These are contests and fellowships for writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Prizes range from $50 to £20,000 ($25000). – S. Kalekar.
The Costa Short Story Award
This short story prize is for writers based in the UK or Ireland. There is no set theme and stories can be up to 4,000 words.
Value: £3,500, £1,000, £500
Deadline: 1 August 2019
Open for: Writers in UK or Ireland
Details here and here.
Inaugural Curtis Brown First Novel Prize
To celebrate their 120th year, Curtis Brown has launched a first novel prize. Writers should send in the first 10,000 words of their novel (including any prologue) and a synopsis. Novels can be in any genre but should be aimed at adults, rather than young adults or children. Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, will chair the judging panel. This contest for unpublished novels, for writers in the UK and Ireland who do not have literary representation. Their guidelines also say, “If you have self-published your work, you are very welcome to enter!”
Value: £3,000 and representation; mentoring and writing courses for runners-up
Deadline: 1 August 2019
Open for: UK-based writers
Details here.
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities: Pen 2 Paper
This is a disabilities-focused creative writing competition. Submissions are accepted from anywhere in the world and from writers of any age, ability or disability, and writing level. Writers can send submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and comics on the theme of ‘Disability’. There is a special personal essays award this year with a prize of $50.
Value: One prize of $500; $100 each to first-place winners in each category; special award of $50 for personal essays
Deadline: 1 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
The Bethune & Son Annual Texas Short Story Contest
They want a short story (up to 5,000 words) on the theme ‘Black Gold’. Stories must make reference to oil in some way, shape, or form. For any winners under 18, the monetary prize will be processed as a scholarship for academic purposes. Authors can send up to two stories.
Value: $1,000; second and third prizes of store credit
Deadline: 2 August 2019
Open for: US writers
Details here.
Frieze Writer’s Prize 2019
This prize is for discovering and promoting new art critics. Their guidelines say, “We celebrate criticism that is inquisitive, accessible and jargon-free; that engages with the physical complexities of art while situating it firmly within its broader context.” Send one unpublished review (500 words) of an art exhibition. Applicants should have published no more than three pieces of writing on art. Value: £2,000, writing commission
Deadline: 5 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
6th Crystal Ruth Bell Residency Program
They are inviting people to apply for a fully-funded residency at Three Shadows & Red Gate Photography Art Centre in Beijing and Xiamen. They are calling for people of all types of creative practices to send them proposals for projects to pursue in China around the ideas of “light and sight”. Their guidelines say, “All creative people who make {work with, about, or from} images are welcome: photographers, filmmakers, cinematographers, animators, documentarians, photojournalists, researchers, critics, observers, lighting designers, astronomers, zine makers, opticians, and selfie enthusiasts are all invited to submit proposals around the themes of Light and Sight.”
Value: Travel, residency, equipment expenses, $1,080 stipend
Deadline: 8 August 2019
Open for: Both local and international creators
Details here.
Nature Magazine essay competition
This year, Nature Magazine is turning 150 years old and they are celebrating with an essay contest for 18-25-year-olds. Their guidelines say, “We invite you to tell us, in an essay of no more than 1,000 words, what scientific advance, big or small, you would most like to see in your lifetime, and why it matters to you. We want to feature the inspiring voices and ideas of the next generation. … We are looking for essays that are well reasoned, well researched, forward-looking, supported by existing science, and leave room for personal perspective and anecdotes that show us who you are. We encourage you to entertain as well as to inform; we are not looking for academic papers, an academic writing style or science fiction.”
Value: £500 or equivalent
Deadline: 9 August 2019
Open for: All writers ages 18-25
Details here.
2020 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship
This fellowship is for helping writers of children’s/young adult fiction whose work is of high literary calibre. It is designed to assist a writer at a crucial moment in his or her career to complete a book-length fiction work-in-progress. Applicants must have already published one work for children or young adults that was warmly received by literary critics, but whose work has not yet attracted a broad readership. The earlier work/s must have been published by a US trade publisher. Graphic novels and picture books are not eligible.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 15 August 2019
Open for: Published YA/children’s writers
Details here.
Headway Quarterly: Summer 2019 Writing Contest
Submissions are now open for their second writing contest. They want a piece of writing, in any genre, up to 350 words, on the theme of ‘color’.
Value: $100
Deadline: 15 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
The Bodley Head/FT Essay Prize
This is an essay contest for young writers, run by the Financial Times and The Bodley Head (an imprint of Random House, UK). Writers should submit an essay, of up to 3,500 words, on any topic. Apart from cash prizes, winners will also receive mentoring and publication.
Value: £1,500, £500; mentoring, publication
Deadline: 16 August 2019
Open for: Writers aged 18-35 years
Details here.
World Congress of Faiths Essay Award
This award is for UK students, for an essay titled ‘Is Interfaith Worship a desirable practice?’ The essay should be up to 3,000 words.
Value: £300
Deadline: 27 August 2019
Open for: Undergraduate and postgraduate students at a UK university
Details here and here.
Penguin Random House UK: Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize
This is for translators aged 18-34 years, who have had no more than one full-length translation published. This year the focus language is French and entrants will translate an excerpt from the novel De purs hommes by Senegalese author Mohamed Mbougar Sarr. They will accept mailed submissions only – the deadline is for receiving entries, not the postmark date.
Value: £1,000, mentorship
Deadline: 30 August 2019
Open for: Translators of French
Details here.
On the Premises Short Story Contest
They want a short story, of 1,000-5,000 words, in which some kind of tradition(s) play(s) an important role. They do not want children’s fiction, exploitative sex, over-the-top grossout horror, or obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors.
