Pick your favourites and start scheduling your entries with over 250 competitions to enter. This could be the year you win big!

APRIL

Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize

Prose on theme ‘identity’, up to 2,500 words

Prizes: £10,000; £3,000, £2,000

Free entry

Closing date: 1 Apr

https://alpinefellowship.com/

Cowles Poetry Book Prize

Poetry collections, 48-100 pages

Prizes: $2,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.semopress.com/events/cowles-prize/

Fan Story

Busy programme of comps, closing every few days, for virtually everything

Prizes: $100 each comp Free, but for (paid) site members only

Closing date: constant

www.fanstory.com

Gemini Magazine Short Story

Short stories of any length

Prizes: $5,000 and publication, $250, 3x$50

Entry fee: $10

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.gemini-magazine.com

Killer Nashville Claymore Award

Unpublished manuscripts with elements of thriller, mystery, crime or suspense

Prizes: $3,000 prize fund, plus publication

Entry fee: $40

Closing date: 1 Apr

https://killernashville.com/claymore/

Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize

Poetry collections, longer than 48 pages

Prizes: $1,500, $500 and publication

Entry fee: $30

Closing date: 1 Apr

https://saturnaliabooks.com/poetry-prize/

Orison Books Poetry and Fiction

Novels, novellas or fiction collections, at least 30,000 words; poetry collections, 50-100 pages

Prizes: $1,500 and publication in each category

Entry fee: $30

Closing date: 1 Apr

https://orisonbooks.com

Psychopomp Short Fiction Award

Short stories, 6,000 words max, pushing the boundaries of genre/form

Prizes: $500 and publication

Entry fee: $10

Closing date: 1 Apr

https://psychopompmag.com/contests/

Short Grain Contest

Poetry, max 100 lines; fiction, max 2,500 words

Prizes: Can$1,000, $750, $500 and publication, in each category

Entry fee: $40, international entries $60

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.grainmagazine.ca

SPR Book Prizes

Books published on Amazon before entry, never available elsewhere

Prizes: SPR reader review packages on Amazon

Entry fee: $30

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.selfpublishingreview.com

Stringybark Short Story Award

Short stories, up to 1,500 words

Prizes: TBC, see website

Entry fee: TBC

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.stringybarkstories.net

The Pinch Literary Awards

Fiction and non-fiction, each under 5,000 words; up to 3 poems, any length

Prizes: $1,000 and publication in each category

Entry fee: $20, $10 each additional

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.pinchjournal.com

Tusculum Review Poetry Chapbook Prize

Poetry manuscripts, 20-30 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 1 Apr

https://web.tusculum.edu/tusculumreview/contest/

Wergle Flomp Humor Poet ry Contest

Highly enjoyable annual competition for humorous and spoof poetry, up to 250 lines

Prizes: $1,000, $250, 10x$100

Free entry

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.winningwriters.com/wergle

Zone 3 Press Creative Non-Fiction Award

Unpublished NF manuscripts, 120-300 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 1 Apr

www.zone3press.com

Leicester Writes Short Story Prize

Short stories up to 3,000 words

Prizes: £100, £50

Entry fee: £7, £3 Leicestershire writers

Closing date: 2 Apr

http://leicesterwrites.co.uk

Edge Hill Short Story Prize

Published short story collections

Prizes: £10,000, £1,000 Readers’ Prize

Free entry

Closing date: 5 Apr

www.edgehill.ac.uk

Furious fiction

500-word short stories, written in 55 hours

Prizes: Aus$500

Free entry

Closing date: 7 Apr, first Sunday each month

www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/

Cleveland State University Poetry Center

Full-length poetry collections, over 48 pages, by poets who have had no, or one, collection published; essay collections, 100-300 pages

Prizes: 3x$1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $28

Closing date: 5 Apr

www.csupoetrycenter.com

GVCA New Deal Writing Comp

Short stories, up to 10,000 words, inspired by a painting

Prizes: $200, $100, $50

Entry fee: $5

Closing date: 5 Apr

http://gvartscouncil.org/writingcompetition/

Tethered by Letters F(r)iction Competitions

Short stories, 1,000-7,500 words; poems, any form, up to 3 pages; flash, up to 750 words; creative non-fiction, 1,000-7,500 words

