Aim high and win big, or broaden your horizons and portfolio with work in areas you wouldn’t otherwise try? The choice is yours but you’ll find plenty to inspire with details of over 220 competitions to enter in the coming months

OCTOBER 2018

Mslexia Children’s Novel Comp

The first 3,000 words of a completed novel

Prizes: £5,000 plus optional extras

Entry fee: £25

Closing date: 1 October

Mslexia, PO Box 656, Newcastle upon Tyne

NE99 1PZ

Tel: 0191 204 8860

competitions@mslexia.co.uk

https://mslexia.co.uk

Mslexia Women’s Flash Fiction

Flash fiction up to 300 words

Prizes: £500

Entry fee: £5

Other details as above

Mslexia Women’s Novella

The first 5,000 words of a novella between

10,000 and 40,000 words

Prizes: £1,000, co-publication between

Mslexia and Galley Beggar Press

Entry fee: £15

Other details as above

Mslexia Women’s Short Story

Short stories, up to 3,000 words, by women

Prizes: £5,000, 3 x £100

Entry fee: £10

Other details as above

Prolitzer Prize for Prose Writing

Fiction and creative non-fiction up to 2,500 words, details TBC

Prizes: £200, 2 x £50, publication

Entry fee: £4, subsequent entries £3

Closing date: 1 October

P Robertson, 27 Thornton Ave, Heaton,

Bolton BL1 5PJ

prosecompetition@prolebooks.co.uk

www.prolebooks.co.uk

Bath Flash Fiction Award

Thrice-yearly competition for flash fiction

up to 300 words

Prizes: £1,000, £300, £100

Entry fee: £9

Closing date: 14 October

htto://bathflashfictionaward.com

Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize

Graphic short stories

Prizes: £1,000 plus publication; £250 plus online publication

Free entry

Closing date: 14 October

The Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize, Vintage, Penguin Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA

aoneill@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

https://writ.rs/graphicshortstoryprize

Eyelands Book Awards

Published and unpublished books

Prizes: Published books, a five-day holiday in Athens; unpublished books, publication from Strange Days Books

Entry fee: $30

Closing date: 20 October

info@eyelands.gr

www.eyelands.gr

Troubadour International Poetry Prize

Poems, up to 45 lines

Prizes: £2,000, £1,000, £500; smaller prizes

Entry fee: £6, €7, $7.50 for the first poem, £4, €5, $5 for any subsequent poems

Closing date: 22 October

Troubadour International Poetry Prize, Coffee-House Poetry, PO Box 16210, London W4 1ZP

CoffPoetry@aol.com

www.coffeehousepoetry.org

Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction

Short fiction between 2,000 and 6,000 words on the theme of ‘scent’

Prizes: £500

Free entry

Closing date: 26 October

commaprizes@gmail.com

http://commapress.co.uk/resources/prizes/

Bare Fiction Prize

Poetry up to 40 lines, flash fiction up to 500 words; short stories up to 3,000 words Prizes: £500, £200, £100, 2 x £25, in each category

Entry fee: £5 poetry, £6 flash fiction, £8 short story

Closing date: 31 October

Bare Fiction Prize, 177 Copthorne Road,

Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY3 8NA

www.barefictionmagazine.co.uk

Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize

Fiction and non-fiction interpretations, 1,000-1,500 words, by young writers aged 18-25, of a Benjamin Franklin quote: ‘Let all men know thee, but no man know thee thoroughly.’

Prizes: £750, £500, web publication

Free entry

Closing date: 31 October

Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street,

London WC2N 5NF

Tel: 0207 839 2006

info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org

www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org

Retreat West Flash Fiction Prize

500-word fiction

Prizes: £350, £200, £100, £15

Entry fee: £8

Closing date: 28 October

www.retreatwest.co.uk

Retreat West Short Story Prize

Short stories, 1,500-4,000 words

Prizes: £400, £250, £150, £20 shortlisted

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 28 October

www.retreatwest.co.uk

London Magazine Short Story Competition 2018

For short stories, up to 4,000 words

Prizes: £500, £300, £200

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 31 October

Short Story Competition, The London

Magazine, 11 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 5EL

competition@thelondonmagazine.org

www.thelondonmagazine.org

Cannon Poets Sonnet or not

For 14-line poems that in some way reflect the sonnet form, or not

Prizes: £500, £250, £125

Entry fee: £5, subsequent entries £2.50

Closing date: 31 October

Cannon Poets, 22 Margaret Grove, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9JH

www.cannonpoets.org.uk

Dark Tales Short Story

Ongoing monthly comp for horror and sci-f short stories, up to 5,000 words

Prizes: £100 for each monthly winner plus publication in Dark Tales

Entry fee: £4, £8 with critique, £20 with edit and critique

Closing date: 31 October; monthly, last day of each month

Sean Jeffrey, Dark Tales, 7 Offley Street, Worcester WR3 8BH

sean@darktales.co.uk

www.darktales.co.uk

Earlyworks Press Short Story

Short stories, up to 8,000 words

Prizes: £200, anthology publication for shortlisted entries

Entry fee: £5 up to 4,000 words, £10 if

4,000-8,000 words

Closing date: 31 October

Earlyworks Press, Creative Media Centre, 45

Robertson Street, Hastings TN34 1HL

services@earlyworkspress.co.uk

www.earlyworkspress.co.uk

Eric Gregory Trust Fund Awards

For a published or unpublished volume of no more than 30 poems by a UK author under the age of 30 on 31 March 2018

