Details

Details

UK Writing Competitions (currently 51)

Scribble Quarterly Short Story Competition .  This quarterly contest from Scribble magazine is for stories in any genre and on any subject, running to no more than 3,000 words.  Winners are chosen by the magazine’s readers.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: £75, £25, £15.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Scribble SSC.

Flash 500 Competition.  Here’s a quarterly flash fiction contest which offers higher prize money than many similar competitions. It is for stories of up to 500 words on any theme.
    Closing: Quarterly (end of March, June, September, December).
    Prizes: 1st - £300.  2nd - £200.  3rd - £100.  Winners will be published on the website.
    Entry Fee: £5 each, £8 for two.
    Comp Page: Flash 500 Story.

WriteTime Short Story Competition.  To enter this quarterly international contest from the WriteTime community you need to be aged 60 or older.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: £100, £50, £50.  Unsuccessful entrants receive brief feedback on their work.
    Entry Fee: £5 for one, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: WriteTime Story

                         The Rules, the T&Cs, the Fine Print
When you submit a story or poem to a competition, you are entering into a contract with the promoter.  Make sure you know the terms.  It may be, for instance, that you are granting the promoter the right to publish your work without payment even if you don’t win.  This is often the price you pay for entering a contest with no entry fee.  If it bothers you, don’t participate.  But before you get sniffy about that 450-word story set in the sedate world of turnip farming, ask yourself this: Would I really be able to sell it to anyone else?  Publication, even without payment, might not be a bad thing if it gets you a healthy crop of readers.  And if it’s in a newspaper or magazine that carries some prestige ... well, there are plenty of struggling writers who would gift wrap and hand over their very souls for the privilege of being able to put that in their cv.  Only you can decide if it’s worth it.

Next Generation Short Story Awards.  I don’t think I’ve ever come across as many categories in one competition as there are in this one from the USA.  There are too many to list here.  I’ll just say that there’s probably something to suit any story as long as it isn’t a serious one about a character identifying as non-human ... and even then you could enter it in the Wild Card category.  Aside from the categories by topic, there are others for students and seniors in different age groups.  And there’s a prize for a winner in all of them.
    Closing: 27.2.25.
    Prizes: 1st - $500 and a trophy engraved with your name,  2nd - $300.  3rd -  $200.  These three grand prize winners also get a gold medal and a free copy of the anthology in which their entry appears.  Category winners receive $75 plus a gold medal, plus publication in the anthology and a free  copy of same.
    Entry Fee: $25 for one category, $20 for each additional category.
    Comp Page  Next Gen Story:

Plaza Poetry Prize.  You have up to 60 lines to impress the judge in this annual contest from Plaza Prizes Ltd.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: £4,000, £300, £100.  The ten shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £12 for the first, £9 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Plaza Poetry Prize.

Flash 500 Short Story Competition.  This annual contest from the Flash 500 website is for short stories of between 1,000 and 3,000 words on any theme.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: £500, £200, £100.
    Entry Fee : £7 for one, £12 for two, £16 for three, £20 for four.
    Comp Page: F500 Short Story

Dear Mr Michael
    I discovered your website back in November, then, in January, finally had the guts to enter the Whidbey Writers’ Competition, with the 'lazy' way of judging entries: stopping reading once they found 'the one'. The January theme was Villains, and, guess what, I won.
    Thank goody-goody gumdrops for Prizemagic.
    Keep Smiling
                                                   - Hannie Duncombe (The youngest ever Student Choice winner, at 13, thanks to you.)

