All the top writing contests.
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Mslexia Women's Short Story Competition 2025
Deadline: 22 September 2025
The competition is open to women of any nationality from any country.
You may submit unpublished short stories of up to 3,000 words.
Entry fee: £12 per story.
The winner will receive £3,000. Three additional finalists will each receive £100.
2025 Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction
Deadline: 31 August 2025
The competition is open to all writers worldwide, published and unpublished, who are over 16 years.
Entries can be on any theme or subject but must be original and written in English. Maximum length is 250 words.
The entry fee is £10 per story.
• First prize: £2,000
• Second prize: £500
• Third prize: £250
The Moth Nature Writing Prize 2025
Deadline: 30 September 2025
The competition is open to anyone over the age of 16. You can submit both poetry and prose. There is a word limit of 4,000. The entry fee is 15 € per entry. Prizes:
• 1st prize: 1,000 € and a week at The Moth Retreat in Ireland
• 2nd prize: 500 €
• 3rd prize: 250 €
Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition 2025
Deadline: 31 July 2025
The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast short stories in the English language of 3,000 words or fewer. The story can be on any subject, in any style.
Entry fee: 19 € per story.
Prizes:
• 1st prize: 2,000 €
• 2nd prize: 500 €
• Four Runners-Up: 400 €
Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest 2025
Deadline: 1 October 2025
You may submit poems on any theme, up to 250 lines each. Entry fee: $25 per submission of 1-3 poems. Prizes: • Tom Howard Prize : $3,500 for a poem in any style or genre
• Margaret Reid Prize: $3,500 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style
• Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $500 each (any style)
2025 Wells Festival of Literature Competitions
Deadline: 30 June 2025
There are four competitions:
• Open Poetry Competition (£6 per entry; prizes: £1000, £500, £250);
• Short Story Competition (£6 per entry; prizes: £750, £300, £200);
• Book for Children Competition (£6 per entry; prizes: £750, £300, £200);
• Young Poets Competition (£3 per entry; prizes: £200, £150, £100).
Winchester Poetry Prize 2025
Deadline: 31 July 2025
The competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over.
Poems may be on any subject and in any form or style.
Entry fees: £6 for first poem and £5 for subsequent poems.
• 1st Prize: £1,000
• 2nd Prize: £500
• 3rd Prize: £250
Poetry London Prize 2025
Deadline: 30 June 2025
The competition is organized by Poetry London magazine.
Entries must be in English. The maximum length is 80 lines.
For Poetry London subscribers the entry fee is £5 per poem; for non-subscribers £10.
• 1st prize: £5,000
• 2nd prize: £2,000
• 3rd prize: £1,000
2025 Rattle Poetry Prize
Deadline: 15 July 2025
The competition is open to poets of any nationality writing in English. You may submit up to four poems per entry. The $30 USD entry fee is a one-year subscription to Rattle magazine.
The overall winner will receive a cash prize of $15,000. Ten finalists will each receive $500, and be eligible for the $5,000 Reader's Choice Award.
The International Audio Drama Competition 2026
Deadline: 4 June 2025,
The competition is hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council. Entrants should write an audio drama script on any subject. The competition is only open to writers outside of the UK. There are two prizes. Each prize will consist of £2500 and a trip to London.
The competition is free to enter.
2025 HG Wells Short Story Competition
Deadline: 8 July 2025
The competition is open to anyone. This year's theme is ''The Middle Ground''. Your story can be set anywhere, feature any characters, and be written in any style. There are two categories: • Authors 21 years of age and under with a prize of £1,000. Entry is free. • Authors aged 22 years and above with a prize of £500 (entry £10 or £5 with student id).
The Moth Short Story Prize 2025
Deadline: 30 June 2025
The Moth Short Story Prize is an international prize, open to anyone over the age of 16.
You can enter as many stories as you like.
The entry fee is 15 € per story.
• 1st prize: 3,000 €
• 2nd prize: a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France
• 3rd prize: 1,000 €
Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2025
Deadline: 31 August 2025
The competition is open to anyone. There are two categories: Poetry and Short Fiction. Entry fees: from £12 to £18. Prizes: • £2,500 for the Poetry Winner • £2,500 for the Short Fiction Winner