Literary Contests - Short Story Writing

Accenti Magazine Writing Contest

The topic is open. Any type of entry that meets the submission criteria below is eligible. Multiple entries welcome. • The contest is open to prose works. • Entries can be fiction, non-fiction or creative non-fiction. • Entries must be previously unpublished and not under consideration...

Montreal, PQ   CA

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 hardcover, as a...

Gaithersburg, MD   US

Alice Munro Short Story Competition

This annual short story competition is designed to provide an opportunity for writers to develop their craft and connect with like-minded associates. The Festival's Steering Committee is dedicated to supporting the efforts and talent of unpublished and emerging writers of short fiction.

Monetary p...

Wingham, ON   CA

Anna Pidruchney Award for New Writers

Awarded to a novice writer under the age of 35 for a literary work which includes Ukrainian Canadian characters or is based on a Ukrainian Canadian theme. Eligible works of literary fiction, that being poetry, short stories, novels, plays, personal essays or memoirs are acceptable. Only one submiss...

Edmtonton, AB   CA

Anthology Short Story Award

Established to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication, this short story award is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Stories submitted must be on the t...

Limerick,   IE

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

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

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 (1,200 to 1,500 words), nonfiction (1,200 to 1,500 words), a...

Salmon Arm, BC   CA

Aurealis Awards

Any work of speculative fiction written by an Australian citizen or permanent resident and published for the first time during the calendar year is eligible to be entered.

Works must be published and available to the general public to be eligible. This includes self-published works. Unpublished ma...

Karabar , NSW   AU

BBC National Short Story Award

The National Short Story Award aims to promote the best in contemporary British short fiction and has celebrated both established writers and new stars over the last decade.The Award is open to UK residents or nationals, aged 18 or over, who have a history of publication in creative writing.

The...

London,   UK

BBC Young Writers’ Award

Young people aged 14 to 18, who live in the UK, are invited to submit short stories of up to 1,000 words on any topic. The judges will be looking for high-quality writing, stories that demonstrate originality, imagination and creativity, and writers who can capture the reader and hold their attentio...

London,   UK

BKMK Press Book Prize

The BKMK Press Prize offers $1000 and publication for the best book-length collections of poetry and short fiction.

Submissions for The G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction should be approximately 125- 300 pages, double spaced.

Poetry manuscripts for The John Ciardi Prize for Po...

Kansas City, MO   US

Black River Chapbook Competition

Twice each year Black Lawrence Press will run the Black River Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook of poems or short fiction between 16-36 pages in length. The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner will receive book publication, a $500 cash award, and ten ...

Pittsburgh, PA   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

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards

The Bord Gáis 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, Ar...

,   IE

Bridport Prize

The mission of the Bridport Prize is to encourage emerging writers and promote literary excellence through its competition structure. The Bridport Prize was founded by Bridport Arts Centre in 1973 and has steadily grown in stature and prestige.

The poem and short story categories each have a fi...

Bridport,   UK

Canadian Stories Magazine Contest for Short Stories, Poetry, and Black & White Art

This Canadian folk magazine offers a prizes in categories including creative non-fiction, true stories, fiction, poetry, essays, and military stories, as well as a prize for young writers between 10 and 19 years old....

Fergus, ON   CA

CBC Short Story Prize

This annual contest is open to original, unpublished stories between 1200 and 1500 words, written by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada....

Montreal, PQ   CA

Claremont Review Annual Writing Contest

This international magazine for young writers hosts an annual writing contest for writers from 13 to 19 years old. Winners are selected in both poetry and fiction categories.

Writers can enter up to three poems, three postcard stories (up to 500 words) or one longer story (max 5000 words) with eac...

Victoria, BC   CA

Costa Book Awards

CANCELLED AS OF 2022

The Costa Book Awards honour some of the most outstanding books of the year written by authors based in the UK and Ireland. There are five categories - First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book - with one of the five winners chosen as Book of the ...

London,   UK

Cuirt New Writing Prize

Poetry entries must consist of 3 poems under 50 lines each. Fiction pieces may be up to 2000 words. Entries in both English and Irish are welcome.

Young Cuirt is for ages 12-17. Entries are welcome in poetry and fiction. The winner will receive €100 cash prize and they will have the opportu...

Galway City,   IE

Danuta Gleed Literary Award

The Danuta Gleed Literary Award was created as a celebration of the life of Danuta Gleed, a writer whose short fiction won several awards before her death in December 1996. Each year, a $10,000 prize is awarded to a Canadian writer for the best first collection of published short fiction in the Eng...

