Writing Competition

The Maxwell Medallion writing contest is open to all writers, editors, publishers, photographers, artists and others whose work falls into the designated competition categories, which include newspaper, blog postings and magazine columns or articles on canine health, training, rescue or other topics...

Westlake Village, CA   US

FAPA President’s Book Awards

Each year the Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA) sponsors the FAPA President's Book Awards, which recognizes book publishing excellence and creativity in design, content, and production for authors and publishers. This contest isn't limited to Florida, it is open to anyone thr...

Fort Myers, FL   US

Feathered Quill Book Awards

Feathered Quill Book Awards, a program run by Feathered Quill Book Reviews, a leader in online book review sites, awarding books with gold, silver, and bronze designations in a total of twenty-four categories. In addition, Feathered Quill also includes finalists – these are books with scores clos...

Goshen, MA   US

Florida Book Awards

The Florida Book Awards is an annual competition that exists for one purpose--to honor the best work written by Florida authors and about Florida culture in the previous year. Begun in 2006, the Florida Book Awards is the most comprehensive state book awards program in the United States, and the onl...

Tallahassee, FL   US

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards

You have a great book, you’re looking for some recognition, and you want a wider audience to fall in love with it. That’s where Foreword’s annual book awards program comes in. The IndieFab Awards recognize the best in indie book publishing, and has been doing so for fifteen years. Our prestigi...

Traverse City, MI   US

Genesis Contest

The ACFW Genesis Contest is for unpublished Christian fiction writers. With ten categories to enter, Genesis provides the opportunity for unbiased feedback on writers’ work by published authors and experienced judges, and the chance for finalists to have their work read by Christian publishing hou...

Palm Bay, FL   US

Georgia Author of the Year Award

The Georgia Author of the Year Awards celebrates the best literature by Georgia writers. Georgia Writers Association assumed responsibility for the Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) shortly after its founding in 1994. The awards were first given in 1964 by the Dixie Council of Authors and Jo...

Kennesaw, GA   US

Global Ebook Awards

The Global Ebook Awards are more than an honor for the best ebooks published, they offer high-profile publicity for ebook authors, publishers and ebooks....

Santa Barbara, CA   US

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award

The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for excellence in book publishing is regarded as one of the highest national honors for small and independent publishers.

The awards are administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), with help from over 150 book publishing professionals includ...

Manhattan Beach, CA   US

Independent Publisher Book Awards

Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles published each year.

The ...

Traverse City, MI   US

John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger

This award is for the best crime novel by a first-time author of any nationality first published in the UK in English during the judging period. It is given in memory of CWA founder John Creasey and was previously known as The John Creasey Memorial Award. ...

Norwich, England   UK

Kindle Book Awards

The Kindle Book Review’s Best Indie Book Awards is co-sponsored by book sites like Kindle Boards, Digital Book Today, World Literary Cafe, and Author Marketing Club. Any independent or small press author can submit books in the categories of Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Y/A, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Literar...

Kokomo, IN   US

Maine Literary Awards

The Maine Literary Awards are open to all current Maine residents, including seasonal residents. All nominations to the Book Awards, regardless of category, must have been published during the 2017 calendar year. The editors (or lead editor) of books entered in the Anthology category must be Maine r...

Portland, ME   US

Mystery & Mayhem Awards - Cozy Mystery Writing Contest

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring "mystery and mayhem", amateur sleuthing, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery, perhaps with a touch of romance or humor, we will put them to the t...

Bellingham, WA   US

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards (#NGIBA) is the largest non-profit book awards program for indie authors and publishers.<p>The Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in over 70 different categories, for ...

Lake Oswego, OR   US

Petrona Award

The Petrona Award has been established to celebrate the work of Maxine Clarke, one of the first online crime fiction reviewers and bloggers, who died in December 2012. Maxine, whose online persona and blog was called Petrona, was passionate about translated crime fiction but in particular that from ...

Redditch , Worcestershire   UK

Shamus Awards

Eligible works must feature as a main character a person PAID for investigative work but NOT employed for that work by a unit of government. These include traditionally licensed private investigators; lawyers and reporters who do their own investigations; and others who function as hired private ag...

Laughlin, NV   US

The Black Orchid Novella Award

The Black Orchid Novella Award offers a $1,000 prize to the best original, unpublished novella that conforms to the tradition of the Nero Wolfe series. Entries must be 15,000 to 20,000 words in length, and submitted by the deadline. ...

New York, NY   US

The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence

The Awards are for CRIME WRITING and are not restricted to mystery writing. Crime-writing encompasses far more than the traditional whodunit. The crime genre includes crime, detective, espionage, mystery, suspense, and thriller writing, as well as fictional or factual accounts of criminal doings and...

Guelph, ON   CA

The Dante Rossetti Awards

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen. Categories: Contemporary Young Adult SFF & Paranormal Dystopian/Edgy/Urban Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Historical Yo...

Bellingham, WA   US

The Killer Nashville Claymore Award

Every year, the Killer Nashville Claymore Award assists new and rebranding English-language fiction authors get published, including possible agent representation, book advances, editor deals, and movie and television sales. ...

Franklin, TN   US

The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award seeks to discover and honor the best books of the previous year (novels, novellas, collections and anthologies, and non-fiction) that incorporate the elements of mystery, thriller, and suspense in numerous genres or, in the case of nonfiction, books that ar...

Franklin, TN   US

Twisted Mystery Podcast Contest

We are looking for audio books that walk the line between torment and contempt. Tantalizing and torturous. Desire and degradation. Literally, we could do this all day, but we'll stop. If you feel like your mystery novel goes to the edge without plunging over into infamy, please let us have a lo...

Valencia, CA   US

Word Awards

The Word Awards was established to encourage the pursuit of excellence in the art, craft, practice and ministry of writing and help to raise the profile of Canadian writers who are Christian.The content of eligible entries must be consistent with a Christian worldview and the historic Christian trad...

Brantford, ON   CA