All the top writing contests.

The Yeovil Literary Prize is open to anyone over the age of 16. There are five categories: • Novel (1st prize: £1350) • Short Story (1st prize: £625) • Poetry (1st prize: £625) • Children's and Young Adult Novel (1st prize: £625) • Writing Without Restrictions (1st prize: £275). Entry fees: from £8 to £18.50.

The competition is open to all authors writing original works in English for adult readers.

There are four prizes:
• Donald Hall Prize for Poetry: $5,500
• Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction: $5,500
• Sue William Silverman Prize for Creative Nonfiction : $2,500
• James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel: $5,500

Entry fees: $30 for nonmembers and $20 for AWP members

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 2026

The competition is open to all published and unpublished writers. Entrants must be over 16 years old.

Stories can be on any theme or subject. The maximum length of submissions is 4,000 words.

The entry fee is £14.

• 1st prize is £1,500
• 2nd prize is £500
• 3rd prize is £250

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 £12 to £26.

You may submit stories and essays on any theme, up to 6,000 words each. For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction.

The entry fee is $25.

The winning story and the winning essay will each receive $3,500.
Ten honorable mentions will receive $500 each.

The competition is organized by the Rattle, an American poetry magazine.

Each poet may submit 15 – 30 pages of poems.

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 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.

You may submit one humor poem written in English, up to 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