Canterbury Tales Writing Competition.  Children aged 5 to 18 are invited to enter stories or poems in this freebie from the Chaucer Heritage Trust.  Entries do not have to be set in Canterbury but they must invoke the spirit of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  The theme of the contest is Surprise, Surprise.  You can write a story/poem about a surprise, or a poem or story with a twist ending, or you can write a description of a character who was not what they appeared to be.  Limit your creative efforts to 500 words.  There are three age categories: 5 to 10, 11 to 14, and 15 to 18.  Winners are awarded prizes for themselves and their school’s library.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes (in each age category): 1st - £300, plus £1,000 for the library.  2nd - £150 plus £500 for the library.  3rd - £100  plus £250 for the library.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry (one per person).
    Comp Page: Canterbury Tales

Edinburgh Short Story Award.  Presented by the Scottish Arts Trust, this international contest is for stories of under 2,000 words on any subject.  There is also the Write Mango Short Story Award for bizarre, quirky stories that can sometimes make the reader laugh out loud.  And then there’s a prize (the Isobel Lodge Award) for the best story by an unpublished writer resident in Scotland.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £3,000.  2nd - £500,  3rd - £250.  Isobel Lodge Award - £750.  Write Flash Mango - £300.  The writers of at least 20 long-listed stories will be offered publication in the anthology
    Entry Fee: £11.
    Comp Page: Edinburgh Story Award

Edinburgh Essay Award.  Here’s another international contest from the Scottish Arts Trust.  It is for essays of up to 2,000 words on a broad range of subjects, including memoirs, travelogues,  philosophical reflections or insightful analyses of historic or contemporary issues, etc.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.  Publication will be offered to the top 15 essayists.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Edinburgh Essay

Charles Causley International Poetry Competition.  The contest this year from the Charles Causley Trust is for poems of up to 40 lines on the theme of Peace.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,000.  2nd - £200.  3rd - £100.
    Entry Fee: £8 for one, then an additional £5 each.  It is advisable to check your pulse before submitting your work as the rules state that posthumous entries are not allowed.
    Comp Page: Causley Poetry

Charles Causley Young Person’s Poetry Competition.  This one from the Charles Causley Trust is for poets aged 5 to 18 who live in the UK. The theme is Peace.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: Unspecified prizes will be awarded in three age categories: 5 to 10, 11 to 15, 16 to 18.  There will also be a prize for a young poet from Charles Causley’s home county of Cornwall.
    Entry Fee: None - Free entry.
    Comp Page: Causley Poetry

Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition.  Open to published and unpublished writers, this contest from the Crime Writers’ Association celebrates the author of the Albert Campion detective novels.  It is for stories of up to 3,500 words.  These must comply with Margery Allingham’s own definition of a mystery, which is basically as follows: a crime, a mystery, an enquiry and a conclusion, the conclusion providing reader satisfaction (so your investigator can’t end up thumping his/ her desk in frustration and muttering, ‘Damn - the bastard’s got away with it!’).
    Closing: 28.2.25 (6pm).
    Prize: £500.
    Entry Fee: £18.
    Comp Page: Allingham Story

Edinburgh YA Graphic Novel  Award.  The Scottish Arts Trust has launched this new international contest for writers and illustrators of novels and graphic novels in any genre, suitable for readers aged between 12 and over.  To enter, you submit a short extract of the novel (up to 5,000 words or 6 to 8 pages), with finished artwork, plus a synopsis of 300 words.  If longlisted/shortlisted you will be asked for more material, as specified in the rules.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: £1,500, £500, £250.
    Entry Fee: £15.
    Comp Page: Edinburgh YA Graphic Novel

Fish Flash Fiction Prize.  Stories of up to 300 words in any style are invited for this annual international contest from Fish Publishing in southern Ireland.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  2nd - 300 euros plus an online writing course.  3rd - 300 euros.  Ten stories will be published in the Fish Anthology 2025.  The writers will each receive five free copies and will be invited to read at the launch ceremony at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2025.
    Entry Fee: 16 euros, for the first, 11 euros thereafter.
    Comp Page: Fish Flash.