Toronto, ON   CA

Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize

The Desperate Literature Short Fiction prize is awarded to an original work of fiction under 2000 words. The aim of the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is both to celebrate the best of new short fiction and to give winners the most visibility possible for their writing. That’s why we’ve...

Madrid,   ES

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Drue Heinz Literature Prize for a collection of short fiction. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract.

Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may ...

Pittsburgh, PA   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

Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize

Though many writers have helped to shape the history of flash fiction, Ernest Hemingway’s first short-story collection, In Our Time, easily makes him one of the form’s primary pioneers. For this reason, Fiction Southeast has chosen to honor his accomplishments through the Ernest Hemingway Flash ...

Baton Rouge, LA   US

Exeter Story Prize

The Exeter Story Prize is for a story of up to ten thousand words. There is no minimum word count. Authors must be over 18 years old, and stories should not have been previously published in print, on the internet or broadcast..

Stories may be on any theme but only humorous stories will be elig...

Exeter, England   UK

Exeter Writers Short Story Competition

The competition is open to published and unpublished authors living anywhere in the world and writing in English. Stories must not have been previously published, nor have won a prize in any other competition. They can be in any genre except for children’s and should be no longer than 3,000 w...

Devon,   UK

Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction

Eligible authors have yet to publish their fiction in book form (a book is defined to have a length of 48 pages or more). One prize of $1,000 (CAD) is awarded. Authors contributing to The Malahat Review have won or been nominated for National Magazine Awards for Fiction, the Pushcart Prize, and the ...

Victoria, BC   CA

Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition

’Ghost story’ can mean a lot of different things, from an encounter with an actual phantom to more unusual paranormal phenomena and unexplained events.

Entries should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words in length.

The competition is judged by Rob Redman, editor of the anthology se...

Rye,   UK

Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction

More than fifty short-story collections have appeared in the Flannery O'Connor Award series, which was established to encourage gifted emerging writers by bringing their work to a national readership. The first prize-winning book was published in 1983; the award has since become an important pr...

Athens, GA   US

Fresh Ink

Fresh Ink is a novice contest designed for new hobby writers who have not yet been published. The awards are the ideal opportunity to have your word critiqued by a professional. Receive valuable insights, recommendations and connections that will assist you in developing your craft. Winners will hav...

Brantford, ON   CA

Fugue Annual Writing Contest

Fugue’s Annual Writing Contest accepts submissions of both poetry and prose (fiction and nonfiction). Multiple submissions are accepted as long as separate fees are paid. For poetry submissions, please send between 1-3 poems. For prose submissions, please send no more than one short story or o...

, ID   US

Futurescapes Writing Contest

FutureScapes is an annual writing competition that asks writers to envision a particular future, and tell us its story. We could run projections and publish reports, but there's a reason why Oscar Wilde didn't say, Life imitates empirical studies. We want to help writers of excellent potential fin...

Sundance, UT   US

HeartWood Broadside Series Contest

Submit one poem (of any form) or flash prose piece (fiction or nonfiction) per entry; regardless of genre, the entry must be 200 words or less. There is no limit on the number of entries per person....

Buckhannon, WV   US

Hudson Prize

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or short stories. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes awarded o...

Pittsburgh, PA   US

Hugo Awards

The Hugo Awards, presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s most prestigious award. They were first awarded in 1953, and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards are run by and voted on by fans.

The Hugos are World awards. Works are eligible when they are first publishe...

Cambridge, MA   US

Icelandic Festival Of Manitoba Poetry & Short Stories Contest

The Icelandic Festival of Manitoba invites you to submit previously unpublished poetry (three entries per person) and/or a short story (one per person-maximum of 1200 words)

Prize entries will be awarded and successful entries will be published in the festival program and/or on the festival...

Winnipeg, MB   CA

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

Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award

Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition.

The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages. We do not accept e-mail submissions. ...

Iowa City , IA   US

Irish Writers Lost Gatos Writing Contests

Writing contests open till 21 September. Short Stories $10 per story, $1000 prize. Poetry $10 per poem $600 prize. Youth Poetry (under 18's) $8 per poem, $400 Gift Card Prize. Open to all, unpublished work only in English....

Los Gatos, CA   US

Kerry County Council Creative Writing for Youth Competitions

Submissions may be in the form of poems, short stories or essays. One entry only per youth.