Prizes: short stories, $1,000; poetry and flash, $300; creative non-fiction $500; and publication

Entry fee: $15 short stories, $8 poetry and flash; $10 creative non-fiction

Closing date: 5 Apr

https://tetheredbyletters.com/

Write a Letter, Win a House

A 350-word letter explaining how moving to the prize house would change your life

Prize: A 3-bedroom house in Alberta, Canada, valued at Can$1.7m

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 5 Apr

www.facebook.com/WriteALetterWinAHouse

Four Way Books Levis Poetry Prize

Poetry collections, 48-100 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $30

Closing date: 7 Apr

https://fourwaybooks.com/site/guidelines/

Oberon Poetry Prize

Single poems, submit up to 3

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $18

Closing date: 10 Apr

www.oberonpoetry.com

Laura Literary Awards

Short stories, up to 1,500 words; poems, up to 60 lines

Prizes: Aus$780 prize fund

Entry fee: $10

Closing date: 12 Apr

www.rockyriverriters.club

Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry

Poetry collections, 48-100 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication; $500

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.uofupress.com/ali-poetry-prize.php

Monologue Adventures

Monologues, max 750 words, for a woman reader, by Australian residents

Prizes: Multiple Aus$100 prizes

Free entry

Closing date: 14 Apr

https://contentandculturalprojects.wordpress.com/about-tma/

Bath Short Story Award

Short stories up to 2,200 words, in any style and on any subject

Prizes: £1,200, £300, £100; £50 for best local writer; £100 for best unpublished writer

Entry fee: £8

Closing date: 15 Apr

http://bathshortstoryaward.org

Canto Mundo Poetry Prize

Poetry collections, 48-90 pages, by Latina or Latino writers

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $28

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.uapress.com/prizes/

Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize

Unpublished short stories between 2,000 and 5,000 words

Prizes: Aus $5,000, $3,000, $2,000; $2,500 between 3 commended

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.australianbookreview.com.au

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

Deliberately bad opening lines to novels, comic writing inspired by Edward Bulwer- Lytton’s notorious Paul Clifford opening, ‘It was a dark and stormy night…’

Prizes: Modest prizes ($250 Grand Prize), but a lot of interest

Free entry

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.bulwer-lytton.com

Etal Adnan Poetry Prize

Poetry collections, 48-90 pages, by a writer of Arab heritage

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.uapress.com/prizes/

New Ohio Review Prizes

Fiction and non-fiction, up to 20 pages, and poetry, up to 6

Prizes: $1,000 in each category

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.ohio.edu/nor/

Panther Creek Book Award in Non-Fiction

Unpublished book-length non-fiction

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $22

Closing date: 15 Apr

https://hiddenriverarts.wordpress.com

Hektoen International Essay Competition

Articles, up to 1,600 words, related to medical humanities

Prizes: $3,000 plus publication

Free entry

Closing date: 15 Apr

https://hekint.org/2017/09/05/grand-prix-submission-guidelines/

Living Springs Publishers Stories Through the Ages Competition

Short stories, 900-4,000 words, in two categories, Baby Boomers Plus for those born before 1964, and Generations Plus for those born after

Prizes: $500, $200, $100 in each category

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 Apr

http://livingspringspublishers.com

Puerto Del Sol Competitions

Fiction and non-fiction, max 25 pages; up to 3 poems

Prizes: $500 and publication in each category

Entry fee: $9

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.puertodelsol.org/submit

Slope Editions Book Prize

Unpublished poetry collections, 40-90 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 15 Apr

www.slopeeditions.org

C Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize

Short story collections, 140-220 pages, by writers who have lived in the US southern states

Prizes: $10,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 16 Apr

https://hubcity.org/press/c-michael-curtis-short-story-book-prize/

Straid Collection Award

A collection of new poetry (38+ pages)