Stockholm Writers Festival First Five Prize. The ‘five’ referred to here is pages of a novel, book or novella.  The story, which must be unpublished, can be in any genre.  The contest is open worldwide to anyone aged over 16.
    Closing: 1.3.25.
    Prizes : 1st - $1,000, a ticket to the Festival, two nights in a boutique Stockholm hotel, a pitch meeting with an agent, and developmental editing from Reedsy.  Runners-up (2) - Festival tickets and a meeting with an agent.
     Entry Fee: $20.
    Comp Page: SWF First Five

Bardsy Publishable First Chapters Competition.  Here’s a contest from the USA that gives you feedback and the opportunity to revise your entry before the judging.  If you become a finalist, you get ‘a professional editorial experience which ends with publication.’  Sounds interesting ... although if you’re not used to ‘murdering your darlings’ as we say in the trade, you may need a stiff drink or three to get you though it.  Your entry (the first chapter of your novel) should run to between 1,500 and 2,500 words.
    Closing: 3.3.25.  Revisions due: 3.7.25. You are advised to submit your initial entry early to allow time for revision.
    Prizes: 1st - $1,000.  Runners up receive $50.  Winning entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: $20.
    Comp Page: Bardsy First Chapters

Never Such Innocence Writing Competition.  Here we have an international freebie for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 18.  It has four categories - Poetry, Speech, Song and Art - but here I deal only with the first three.  Poems, which should run to no more than 40 lines, must answer the question: How Can We Prevent Future Wars?’  This question applies to the other categories too.  In the Speech category you are required to submit a speech of up to 5 minutes (750 words), in writing and with an audio or video recording.  If you are entering a song, submit a video or audio recording (maximum 4 minutes) plus the written lyrics.
    Closing: 7.3.25.
    Prizes:  The prizes will be announced later in the competition, say the promoters, and will include some exciting opportunities.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  You can enter each category once.
    Comp Page: Innocence

Dear Michael,
     Thank you for maintaining your informative and witty list of writing competitions.
     I entered loads of them last year and got precisely nowhere, but I ploughed on regardless and have just won second prize (£100) in the Flash 500 Humour Verse contest, which would suggest that your friend Percy Vere might be onto something.
                                                                             -  Melanie Branton

National Short Story Award.  Unfortunately, to be eligible for this freebie from the BBC and Cambridge University you need to have a prior record of prose fiction, drama or poetry publication in the UK.  Your work needs to have been published by an established publisher, print newspaper, magazine, journal, etc, or broadcast by a UK national broadcaster or content provider.  If you have survived that hail of bullets, all you need to do now is rattle off an unbeatable story running to no more than 8,000 words.  Or you can enter a published story if it fits the above conditions and first appeared on or after 1.1.24.
    Closing: 17.3.25 (9am).
    Prizes: 1st - £15,000.  Runners-up (4) - £600.  Winning stories will be broadcast on Radio 4, possibly after having everything that made them worth listening to edited out so as not to offend ultra-sensitive listeners.  The lucky five will also be published in an anthology, likely peppered with trigger warnings.
    Entry Fee: None - Free entry.
    Comp Page: BBC NSSA

Dead Cat Poetry Prize.  I’m all-too familiar with the dead cat bounce (stock market), but this is the first time I‘ve come across a dead cat poetry contest.  But some people are understandably fond of writing about their dearly departed pets, and so it was inevitable that sooner or later someone would come up with a competition.  You can enter up to 60 lines, either as one poem or two.
    Closing: 17.3.25.
    Prizes: £75, £60, £15.
    Entry Fee: A donation (minimum £1).
    Comp Page: Dead Cat Poetry

SWLF Writing Competition.  This new contest from the South Warwickshire Literary Festival has four categories: Fiction (up to 800 words), Flash Fiction (up to 200 words), Poetry (up to 40 lines), and Creative Non-Fiction such as travel writing, memoir, and life writing (up to 800 words).  Winners and commendeds will be offered the opportunity to read their entries at the Festival in September.
    Closing: 28.3. 25.
    Prizes (in each category): £75, £25.
    Entry Fee: £3.90.
    Comp Page: SWLF Comp

Red Shed Open Poetry Competition.  Here’s a return visit from the annual contest run by Currock Press of Wakefield.  Sponsored by the Mocca Moocho cafe it is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject.  Be aware that the rules contain some formatting instructions.
    Closing: 28.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £100.  2nd - £50.  Shortlisted - £20.  Wakefield Postcode: £25.
    Entry Fee: £3 for the first, £2 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Red Shed.