Creative Writing for 9 years and Under (Max word count 300 words)
Creative Writing for 12 years and Under (Max word count 500 words)
Creative Writing for 14 years and Under (Max word count 500...

Kerry,   IE

Lush Triumphant Literary Awards

Open to short fiction (3,000 words max), poetry (5 related poems, up to 15 pages), and creative non-fiction (max 4,000 words). Winning entries will receive $1,000 plus payment for publication. Runners up will be published in subsequent issues. Entry fee includes a 1 year subscription to subTerrain m...

Vancouver, BC   CA

Maine Literary Awards

The 2018 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 Ma...

Portland, ME   US

Margery Allingham Short Story Competition

The CWA Margery Allingham Short Story competition was set up in 2013 to celebrate the short story and Margery Allingham's contribution to crime writing. Supported by the Margery Allingham Society we are delighted that this competition will run annually.

The competition is open to all - both publ...

Norwich,   UK

Martyn Godfrey Young Writers Award

This is an annual, juried contest open to all Albertan students in grades 4 through 9. Students are invited to submit their best short stories (500-1500 words) or short tales told in a comic book / graphic novel style.

There are two Grand Prizes, one for Grades 4-6 and one for Grades 7-9. The Gra...

Edmonton, AB   CA

Mighty River Short Story Contest

Searching for the best short story of any theme. Submit a maximum of 30 pages, double-spaced. Submissions must not be previously published. ...

Cape Girardeau, MO   US

Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction

An award for humor, comedic essays, articles, short stories, poetry, shopping lists and other forms. Works should be 750 words or less.

Entries are not returned and must be unpublished. Winners will have their entries posted on www.brashcyber.com. All other rights belong to the authors. Humor is s...

Studio City, CA   US

Moth International Short Story Prize

The Prize is open to everyone, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished. There is a 6,000 word limit. ...

Cavan, Co. Cavan   IE

Narrative Fall Story Contest

Entries can include short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously cho...

San Francisco, CA   US

Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction

The Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction was established in 2004 in memory of Liza Nelligan, a writer, editor, and friend of many in Colorado State University’s English Department, where she received her master’s degree in literature in 1992. The Nelligan Prize is offered annually. The wi...

Fort Collins, CO   US

New Letters Editor's Choice Award

We're looking for work that experiments, that crosses the traditional boundaries of genre and form.

Enter your hybrid work - your lyric essays, prose poems, short-shorts, collages, micro-memoirs . . . whatever you're doing that's experimental, that defies easy categorization.

Sub...

Kansas City, MO   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.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in over 70 different categories, for the ye...

Lake Oswego, OR   US

Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel

Submissions must be previously unpublished novels, novellas, or collections of closely linked short stories.

Manuscripts that have been self-published or published online will not be accepted.

Open to English-writing, U.S. residents who have not yet published a novel. ...

Cape Girardeau, MO   US

Peggy-Chapman Andrews Award

This prize is for a first novel from a resident of Great Britain. Entrants to the novel prize are required to submit a short 300 word synopsis with their entry....

Bridport,   UK

Prime Number Magazine Awards

Submit one unpublished poem or story. Poem should be no more than three pages in length (no word count needed) with numbered pages and spaced according to the poet’s intended style. Short story should be 53 to 5,300 words, double-spaced in 12-pt. type with numbered pages. ...

Winston-Salem, NC   US

Prix Aurora Awards

The Aurora awards are run by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA), a federally registered non-profit society. The awards recognize the best Canadian professional and amateur (fan) achievements for the calendar year. The Auroras are only for Canadian citizens or permanent resi...

Calgary, AB   CA

Psychopomp Magazine Short Fiction Award

As of 2020, we have paused our contest indefinitely in order to better keep up with the demands of publishing our regular issues.

The Psychopomp Magazine Short Fiction Contest recognizes outstanding pieces of fiction that push the boundaries of genre and/or form. Surprise us! Show us some...

,   US

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award is open to writers under the age of 35 and unpublished in book form. The award alternates each year between poetry and short fiction.

To be eligible candidates must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, under the age of 35 as of the deadline, and unpublishe...

Toronto, ON   CA

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize

This prize for literary excellence offers a $25,000 first prize to the novel or short-story collection the judges determine is the year’s best book of fiction.

Books must be English-language, first-edition trade books published by a Canadian press, written by Canadian citizens or permanent ...

