As a writer it can be hard to find the extra crash for entering competitions to get your name out there. Below is a list of free writing contests for 2019. Writing contests are a great way to get exposure.
Free Writing Contests
53-Word Story Contest
Description: Each month Prime Number Magazine invites writers to submit a 53-word story based on a prompt.
Prize: Publication, a free book from Press 53
Deadline: Frequent contests
Sponsor: Prime Number Magazine
The Crucible
Description: Crucible and the Barton College Department of English welcome all writers to submit original, unpublished poems and stories. Writers are limited to 5 poems and stories no longer than 8,000 words. Entries must not be entered in other competitions.
Prize: $150 1st, $100 2nd
Deadline: 5/1/19
Sponsor: Barton College
The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans
Description: Due to a donation from the family of veteran and antiwar author, Jeff Sharlet, The Iowa Review is able to hold The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans. Note: Only U.S. military veterans and active duty personnel may submit writing in any genre about any topic.
Prize:
1st: $1,000 and publication in The Iowa Review
2nd: $750
3rd (3 selected): $500
Deadline: 5/1/20 – 5/31/20
Sponsor: The Iowa Review
St. Francis College Literary Prize
Description: For mid-career authors who have just published their 3rd, 4th, or 5th fiction book. Self-published books and English translations are also considered.
Prize: $50,000
Deadline: 5/15/19
Sponsor: St. Francis College
New Writers Awards
Description: Every year since 1970, the Association has honored newly published writers with an award for a first published volume of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Note: Publishers (not the writers) are invited to submit works that “emphasize literary excellence.” All entries must be written in English and published in the United States or Canada.
Prize: $500
Deadline: TBD 2020
Sponsor: Great Lakes Colleges Association
Young Lions Fiction Award
Description: Each Spring, the Library gives a writer 35 years old or younger $10,000 for a novel or a collection of short stories. This award seeks to encourage young and emerging writers of contemporary fiction.
Prize: $10,000
Deadline: TBD 2019
Sponsor: New York Public Library
The Iowa Short Fiction Award
Description: Seeking 150-page (or longer) collections of fiction by writers who have not previously traditionally published a novel or fiction collection.
Prize: Publication in the University of Iowa Press
Deadline: TBD 2019
Sponsor: University of Iowa Press
Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Description: Mary Lee established the Award in 1980 to recognize excellent literary fiction. It accepts published books and is peer-juried. The winner is honored as “first among equals.”
Prize: $15,000
Deadline: TBD 2019
Sponsor: Pen/Faulkner
Friends of American Writers Literary Award
Description: Current or former residents of the American Midwest (or authors whose book takes place in the Midwest) are invited to submit to the FAW Literary Award. Published novels or non-fiction books are welcome.
Prize: $1,000 – $2,000
Deadline: TBD 2019
Sponsor: Friends of American Writers Chicago
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Description: The Award seeks fiction, poetry, and nonfiction books published the previous year “that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity.” Self-published work not accepted.
Prize: $10,000
Deadline: 12/31/19
Sponsor: Cleveland Foundation
Christopher Doheny Award
Description: Recognizes excellence in fiction or creative nonfiction on the topic of serious physical illness. The award is presented annually for a completed manuscript that has not yet been published. It was founded in honor of Audible employee Chris Doheny, a writer himself, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a baby and passed away on February 20, 2013. The winner of the award must demonstrate both high literary standards and a broad audience appeal while exploring the impact of illness on the patient, family and friends, and others.
Prize: $10,000
Deadline: TBD 2019
Sponsor: The Center for Fiction
Cabell First Novelist Award
Description: Seeks to honor first-time novelists “who have navigated their way through the maze of imagination and delivered a great read.” Novels published the previous year are accepted.
Prize: $5,000
Deadline: 12/31/19
Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University
The Gabo Prize
Description: Awards translators and authors of multilingual texts (poetry and prose) with $200 and publication in Lunch Ticket.
Prize: $200
Deadline: TBD
Sponsor: Lunch Ticket
Transitions Abroad Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest
Description: Seeking inspiring articles or practical mini-guides that also provide in-depth descriptions of your experience moving, living, and working abroad (including teaching, internships, volunteering, short-term jobs, etc.).” Work should be between 1,200-3,000 words. All writers welcome.
Prize: $500
Deadline: 9/1/19
Sponsor: Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc.
Short Fiction Prize
Description: Seeking short stories by undergraduates at American or Canadian colleges.
Prize: $1,000
Deadline: 6/1/19
Sponsor: Stoney Brook University
The Wallace Stegner Prize in Environmental Humanities
Description: Wallace Stegner was a student of the American West, an environmental spokesman, and a creative writing teacher. In his memory, the University of Utah Press seeks book-length monographs in the field of environmental humanities. Projects focusing on the American West preferred.
Prize: $5,000
Deadline: 12/30/19
Sponsor: The University of Utah Press
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
Description: Seeks short fiction collections. Writers who have published a novel or a book-length collection of fiction with a traditional book publisher, or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in magazines or journals of national distribution are accepted.
Prize: $15,000
Deadline: 6/30/19
Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh Press
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Description: Honors novels and story collections by African American writers. Entries that will be published in 2019 are accepted.
Prize: $10,000
Deadline: TBD 2019
Sponsor: Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize
Description: Showcases essays set in Brooklyn. Five authors will be asked to read their pieces at the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival.
Prize: $500
Deadline: TBD
Sponsor: Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival
International Flash Fiction Competition
Description: With over 40,000 participants last year, this prize invites authors to submit flash fiction in Spanish, English, Arabic, and Hebrew.
Prize: $20,000
Deadline: TBD
Sponsor: The César Egido Serrano Foundation
Stowe Prize
Description: Named for the abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, recognizes a U.S. author whose work has made a tangible impact on a social justice issue critical to contemporary society. Can be for a single work or a body of work (fiction or nonfiction) within two years of submission.
Prize: $10,000
Deadline: 5/29/19
Sponsor: Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
ServiceScape Short Story Award
Description: Accepts original, unpublished work (5,000 words or fewer) in any genre.
Prize: $1,000
Deadline: 11/29/19
Sponsor: ServiceScape
The Marfield Prize
Description: This award celebrates nonfiction books about an artistic discipline published the previous year.
Prize: $10,000
Deadline: 10/15/19
Sponsor: The Arts Club of Washington
The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
Description: This annual prize honors published books by African poets.
Prize: $1,000
Deadline: TBD
Sponsor: African Poetry Book Fund
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