Rubery Book Award.  This annual international award is for books of all genres published by independent publishers or self-published.  To enter, send a hardcopy of your book by post or submit an ebook electronically.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £2,000.  Category winners - £200.  All winners receive a glass plaque.
    Entry Fee: £45.  If you are entering from outside the UK, see the website for pricing.
    Comp Page: Rubery Book.

Wildfire Words Flash 150 Competition.  Oddly enough this international contest comes from the poetry ezine Frosted Fire in Cheltenham.  For an explanation, see the website.  Your story/prose poem should be limited to - well, here’s a surprise - 150 words (including the title).  The words need not rhyme or take any other poetic form.  You can enter your creation as text or audio.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: £150 in each category.  Runners-up (4) - £15. Longlisted entrants will be invited to record their stories at a public Zoom event.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £7 for three up to 28.2.25, then £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: Flash 150.

Grey Hen Chapbook Competition.  To enter this poetry contest from Grey Hen Press for woman over 60 you submit 15 to 20 poems.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prize: The winner’s chapbook will be published by Grey Hen Press in their Hen Run series.
    Entry Fee: Place an order for at least £20 worth of titles published by Grey Hen Press or Hen Run.
    Comp Page: Grey Hen Chapbook.

DRF Writers Award.  Open to emerging writers residing in the British Commonwealth and Eire, the Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award is for prose fiction, non-fiction, children’s or short stories.  The comp page gives full details of what you can and cannot have had published while still being deemed ‘emerging’.  To enter you submit 15,000 to 20,000 words of a work in progress.  Add to this a synopsis, plus a brief biographical note (not to be confused with a rambling autobiography).
    Closing: 31.3.25
    Prizes: 1st - £10,000.  Runners-up - £1,000.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One entry per person.
    Comp Page: DRF Award

Plaza Prose Poem Prize.  Prose poems of up to 750 words are requred for this annual contest.  Any theme is acceptable but poems must be written for adults.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: £750, £300, £100.
    Entry Fee: £10 for the first, £7.50 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Plaza Prose Poem.

Parsec SF/Fantasy/Horror Short Story Competition.  Here’s another freebie from Parsec in America.  It is, as it says on the tin, for science fiction, fantasy or horror stories.  Entries should be no longer than 3,500 words.  The theme is ‘AI Mythology.‘  You should try to incorporate both concepts into your entry.  This,’ say the promoters, ‘can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue ... but it must be integral to the story.’  Parsec, incidentally, is Pittsburgh’s premier science fiction & fantasy organisation.
    Closing: 31.3.25 (11:59pm EST).
    Prizes: 1st - $200 and publication in the Confluence program book (and before you ask, Confluence is some sort of annual science fiction get-together).  2nd - $100.  3rd - $50.  Best Youth Story - $50.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  Open worldwide.  One entry per person.
    Comp Page: Parsec S/F Story

Plaza Flash Fiction Prize.  Prose poems of up to 750 words are requred for this one.  Entries can be on any theme but must be aimed at adults.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: £750, £300, £100.
    Entry Fee: £10 for the first, £8 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Plaza Flas Fiction.

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize.  Before you clutter up your mind with ideas for poems about caterpillars, let me point out that the name of this annual contest is not intended to indicate the official subject, although if you wish to go that way, you are free to do so.  The only stipulations are that your poem must be suitable for children aged 7 to 11, and it must be written by someone aged over 16..  It can be any length and may have any number of legs, including none.  The Caterpillar, incidentally, is a children’s magazine based in Southern Ireland.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros and a week at Circle of Misse in France.  2nd - 500 euros.  3rd - 250 euors.  Winners will be publishd in the Irish Times online.
    Entry Fee: 15 euros.
    Comp Page: Catmag Poetry.

Binsted Poetry Prize.  The South Downs Poetry Festival in conjunction with the Binsted Arts Festival is coming round again, and as usual it features a competition for poems on any subject.  With a line limit of 40, it is open to all poets aged over 16.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £250 plus publication in Poetry & All That Jazz magazine.  2nd - £150.  3rd - £50.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Binsted Poetry.