Toronto, ON   CA

Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize

Submit stories on any subject, not to exceed 20 pages. Previously published works, works accepted for publication or simultaneous submissions are ineligible. No electronic submissions, please. Fiction entries must be typed, double-spaced, one side of page only. Past winners may not enter....

Antigonish, NS   CA

Small but Mighty Writers

Our competitions run all year round with deadlines on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July, 1st October. Winners will be released within 3 weeks of the deadline.

7-11: 1000 word limit for fiction, 15 line max. for poetry 12-15: 1500 word limit for fiction, 20 line max. for poetry

Entry is ...

Bradford,   UK

Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic

ON HIATUS

The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is a juried award which recognizes exceptional writing in three categories: adult, young adult and short story. The awards are presented each fall to the best Canadian speculative fiction novel, book-length ...

Toronto, ON   CA

Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award

Launched in 2009 by Lord Matthew Evans, former chairman of EFG Private Bank and Cathy Galvin from The Sunday Times, The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award is the richest prize for a single short story in the English language open to any novelist or short story writer from around the world who is pub...

London,   UK

Tethered by Letters F(r)iction Literary Competition

TBL is pleased to announce our Spring Literary Competition. There are three submission categories: 1) short stories of any genre ranging from 1,000 to 7,500 words, 2) flash fiction with a word limit of either 55, 250, or 500 words, and 3) poetry no longer than three pages. For these contests we are ...

Elizabeth, CO   US

The Masters Review Flash Fiction Contest

Send us your stories under 1000 words! We love a good piece of flash fiction. The winner will receive $3000, publication, and a spot in Kathy Fish's Fast Flash online workshop. Our love of flash fiction runs deep. And throughout our years of reading work by emerging writers we’ve seen so...

Bend, OR   US

The Whistler Independent Book Awards

Established in 2016 to recognize excellence in Canadian independent publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards offers prizes in two categories: fiction and nonfiction. There are three finalists in each category (fiction and nonfiction), with the winners being announced at the annual Whistler W...

New Westminster, BC   CA

Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story published in English in the preceding calendar year. Nominations are only accepted from editors and revi...

Lawrence, KS   US

Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence

The Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence is awarded to the single best submission in the respective categories of poetry and fiction. The prize is open for submissions each year from May 1st to September 30th through the publication's online submissions manager....

Toronto, ON   CA

Tillie Olsen Short Story Award

Send unpublished, original stories of no more than 5,000 words in standard manuscript format, paginated and with word count on the first page. Do not include any identifying information on the manuscript. You may submit as many stories as you wish, but each story must be submitted separately. Simult...

Boston, MA   US

V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize

This prize for the best unpublished short story of the year was founded by the RSL at the beginning of the new millennium to commemorate the centenary of an author widely regarded as the finest English short-story writer of the 20th century, and to preserve a tradition encompassing Pritchett...

London,   UK

Western Writers of America Spur Awards

To be eligible, works submitted must be set in the American West, the early frontier, or relate to the Western or frontier experience. Submitted works must be first copyrighted and published in the calendar year covered by the award.

Categories include Western Traditional novel, Historical nov...

, NM   US

WFNB Writing Competition

WFNB Writing Competition offers prizes in seven categories: fiction manuscript, short fiction, poetry manuscript, single poem, children and teens, young writers, and creative non-fiction. Prizes for all categories total $2,600.

Entrants must be New Brunswick residents, or non-resident New Brunsw...

Fredericton, NB   CA

Wicked Young Writers' Award

The Wicked Young Writers’ Award was established by the long-running musical Wicked in order to link the important messages of the production with a competition that would inspire young people to use their writing to look at life a little differently. Since its launch in 2010, we have received ...

Chichester,   UK

Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest

Searching for the best short-short story of any theme. Submissions may not be more than 500 words, and must be previously unpublished....

Cape Girardeau , MO   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

Word by Word - WCSC Short Fiction Contest

Final judge: Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists, Toronto. The maximum word count is 1500 words (title not included). Any entries longer than 1500 words, will be automatically disqualified. There is no minimum word count. Entries can consist of any subject, just send us your best work. F...

Orillia, ON   CA

World Fantasy Awards

The World Fantasy Awards, established in 1975, are presented annually at the World Fantasy Convention. The World Fantasy Award has been described as one of the three most prestigious speculative fiction awards. The nine awards are presented at the banquet of the World Fantasy Convention held each y...

Mukilteo, WA   US