25 Writing Competitions You Should Enter

25 Writing Competitions You Should Enter 25 Writing Competitions You Should Enter 25 Writing Competitions You Should Enter By Mark Nichol Have you completed one or more short stories, poems, or nonfiction pieces? Perhaps you’d like some motivation or to take the next step with them. This post lists writing competitions for 2011 that feature cash prizes of $1,000 or more and, often, publication deals for the winner (plus, for many contests, additional prizes for winners and other contestants). Note, however, that such competitions often require an entry fee (generally $15-$20 per entry), and some require the submitted material to be previously unpublished. Go to the contest Web site for information about costs and other details. The competition can be fierce, but even if you don’t win, the benefits are valuable: Completing and submitting an entry helps you develop word-count precision and deadline discipline. You may not earn a four-figure cash prize, but you could win some honorable-mention mad money or other prizes. You have a completed manuscript you can submit to other competitions or to agents. Good luck! Poetry 1. The Pinch Journal Poetry Contest Deadline: March 1 Type of submission: online or offline Length of submission: 1-3 poems Prizes: $1,000 and publication 2. Normal Prize in Poetry Deadline: March 4 Type of submission: online Length of submission: 5 pages or 5 poems Prizes: $1,000 and publication 3. Boston Review Fourteenth Annual Poetry Contest Deadline: June 1 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 10 pages Prize: $1,500 and publication 4. Bellevue Literary Review’s Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize in Poetry Deadline: July 1 Type of submission: online Length of submission: up to 3 poems (maximum 5 pages) Prizes: $1,000 and publication 5. Lulu Poetry Contest Deadline: continuous entry Type of submission: online Length of submission: not specified Prizes: annual $5,000; monthly $250; daily $25 Short Fiction 6. he Pinch Journal Fiction Contest Deadline: March 1 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 5,000 words Prizes: $1,500 and publication 7. Sycamore Review’s Wabash Prize for Fiction Deadline: March 1 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 10,000 words Prize: $1,000 and publication for winner 8. Potomac Review Annual Contest Deadline: March 1 Type of submission: online or offline Length of submission: 2 stories of up to 2,000 words Prize: $1,000 and publication for winner 9. Normal Prize in Fiction Deadline: March 4 Type of submission: online Length of submission: up to 10,000 words Prizes: $1,000 and publication for winner 10. Colorado Review’s Nelligan Prize Deadline: postmarked March 11 Type of submission: online or offline Length of submission: under 50 pages Prizes: $1,500 and publication for winner 11. New Rivers Press American Fiction Prize Deadline: May 1 Type of submission: online or offline Length of submission: up to 7,500 words Prizes: $1,000, $500, $250; publication for winners 12. Drue Heinz Literature Prize Deadline: postmarked May 1-June 30 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: not specified Prize: $15,000 and publication 13. Carve Magazine’s Raymond Carver Short Story Contest Deadline: May 15-June 30 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up 6,000 words Prizes: $1,000, $750, $500, $250; considered by literary agencies 14. Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize Deadline: postmarked June 30 Type of submission: online or offline Length of submission: up to 10,000 words Prizes: $1,000 and publication, $100 15. Bellevue Literary Review’s Goldenberg Prize in Fiction Deadline: July 1 Type of submission: online Length of submission: up to 5,000 words Prizes: $1,000 and publication Nonfiction 16. Michael Steinberg Essay Prize Deadline: February 28 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 6,000 words Prizes: $1,000 and publication; publication consideration for runner-up 17. Normal Prize in Nonfiction Deadline: March 4 Type of submission: online Length of submission: up to 10,000 words Prizes: $1,000 and publication 18. Creative Nonfiction Anger Revenge Contest Deadline: March 16 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 4,000 words Prizes: $1,000, $500 19. Writers @ Work Writing Competition Deadline: March 20 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 7,500 words Prizes: $1,000, $350, $100; publication consideration for each winner 20. Bellevue Literary Review’s Burns Archive Prize in Nonfiction Deadline: July 1 Type of submission: online Length of submission: up to 5,000 words Prizes: $1,000 and publication Multiple Awards 21. Glimmer Train’s Very Short Fiction Award Deadline: January 1-31, July 1-31 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: up to 3,000 words Prizes: $1,200, publication, and 20 copies; $500; $300 22. Glimmer Train’s Fiction Open Deadline: March 1-31, June 1-30, August 1-30, December 1-31 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: 2,000-20,000 words Prizes: $2,000, publication, and 20 copies; $1,000; $600 23. Glimmer Train’s Short-Story Award for New Writers Deadline: postmarked March 31, postmarked September 30 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: 3,000-12,000 words Prizes: $1,200, publication, and 20 copies; $500; $300 24. Glimmer Train’s Family Matters Deadline: April 1-30, October 1-31 Type of submission: offline Length of submission: 3,000-12,000 words Prizes: $1,200, publication, and 20 copies; $500; $300 Miscellaneous And, of course, no self-respecting list of writing competitions would be complete without this one: 25. Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Deadline: April 15 Type of submission: online or offline Length of submission: up to about 50-60 words Prize: â€Å"a pittance† This whimsical contest is devoted to parodying the purple prose of Edward George â€Å"It Was a Dark and Stormy Night† Bulwer-Lytton and his ilk by crafting, as it were, the most absurdly inept opening line from a (fortunately) nonexistent novel. For more information, go to the slightly disheveled Web site and search for â€Å"The rules to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! 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