Fish Poetry Prize.  Poems of up to 60 lines in any style are invited for this annual international contest from Fish Publishing based in southern Ireland.  Billy Collins will again be judging.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  2nd - 300 euros plus a Fish writing course.  3rd - 300 euros.  Ten poems will be published in the Fish Anthology 2025.  The writers will each receive five free copies and will be invited to read at the launch ceremony at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2025.
    Entry Fee: 14 euros, for the first, 9 euros thereafter.
    Comp Page: Fish Poetry.

E.H.P. Barnard Spring Poetry Prize.  For this new contest the theme is Vision.  Entries should run to no more than 400 words.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £150 plus a poem video professionally performed, produced and promoted.  2nd - £100.  3rd - £50.
    Entry Fee: £2 per poem.
    Comp Page: Barnard Poetry Prize

Letter Review Prizes.  Here’s a repeat of the contest from the USA with four categories: Poetry (all kinds, up to 70 lines), Short Fiction (up to 5,000 words), Nonfiction (up to 5,000 words) and Unpublished Books (first 5,000 words of a novel, nonfiction or collection of short stories, or 15 pages of poetry).  In the Unpublished Books category, self-published books are eligible.
    Closing: 31.3.25 (11.59pm ET).
    Prizes: A share of the $1,000 prize pool in each category.  Poetry, Short Fiction and Nonfiction winners will be published, while Unpublished Book winners can choose to have an extract published and receive a letter of recommendation from the judges.  Winners in the first three categories will also be considered for submission to the Pushcart Prize and other anthologies.
    Entry Fee: Short Fiction - $20.  Poetry - $15.  Nonfiction - $20.  Unpublished Book - $25.
    Comp Page: Letter Review Prizes

Rialto Nature & Place Poetry Competition.  Any aspect of nature and place is the theme of this annual contest from The Rialto magazine in association with the RSPB, Birdlife International, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the University of Leeds Poetry Centre.  The judge is Helen Mort.
    Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.
    Entry Fee: £7 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Rialto N&P.

Dear Michael,
     I love your website and its pertinent personal comments re the comps.
     I entered the Alexander Cordell one some months ago, the mini saga, and was short-listed to win. It was a 600 mile round trip with two toddlers but we had a really wonderful weekend. My husband is self employed and works really long hours so it was great to drag him away and out into the countryside. The people were lovely, the whole event was fascinating, and I was thrilled to get two books and a book token. My little girl age 3 gets excited every time Wales is mentioned on the news now! The greatest thrill was hearing the Director of Visit Wales read out my story so reverently, and with evident enjoyment. The organisers were delighted with the world-wide entries.  I don’t write for money - just as well - but for the love of the medium and the message.
     Keep up the good work!                                         -  Julie Noble

Wergle Flomp Humour Poetry Competition.  This annual freebie from Winning Writers in the USA is for published or unpublished humorous poems (including inspired gibberish) of up to 250 lines.  Before entering, it is advisable to read some of the past winning entries.
   Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: 1st - $2,000 plus a gift certificate.  2nd - $500, $250.  Runners-up (10) - $100.  The top 12 entries will be published online.
    Entry Fee : None - free to enter.  One entry per person.
    Comp Page: Wergle Flomp.

Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize.  The Alpine Fellowship is a charity project of the German-based ‘Argosophia Stiftung’ ... which I’m sure needs no introduction from me.  The prize is international in scope, as is the charity.  It is awarded annually for the best piece of writing of up to 1,250 words (fiction, non-fiction and non-academic essays).  The theme this year is Fear.
    Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £3,000.  2nd and 3rd - £1,000.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Alpine Writing Prize.

Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize.  The Alpine Fellowship is a charity project of the German-based ‘Argosophia Stiftung’, which holds a symposium every year.  The contest, like the charity, is international.  The prize is awarded annually for the best piece of poetry on the set theme.  This year’s theme is Fear.
    Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: £3,000, £1,000, £1000.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One entry per person. You can submit one poem, or a collection of poems on the same theme.  Maximum word count: 500.
    Comp Page: Alpine Poetry Prize.