Prizes: Publication by Templar Poetry

Entry fee: £23, online £25

Closing date: 16 Apr

http://templarpoetry.com

Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship

A short story, up to 750 words, by the parent of a child aged under 10

Prizes: $1,000 plus public reading in New York

Entry fee: $15, two for $20

Closing date: 17 Apr

www.penparentis.org

Billy Roche One Act Play Award

One act plays, up to 15 minutes

Prizes: €300, €200, €100

Entry fee: €10

Closing date: 19 Apr

www.wexfordliteraryfestival.com

New Southern Voices Poetry Prize

Poetry collections, 48-120 pages, by poets who have lived in the US southern states

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 17 Apr

https://hubcity.org/press/new-southern-voices-poetry-prize

Drummond Poetry Contest

Poems, up to 50 lines, by Canadian residents

Prizes: Can$300, $200, $100, 8x$75, 8x$50

Entry fee: $10

Closing date: 19 Apr

www.springpulsepoetryfestival.com/drummond.html

Connell Guides Essay Prize

Essays by English lit students on a novel, poem or play that has most impacted them

Prizes: £250 sixth form prize, £100 Amazon voucher GCSE prize, Connell Guides, 2x£50 vouchers for runners up

Free entry

Closing date: 20 Apr TBC

www.connellguides.com/webform/essay-prize

53-word Story Contest

Stories of exactly 53 words, to a different prompt each month

Prizes: Publication in Prime Number; free book

Free entry

Closing date: 21 Apr; 21st of each month

www.press53.com/53word-story-contest

Poetry Kit Spring Competition

Poetry of any length on any subject

Prizes: £100, £50

Entry fee: £3.50, £8 for 3, £10 for 5

Closing date: 21 Apr TBC

www.poetrykit.org

Shooter Short Story Competition

Stories up to 5,000 words

Prizes: £500, £100

Entry fee: £7

Closing date: 21 Apr

https://shooterlitmag.com

Fogarty Literary Award

Fiction or narrative non-fiction manuscripts, 50,000-120,000 words, by a Western Australian writer aged 18-35

Prizes: $20,000 and publication

Free entry

Closing date: 22 Apr

www.fremantlepress.com.au/fogarty-award

Sixfold Short Story and Poetry Contest

Short stories, up to 20 pages, and poetry, up to 10 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication, in each category

Entry fee: $5

Closing date: 23 Apr; quarterly

www.sixfold.org

Omnidawn Publishing Broadside Poetry Prize

Single poems, 8-24 lines

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $10, $5 each additional

Closing date: 22 Apr

http://omnidawn.com

Poets Meet Politics International Open Poetry Competition

Poems up to 40 lines, related to politics

Prizes: €500, €250, €100

Entry fee: €12 for up to three

Closing date: 22 Apr

http://hungryhillwriting.eu

Diagram/New Michigan Press Chapbook Contest

Chapbook-length prose and poetry manuscripts, 18-44 pages

Prizes: $1,000 and publication

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 26 Apr

www.thediagram.com/contest.html

Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry

Up to three poems, max 10 lines total

Prizes: $1,500

Entry fee: $15

Closing date: 30 Apr

www.bpj.org/submit/rich-award-guidelines

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

Poetry collections, over 48 pages, by unpublished poets

Prizes: $5,000 and publication

Entry fee: $25

Closing date: 30 Apr

www.upress.pitt.edu/prize/

Berkshire Prize

First or second poetry collection, 48-88 pages

Prizes: $3,000 plus publication

Entry fee: $30

Closing date: 30 Apr

www.tupelopress.org/contests

Craft Short Fiction Award

Short stories up to 5,000 words

Prizes: $2,000, $500 and $300, and publication

Entry fee: $20

Closing date: 30 Apr

www.craftliterary.com

Family Matters Contest

Stories, 500-5,000 words, about families

Prizes: $2,500, $500, $300

Entry fee: $18

Closing date: 30 Apr last ever

www.glimmertrain.com

Glimmer Train Short Story Award

Short stories, up to 12,000 words

Prizes: $700 and publication

Entry fee: $2

Closing date: 30 Apr last ever

www.glimmertrain.com