31 Competitions Closing in March 2026
- Feb 5
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 5
Open to: Australian citizens or residents aged 18 and over, open theme, 2500-3000 words creative writing, entry FREE, prize $5,000
Unpublished short stories 800-2000 words. Free to enter for this issue but £20 payment from March onwards. No prize, just your work read in a podcast and video, and printed online.
Open to all, short story or poetry, theme ‘Harvest’, entry $5 (AUD). Short story up to 2000 words, Prizes $500 and $150. Poetry up to 25 lines, prizes $200 and $50.
US competition, open to international writers over 18. First chapter of an unpublished adult or young adult novel (full novel completed). Entry $20 (USD). First prize $1000.
US based, open to all. Unpublished short stories up to 750 words, open theme. Entry $25 (USD). Performance by actor and publication in Electric Literature. Prize $1000, plus 10-week course with Gotham Writers.
Victoria-based, open to Australian writers, theme: disability in an Australian setting. Short story (fiction or non-fiction) max 3000 words, entry $15 (AUD). Prize $500.
US based competition. Cinematic unpublished short story 1001-5000 words, entry $20 (USD). Prizes $2000, $300, $200. Judge Ananda Lima. Genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery (Horror), Young Adult, Historical Fiction, and Humour.
UK based competition for women writers. Poetry and short fiction on the theme of ‘Maps’: ‘exploring cartography, real or imagined lands. Entry FREE. 2200 words max stories, poetry max 40 lines. No lower limit. Max four poems, two stories. Payment for publication.
Open internationally to writers and illustrators over 16, creating work for audiences over 12 years of age. Submit up to 5,000 words of a novel or 6-8 pages of a graphic novel plus 300 word synopsis. Comedy, romance, drama, horror, queer, contemporary, realist, and speculative fiction. Unfinished work accepted. Entry £19. Prizes £1,500, £500, £200, £100, £100.
Open to Australian residents 18 and over. Stories 2000-3000 words. No names on work, entry $15 (AUD). Prize $500.
Writers aged 18 or over, writing for children up to 15 years old. One story per person, max 1500 words. Entry FREE. $250 (AUD) and website publication.
Calls for mystery, suspense, and thrillers with or without romantic subplots. Published and unpublished divisions. Unclear what the prize is, or if there is an entry fee. Numerous divisions. Frankly the submission page is a mystery in itself.
US based non-profit, open internationally to writers who have not published a major work of narrative or narrative nonfiction. Unpublished essays 1000-3000 words, on topics related to the natural living world, land and place, preservation/conservation, alpine ecosystems, and wilderness. Entry FREE. Prizes: $3000, $1000 (USD), and publication.
Open to Australian residents 18 and over. Poetry max 50 lines on theme of ‘States’. Entry $15 (AUD), prizes $1000, $100, $100, $100. Judge Julie Janson.
Open to school-age Australian poets. K-6 and years 7-12 categories. Original poem max 50 lines on the Australian bush. Prizes are a book on Banjo Paterson and a family pass to Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Open to all, unpublished poetry max 50 lines. Entry $15 (AUD), prizes $1500, $500, $300, $150, $100 x 3, 6 x book prize. Judge Jennifer Harrison.
New and amateur sci-fi and fantasy writers. Unpublished prose for adults max 17,000 words. Entry FREE. Prizes $1000, $750 and $500 and $5000 grand prize yearly.
Residents and citizens of Australia and New Zealand over 18. Poetry max 100 lines, or creative fiction or nonfiction max 3500 words both at entry fee $20 (USD, oddly), or no entry fee from indigenous writers. Prizes $1000 (USD) in all four categories (poetry and prose, indigenous and non-indigenous each).
Ireland based, open to all. Article on authentic travel experience, max 1000 words. Entry €12, prize €300.
Australian, two categories. 1) Open to high school students under 18. Poetry max 50 lines. Entry FREE. Prizes $400, $100 x 2. 2) Open to poets without a book or chapbook. Poetry max 50 lines, entry $10. Prizes $1000, $250 x 2.
Open to all, short stories max 1000 words for children 8-12 years old. Entry $5 (AUD), prize $100. Hard-core old school: no email entries, entries to be POSTMARKED by 31st March, cheques or bank transfer for payment, all entries DESTROYED after judging. Plus you could get your name on a plaque in the library.
UK based open, no theme, 500 word short story, entry £5, prizes £300, £200, £100.
Open call for ‘Level Up’ anthology of horror based litRPG-style stories. 2500-9500 words, entry FREE. Payment 5c/word (AUD)
Ireland-based, open to over-16s. Poetry for children ages 7-11 (wow narrow field). BUT no limit on words. Entry €16. Prizes €1000 (and a week at The Moth retreat in Ireland, but you have to get there), €500. €250.
UK based, open to over-16s. Open theme, 2000 word max short story. Entry Fee: £6, Optional Feedback: £14 Prizes: £200, £100, £50.
US based, open to Black writers without a published novel or collection of stories. Entry $20 (USD) Prize $3000. Judge Liza Teasely. Minimum 150 pages.
For self-published or published by an independent press. Entry £46 or $70 USD. Prizes £2,000, £200, £200.
US based. Original unpublished fiction, ‘outstanding contribution to the short fiction form’. All genres, max 5000 words. Entry $12 (USD). Prize $1000 and publication.
US-based (I think), wild free-for all. Published or unpublished poetry, no length restriction, any style. Entry $15. Prize $1000… and A BRONZE MEDALLION.
Open to ages 17 and up, theme ‘Childhood dreams and goals’, poetry, fiction, essays. Previously published accepted, entry FREE. No prize, just publication.
Open to over 18s. Picture Books (submit completed manuscript), Children’s (Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult), and Adult fiction (submit first 3000 words and one-page synopsis). Entry £12. Prizes: £500 per category, plus consultation and membership to the Hub.
US based. Stories 6000 word max 'that push boundaries and subvert expectations, that experiment with form, voice, and point-of-view, that demonstrate an innovative approach to storytelling'. Entry $20 (USD). Prizes $3000, $200, $200. Judge Charles Yu.
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