Eyelands International Short Story Contest.  This is the eleventh of these international short story awards from literary magazine Eyelands and Strange Days Books in Greece.  The theme this year is ‘2025’, and you have up to 3,000 words to explore it.  Any genre is acceptable.
    Closing: 20.4.25 (midnight UTC).
    Prize: 500 euros.  All the shortlisted stories will be published and released through Strange Days Books.  The writers of the stories will each receive a free copy of the book.
    Entry Fee: 10 euros for one, 15 euros for two, 20 euros for three.
    Comp Page: Eyelands Story Comp

Ware Poets Poetry Competition.  Ware Poets of Hertfordshire are running their annual international contest again, and as before it is for poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.  There is a separate category for sonnets.  The prize money in both categories has been increased significantly this year. Winning poems will be published in the 2025 anthology, with a free copy going to each writer.  The best poem will be entered for the Forward Prize.
    Closing: 30.4.25.
    Prizes: £800, £400, £200.  Ware Sonnet Prize - £200.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Ware Poets

Plaza Short Story Prize.  You have up to 5,000 words to impress the judges in this contest from Plaza Prizes Ltd.  There is no set theme.
    Closing: 30.4.25.
    Prizes: £4,000, £300, £100.  The ten shortlisted entries will be published in the Plaza Prize Anthology which is scheduled for launch at an awards ceremony in 2025.
    Entry Fee: £15 for the first, £12 for the second.  Three entries for £22.50.
    Comp Page: Plaza Story 5000

Tom Howard/John H Reid Fiction & Essay Contest.  This regular visitor from Winning Writers in the USA is two competitions in one.  The first is for fiction running to no more than 6,000 words, while the second requires factual essays, also with a limit of 6,000 words.
    Closing: 1.5.25.
    Prizes: Story - $3,500 plus $100 gift certificate.  Essay - $3,500 plus $100 gift certificate. Honourable Mentions (10) - $500.  The top 12 entries will be published online.
    Entry Fee: $25.
    Comp Page: Tom H Comp .

Creative Future Competition.  The Creative Future Awards for under-represented writers over 18 are back again.  There are three categories: Poetry up to 50 lines, Fiction up to 2,000 words, and Creative Non-fiction up to 2,000 words.  The theme this year, (‘a creative prompt,’ they say, ‘not a requirement’) is ‘Wild’.
    Closing: 18.5.25.
    Prizes: (Poetry) 1st - £75, a Chapter and Verse Mentorship, manuscript assessment and a year’s Being A Writer membership, plus a Faber Academy online masterclass.  2nd - £50 plus other writing-relatesd items.  3rd - £25 plus other Writing-related items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up.  (Fiction): 1st - £75, a Curtis Brown mentorship and agent meeting, one year’s Being A Writer membership, Faber Academy Writing a Novel course,  a year’s membership of the Society of Authors.  2nd - £50 plus writing-related items.  3rd - £25 plus other items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up. (Creative Non-fiction): 1st - £75 plus mentoring and manuscript assessment, plus Faber Academy’s Memoir and Life Writing course.  2nd - £50, manuscript assessment and an online writing course from Writing Magazine, plus Society of Authors membership.  3rd - £25 plus manuscript assessment and coaching, and a copy of the W&A Yearbook.  There are also prizes for Highly Commended and Commended.  In addition to the main category prizes there are ‘Joint prizes’, presumably so you can smoke away the blues after not winning the top prize ... oh, hang on, it seems these prizes are something extra that all winners get jointly.  Winners will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: Free to enter, or pay what you can.
    Comp Page: Creative Future Award

Wirral Poetry Festival Open Poetry Competition.  Poems of up to 40 lines are invited for this long-running contest from the Wirral (where Vikings once settled ... before being moved on by the council following complains of antisocial behaviour).
    Closing: 30.5.25.
    Prizes: £250, 4 x £25.  Wittal Prize (for people living or working in Wirral): £100, 2 x £25.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: Wirral Poetry

