All the top writing contests.

The competition is open to anyone aged 16 and over. Poems may be on any subject. Entry fees: • up to two poems: £5 per poem; • three or more poems: £4 per poem. • 1st prize: £1,000 • 2nd prize: £300 • 3rd prize: £100 • 4th prize: 4 x £50 Deadline 31 January 2025

The competition is open to writers of any nationality, aged 16 years old and over. The competition has four categories: • Poetry (1st prize: £5,000); • Short story (1st prize: £5,000); • Flash fiction (1st prize: £1,000); • Novel (1st prize: £1,500). Entry fees: from £11 to £24.

The competition is organized by the Rattle, an American poetry magazine. Each poet may submit 15 – 30 pages of poetry. The $30 entry fee is a one-year subscription to Rattle magazine. The three winners will each receive $5,000 and 500 author copies of their chapbook.

The competition is open to all writers worldwide, published and unpublished, who are over 16 years of age. Short stories can be on any theme or subject but must be written in English. The entry fee is £10 per story. • First prize: £3,000 • Second prize: £500 • Third prize: £250

The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18. `Poems are invited that deal with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Helen Mort.` Entry fees: £7 for your first poem £4 for each subsequent poem • 1st prize: £1000 • 2nd prize: £500 • 3rd prize: £250

The competition is open to all essayists writing in English. Entries must be a single non-fiction essay of 2,000 and 5,000 words. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of AU$30. The winner will receive AU$5,000. The runner-up will receive AU$3,000. Third place will receive AU$2,000.

The competition is organized by Overland, an Australian literary and cultural magazine. This is a prize for original pieces of short fiction written in English, up to 3000 words in length. Entry fee: $12 AUD for subscribers and $20 AUD for non-subscribers. The winner will receive $5,000 AUD. Two runners-up will each receive $750 AUD.

There are two contests, one for short poems of up to 10 lines, and one for poems of 11 to 50 lines. The entry fees are £5 for the first poem, £4 for the second and £3.50 for the third. • Editors' Prize (poems of up to 10 lines) 1st prize: £1,000 • Judge's Prize (poems of 11 to 50 lines) 1st prize: £1,000

The Colorado Prize for Poetry is an international poetry book manuscript contest. Manuscripts must be at least 48 pages but no more than 100 pages. There is a $28 online entry fee, which includes a one-year subscription to Colorado Review. The winner receives a $2,500 honorarium.

The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for a single unpublished poem. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 16. The entry fee is 15 € per poem. • 1st prize: 6,000 € • 3 runner-up prizes of 1,000 € • 8 prizes of 250 € for commended poems

The competition is open to original, unpublished poems in the English language of 40 lines or less. Entry fee: 7 € per poem. • 1st Prize: 2,000 € • 2nd Prize: 500 € • 3rd Prize: 250 €

You may submit one humor poem, in English. Your poem should not exceed 250 lines in length. The competition is free to enter. • 1st prize: $2,000 • 2nd prize: $500 • 3rd Prize: $250 • 10 honorable mentions, $100 each