Value: $220, $160, $120, $60
Deadline: 30 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
Tidbits Micro Fiction Contest
They want micro fiction on the theme of ‘Wishes’. Stories could be about dreams, hopes, fantasies, needs, desires, wish-granting entities (genies, fairies, etc), be careful what you wish for, or wishful thinking, for example. They can range from somber to silly, real life to the fantastical, the dangerous to the banal. Stories must be limited to one page, or 500 words, whichever is longer, according to guidelines. They will compile an anthology of 50 stories from the entries, and three of the stories will receive a monetary award.
Value: $300, $150, $50
Deadline: 30 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lunch Ticket: The Diana Woods Award in Creative Non-fiction
This is an award for creative non-fiction, of up to 5,000 words, on any subject. All submissions to the award will be considered for publication in Lunch Ticket.
Value: $250
Reading period: 1-31 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts
This award is for translators and authors of multilingual texts, in poetry or prose. Translators should include the original work with the translation, and a statement about the translation process. All submissions to the award will be considered for publication in other sections of Lunch Ticket.
Value: $200
Reading period: 1-31 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lee & Low Books: New Voices Award
This award is for writers of color and Native nations who are residents of the US, and have not previously had a children’s picture book published. The work should address the needs of children of color and Native nations, aged 5-12, by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities may also be included. Manuscripts can be fiction, non-fiction or poetry, and up to 1,500 words. Stories with anthropomorphic animals won’t be accepted. Writers can send up to two manuscripts – mailed submissions only.
Value: $2,000 and publishing contract; $1,000
Deadline: 31 August 2019 (postmarked)
Open for: US writers of color and Native nations
Details here.
Horror Writers Association Scholarships
These scholarships offer various amounts for assisting authors in professional development as horror writers. There are various amounts and requirements. The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly scholarship is for female writers, and the Horror Writers Association scholarship is for all writers (no membership necessary). There is also the Dark Poetry Scholarship, and the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for Nonfiction Writing. The funds can be used for various things like course fees, resources like textbooks and guides, subscriptions for appropriate periodicals, and registration fees for relevant literary festivals.
Value: Various
Deadline: 31 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Amazon: Kindle Storyteller Award
This is for writers in any genre, for a book published exclusively through Kindle Direct Publishing in both eBook and print formats between 1 May and 31 August 2019. The paperback version must be at least 24 pages long. For this contest, readers will play a significant role in selecting the winner – the award shortlist will be based on customer feedback of the entries (“includes sales, reads through Kindle Unlimited and reviews and other matters”), followed by an evaluation by a judging panel. Read the FAQ and terms carefully. This time around, there is also a potential for the work to be considered for production by Amazon Prime Video for all finalists: “All finalists of the 2019 UK Kindle Storyteller contest will be entered into an additional round of judging along with the finalists of the other KDP literary awards in other languages. One title will be selected by Amazon International Original Studios and the author will be offered an option contract for an audiovisual production and an advance payment of $10,000.”
Value: £20,000 for winner; potential for an additional advance of £10,000 for all finalists
Deadline: 31 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
University of Southampton: Green Stories Writing Competitions – full-length novel
They have writing contests with deadlines throughout the year, in various formats – play, film, radio, book, tv, interactive fiction – that in some way touch upon ideas around building a sustainable society. They will consider all genres – rom-com, literary fiction, science fiction, mystery, crime etc. – but stories must engage with the idea of environmentally sustainable practices and/or sustainable societies. They will consider all stories, but they encourage writers to imagine a more positive settings and practices for their stories, rather than dystopian. In August, they are reading novel submissions. According to their guidelines, length “will depend on genre, normal novels are 50,000 – 100, 000 words but children’s books may be as little as 15000. Submit the first 5,000 words double-spaced and numbered pages plus a one-page synopsis. We will then ask for the full novel from best entries.” Apart from cash prizes, they also have agreement from a literary agent from Curtis Brown to read the top entries and consider any writers they think suitable for representation.
Value: For each category, £500, £100, £50, plus £50 for best student submission (18-25 years) and £50 for best < 18 year submission. (If a student or under 18 entry is the best overall then it will win first prize regardless if the entry is from a student and the student prize will go to the next best student entry); potential literary representation
Deadline: 31 August 2019
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Cultural Weekly: Jack Grapes Poetry Prize
This is a prize for unpublished poetry. Send up to two poems.
Value: $250 each for three winners, $75 each for finalists
Deadline: 31 August 201
Open for: All poets
Details here.
Preservation Foundation Contest
This is a contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). For the upcoming deadline, the prizes will be in two categories: general non-fiction, for which their guidelines say “So-called “creative nonfiction” will not be considered”, and travel non-fiction. Entries should be 1,000-10,000 words. Read the terms carefully; all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, will be on their website as long as the Foundation exists.
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 31 August 2019
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here.
The Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest
For this contest, they have two categories: a traditional sonnet, which can be Shakespearean or Petrarchan, and a modern sonnet. Poets can enter work in one or both categories. They accept mailed submissions only.
Value: $50, $35, $15
Deadline: 1 September 2019 (postmarked)
Open for: All poets
Details here.
Transitions Abroad: 2019 Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest
This is an international contest for professional and freelancer writers, to write a non-fiction inspirational and practical article or mini-guide (1,200-3,000 words) that describes their experience living, moving, and working abroad.
Value: $500, $150, $100, $50
Deadline: 1 September 2019
Open for: All professional and freelance writers
Details here.