Black Orchid Novella Award.  This is the 19th of these annual mystery story contests from The Wolfepack (the official Nero Wolfe Literary Society) in the USA.  It is open worldwide.  To enter, you submit an original detective story of between 15,000 and 20,000 words in the traditional deductive style exemplified by Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series.  Your story should contain no sex or violence and, presumably, no fat-shaming.
    Closing : 31.5.25.
    Prize: $1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Nero Wolfe Novella

Hi
    Before I discovered your website I’d never even thought of trying my luck in a writing competition. My stories were a very private part of my life, I was (and for the most of the time still am) very convinced that they are not good enough for the ‘outside world’.
     I don’t know what made me try - call it a crazy moment of self-confidence - but here I am the October winner of the Cazart short story competition. I haven’t felt so good about myself in months. It might not seem like a big deal to the world but for me it means everything. And it would not have happened if it wasn’t for your wonderful website.
     Thank You very much.                                         -  Dorota Nocun

Frogmore Poetry Prize.  This annual contest is run by Frogmore Press which was founded in 1983 in the Frogmore tearooms in Folkestone.  Well, what else can you do in Folkestone?  I’ll tell you what: you can fall in the sea - a feat I managed at the age of 8.  Will I ever forget that day?  Unlikely, for I had the misfortune to be rescued by my two sisters.  ‘No, no - let me drown!’ I cried.  ‘I’ll never be able to face my mates again.’  But I had the ice cream money in my pocket and so my pleas were ignored.  I later wrote a poem about the shame of it all but it would have been too long for this contest as it ran to 360 lines.  The line limit here is 40.
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prize: 1st - 250 guineas.  Classy.  You also get a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers.  2nd - 75 guineas and a year’s subscription.  3rd - 50 guineas and a year’s subscription.  Shortlisted poets also get copies of selected Frogmore Press publications, plus publicaion in the mag.
    Entry Fee: £4.
    Comp Page: Frogmore PP

Bridport Prize .  This famous international competition from the Bridport Arts Centre is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.  Everyone in the trade whose mind is not addled by drugs has heard of it, and they will be impressed if you can claim to have won it.  The good news is that winning it is easy.  All you have to do is submit the best poem, short story or flash fiction, the poem having no more than 42 lines, the short story running to no more than 5,000 words.  For those who find 5,000 words too tiring to write, the flash fiction category is ideal as it has a word limit of only 250 (if that’s too much, consider becoming a poet).
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prizes: Short Stories, Poems (in each category) - £5,000, £1,000, £500, and ten @ £100.  Flash Fiction - £1,000, £500, £250, and five @ £100.  Winning entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fees:  Poem - £12.  Short Story - £14.  Flash Fiction - £11.
    Comp Page: Bridport Prize.

The Peggy Chapman-Andrews Novel Award.  This annual contest, which honours one of the founders of the Bridport Prize, is for novels by writers over 16 who are resident in the UK or R.o.I, or are British citizens living overseas, or writers living in any of the 14 British Overseas Territories.  To be eligible you must not have had a novel published (self-published excepted).  To enter, you submit the first chapters of your story (5,000 to 8,000 words), plus a synopsis of up to 300 words.  Three hundred words?  That’s more a blurb than a synopsis.  Warning: You need to have 15,000 words of the novel available at the longlist stage and 30,000 for the shortlist.
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,500 plus mentoring from The Literary Consultancy, and a consultation with London literary agents AM Heath and Publisher Headline.  2nd - £750 plus full manuscript appraisal.  Runners-up (3) - £150 plus a 15,000-word manuscript appraisal.  The winning novel extracts will be published in the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £24.
    Comp Page: Chapman-Andrews Award.

