Writing Competitions Closing in June 2026
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 10 hours ago
1 June: The Novel Prize
Literary fiction in English, open to published and unpublished. Minimum 30,000 words, and entry seems to be…free. Prize $10,000 (USD) and publication.
1 June: Geography Writing Competition
Theme: Changing Environments in Queensland. Short story or memoir, 500 word max. Entry $10 (AUD). Prize $300, $150, and a 1-year RGSQ membership.
1 June: The Australian Fiction Prize
Harper Collins’s annual fiction prize for adult fiction 75,000-10,000 words, open to Australian writers. Entry: free. Prize: advance of $15,000 and publication. Submit 500 word synopsis and bio.
UK-based, open themed, short story fiction or non-fiction. Max 3,000 words. Entry £9, prizes £1,000, £500, £250, and 5x£50, plus publication.
5 June: MeetCute Storyteller Competition
Romance fiction including subgenres. Entry seems free. Prize £500 and literary agency.
7 June: Bath Flash Fiction Award
Flash Fiction and Novella Awards. Open to 16-year-olds and over. Flash: entry £9.00, 300 words max, prizes £1000, £300 and £100. Novella: entry £16, 6,000-18,000 words, prizes £300, £100, and £100.
7 June: Ros Spencer Poetry Prize
Open themed poetry, max 60 lines. Entry $10 (AUD), prizes $1,001, $499. Hosted by WA Poets.
US-based, open themed, fiction and creative non-fiction. 8,000 words max. Entry $20 (USD), prizes 10 x $700 (USD).
8 June: Human Rights Essay Prize
Theme: ‘Rainbow Pride’, essays with a focus on LGBTQIA2S+ rights, issues, empowerment, and celebration. Entry $10 (AUD), Prize $10,000 which includes flights to Perth to deliver a seminar. Second $1,000, and shortlists $300 per person (number not specified).
15 June: The Moth Short Story Prize
Open internationally to over-16s, 3,000 word max, entry €17, prizes €3,000, €1,000, and a week at The Moth Retreat.
19 June: The Cooper Prize
Open to published or unpublished playwrights. Various themes and quotes provided, aiming to pursue ‘truth, beauty, and a better world’. Entry seems free, prize $20,000 (AUD) and possibly production. Submit 10 pages of play, summary, CV, and headshot.
Open to writers 18-35 years to develop and write a new work of fiction. Entry seems free, prize $10,000 (AUD) grant. Projects to start and end between October 2026 and October 2027. Submit detailed project description and a 2,000 word writing sample.
22 June: Publishable Manuscript Development
Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or residents. Opportunity to strengthen, refine and polish a completed manuscript. Submit first 50 pages and a 400-word synopsis. Any genre or style. Entry $65.
30 June: Teacher, Teacher Anthology
Open to teachers in Australia, for stories about their teaching lives, for an anthology titled Teacher, Teacher. Stories 1,000-1,500 words. Payment at ASA rates. Contact Dianne Bates at dibates@outlook.com for further details.
30 June: ARA Historical Novel Prize
Open to novels published between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, in which the majority of the narrative has taken place at least 50 years before publication. Entry: $90 AUD. Prize pool of $155,000 between adult and CYA categories. (Adult winner takes $100,000.)
UK-based competition open internationally. Fiction excluding Children and YA fiction, 3,000 word max. Entry £7, prize £500.
28 June: CRAFT First Chapters Contest
US-based, open internationally, open themed. 5,000 word max first chapter of a book-length fiction. Entry $20 (USD). Prizes: $2,000, $500, and $300 plus critiques and workshops. (Excerpt publication only, not a book deal.)
Numerous categories including Life Writing, Translation, Under 25s, Short Story and Poetry for Emerging Writers, Novella, and ‘Chapter One’. Entry $20 (one assumes AUD), Prizes max $500, a lot of conference tickets and the like.
30 June: Anthology Poetry and Short Story Awards
Ireland-based, open internationally. Open theme, entry €15. Poetry 40 line max, short story 1,500 words max. Prizes €1,000, €250, €150 in both categories.
30 June: Byouk
Open (diversity encouraged), novels. Submit first few pages plus a few favourite pages totalling 10 pages. Entry $5 (AUD? Unclear). Prize: publication and marketing (physically and digitally worldwide). Halfway house between self-publish and traditional.
30 June: Heroines Women's Writing Prize
Open to women. Theme: reimagined women in myth, fairy tale, folklore or legend. Poetry (3 pages) and Short Fictions (2,500 words). Entry $15 (AUD), Prize $500.
Open, theme ‘WILD!’ Short Story (2,000 words), Poetry (100 lines), and Memoir (2,000 words). Entry $15 (AUD), prizes $500 and $200 for each category.
30 June Poetry London Prize
UK-based, open internationally, open themed. Poetry 80 lines max. Entry £10, prizes £5,000, £2,000, £1,000.
30 June: Scribes Writers ‘Poetic License’
Max 60 line free verse. Entry $12 (AUD), prizes $200, $100, $50.
Open themed poetry (no word limit other than ‘common sense’), entry $5 (AUD), prizes $100, $50, $25, and 2 x $10. Open themed short story, max 5,000 words, entry $10, prizes $200, $100, $50, and 2 x $20.
30 June: Southword Creative Non-Fiction Award
Ireland-based, open internationally, open theme. Essay/Memoir, max 4,000 words. Entry €20, prizes€1,000, €400, and publication.
30 June: TCK Publishing Poetry Awards Contest
US-based, open internationally, poetry 500 words max. Entry $5 (USD), Prize $1,000.
UK-based, open internationally, open themed. Open to writers who have not published a book-length work of fiction, life-writing or poetry (excluding self-published works or poetry chapbooks). Poetry max 3 poems or 3,000 words, Fiction max 3,000 words, Life Writing 3,000 max words. Entry £12, prizes £1,000 in each category.
UK-based, open internationally, open themed. Poetry 40 lines max, entry £8, prizes £1,000, £500, £250, £100. Short Story 1,000-2,000 words, entry £8, prizes £750, £300, £200, £100. Children’s book, first three chapters or 30 pages, whichever is shortest, plus a synopsis of up to 2 pages, entry £8, prizes £750, £300, £200, £100.
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