Prizes: a share of up to £24,000

Free entry

Closing date: 31 October

Robyn Law, The Society of Authors, 84 Drayton Gardens, London SW10 9SB

Tel: 020 7373 6642

info@societyofauthors.org

www.societyofauthors.org

Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition

For an opening chapter no longer than 3,000 words, plus synopsis

Prizes: £500, £200

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 31 October

entry@flash500.com

www.flash500.com

McKitterick Prize

For the best first novel by an author over the age of 40 on 31 December

Prizes: £4,000

Free entry

Closing date: 31 October

Robyn Law, Society of Authors, 84 Drayton

Gardens, London SW10 9SB

Tel: 020 7373 6642

info@societyofauthors.org

www.societyofauthors.org

NAWG Novella Competition

First 5,000 words plus a one-page synopsis

Prizes: Books to the value of £300, £200, £100

Entry fee: £10

Closing date: 31 October

12 Laxton Drive, Oundle, Peterborough PE8 5TW

comp-open@nawg.co.uk

www.nawg.co.uk

NAWG Open Poetry Competition

Poems up to 40 lines

Prizes: £200, £100, £50, publication

Entry fee: £5, £10 for three

Closing date: 31 October

12 Laxton Drive, Oundle, Peterborough PE8 5TW

comp-open@nawg.co.uk

www.nawg.co.uk

NAWG Open Short Story Comp

Stories from 500 to 2,000 words

Prizes: £200, £100, £50, publication

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 31 October

Tel: 01733 311680

comp-open@nawg.co.uk

www.nawg.co.uk

Plough Prize

Open category, poems up to 40 lines; the Ronald Duncan Short Poem Competition, poems up to 10 lines

Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250 in each category

Entry fee: £5

Closing date: 31 October

The Plough Arts Centre, 9-11 Fore Street,

Torrington EX38 7NW

Tel: 01805 624624

www.theploughprize.co.uk

Poetry Society National Poetry Competition

For poems, up to 40 lines

Prizes: £5,000, £2,000, £1,000, seven £200 commendations

Entry fee: £6.50, £3.50 each additional

Closing date: 31 October

Competition Organiser (WM), Poetry Society,

22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BX

Tel: 020 7420 9886

award@poetrysociety.org.uk

www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/competitions/npc/

Southport Writers’ Circle International Short Story Comp

For short stories, up to 2,000 words

Prizes: £150, £80, £25, humour £30

Entry fee: £3 or £10 for four

Closing date: 31 October

www.swconline.co.uk

Southword Fiction Chapbook Competition

Novella, short story collection, collection of flash fiction or a mixture of stories and flash

Prizes: Two winners (Irish and International) will have their chapbook published with €250 advance and 20 complimentary copies

Entry fee: €25

Closing date: 31 October

info@munsterlit.ie

www.munsterlit.ie

Tom Gallon Trust Awards

Short stories, up to 5,000 words, by authors who have had at least one story accepted for publication

Prize: £1,000

Free entry

Closing date: 31 October

Robyn Law, Society of Authors, 84 Drayton Gardens, London SW10 9SB

Tel: 020 7373 6642

info@societyofauthors.org

www.societyofauthors.org

NOVEMBER 2018

Arkbound Short Story Competition

Short stories between 500 and 1,000 words on the theme of time

Prizes: £100, £50, £25, 3 x £10

Entry fee: £3. Arkbound will sponsor entries from disadvantaged people.

Closing date: 1 November

Competitions, Arkbound, Backfields House, Upper York Street, Bristol BS2 8WF

competitions@arkbound.com

http://arkbound.com

Caledonia Novel Award

The first 20 pages plus 200-word synopsis of a novel by an unpublished writer

Prizes: £1,000, trophy

Entry fee: £25

Closing date: 1 November

caledoniannovelaward@gmail.com

www.caledoniannovelaward

Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Original, unpublished short stories, 2,000- 5,000 words, by writers from Commonwealth countries in Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and Pacific

Prizes: £2,500 for winner from each region, £5,000 for overall winner

Free entry

Closing date: 1 November TBC

CWP Administrator, Commonwealth

Foundation, Marlborough House, Pall Mall,

London SW1Y 5HY

Tel: 020 7747 6328

www.commonwealthwriters.org

Scribble Annual Short Story Competition

Stories up to 3,000 words on the theme of ‘neighbours’

Prizes: £100, £50, £25, publication in Scribble

Entry fee: £4

Closing date: 1 November