Bath Novel Award.  This well-known international competition for unagented emerging novelists, now in its eleventh year,  has a prize fund of £10,000.  To enter, you submit the first 5,000 words of your completed novel aimed at adults or young adults.  Also required is a one-page synopsis.
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prizes:  1st - £5,000 and an exclusive trophy.  Shortlistees receive a compilation of award readers’ comments on their entry, while all listees receive feedback on their opening pages.  One longlistee will also win a place on the online course, Edit Your Novel the Professional Way, from Professional Writing Academy and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.
    Entry Fee: £29.99
    Comp Page: Bath Novel

MTP Short Story Competition.  Here we have a repeat of last year’s contest from Michael Terence Publishing of Oxford.  Now open to all authors worldwide, it is for fiction, flash fiction, science fiction, children’s and non-fiction (biography, memoir, true story, etc) running to no more than 3,000 words.   In the email they sent me this year they say they are looking for powerful simplicity as ‘even the shortest of tales can hold immense depth, emotion and meaning.’
    Closing: 10.6.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,000.  2nd - £500.  3rd - £250.  Runners-up (5) - £50. Winners will be published online and in a print and e-book anthology (the title of this will be based on the title of the winning story).
    Entry Fee: £9.  Early Bird Entries (up to 10.3.25) - £6.
    Comp Page: MTP Story Comp.

To Hull and Back Humorous Writing Contest.  Would it surprise you to know that this one comes from Hull?  Well here’s the real surprise: it doesn’t.  It has its origina in Bristol.  Furthermore, the prize doesn't involve a trip to Hull.  But don’t worry: to ease your disppointment a copy of the anthology containing your winning entry will be taken to Hull on a Harley Davidson motorbike.  I assume there will be a video of that great event for you to enjoy.
    Closing: 30.6.25.
    Prizes: £1,000, £200, £100.  Highly Commended (3) - £70.  Shortlisted (14) - £35.  Winners and shortlistees will be published in a print anthology as well as a Kindle book.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Hull & Back.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Competition.  This US contest is open worldwide and is for short stories of up to 17,000 words.  They should be science fiction, fantasy or horror with fantastic elements.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: $1,000, $750, $500.
    Entry Fee: None.
    Website: Click Here.

Dear Michael
     Just to say a big ‘Thank You’ for your work on the website. I have been selected for publication in the Mirador competition which ran last year and have been awarded 3rd place in the Stringybark Speculative Fiction competition. To be published twice is like a dream for me, which the information found on your site made possible. Thanks again.
                                                                                    -   Pat Davies

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Notes: Unless otherwise stated in the rules, all poetry should be single-spaced.  The rest should be double-spaced (which is to say, double spacing between the lines, not the words!).  It is sometimes the case that your name shouldn’t appear on the manuscript.  Again, check the rules.  If you put your name on there after being told not to, you’re out.  Don’t use coloured paper or fancy fonts, and don’t send your manuscript done up like the Queen’s dinner menu with a fancy gold-tooled leather cover.  These things merely announce that you have no confidence in your submission or, worse, that you think the judges are shallow enough to judge on appearance rather than content.  Plain white A4 80gsm paper is the stuff to use, with plain black typing or print.  Write on one side of the sheet only (unless asked to put your address on the back).

        Before you start writing, allow me to introduce you to an old friend

                                       The Typo Goblin

  I am the Typo Goblin, my heart is made of flint,
  My role in life is simply this: to keep you out of print.
  I sneak into your manuscript and do my fiendish work,
  Adding errors guaranteed to make you look a berk.
  And then I cast the ‘Careless’ spell: you say, ‘Ah, what the heck!’
  And pop your script into the post without that final check.
  At length some hapless editor receives your golden wit,
  And after reading fifty words he writes it off as ... unpublishable.

                                                                            - Michael Shenton

Finally, as you sift through the remnants of your shattered dreams and wonder if it’s worth going on ... www.samaritans.co.uk/

   My Humorous Verse, Songs, Etc (sample)
     
                           This is the Prizemagic website
                            Email comps@prizemagic.co.uk
                           Copyright:  Michael Shenton  2025

                                                           Poem: Being a Writer

                             Romantic Poetry by Michael Shenton (sample)