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Writing Competitions Closing November 2026

Oct 1
4 min read

Updated: 17 hours ago



Open to all, short story max 3,000 words, theme: ‘A Slice of Luck’. Entry fee: £5. Prizes: £100, £50, £25, and publication in the winter 2026 edition.

 

Open to: Year 9 & 10 students. Essay or video 1,200 – 1,500 words, or 10 minute video with maximum of 400 word explanation. Theme: ‘How useful are artefacts and artwork as historical sources when researching the experience of Australians who served in either the First World War of Second World War?’ Discuss with reference to either World War one OR World War Two. Entry: FREE. Prizes: Winners and runners-up from each state and territory participate in a 3-day study program in Canberra. The eight winners travel overseas for an extensive study tour culminating in Anzac Day ceremonies in that location.

 

US competition open to emerging writers, open themed, unpublished novel excerpt max 6,000 words. Entry fee: US$20 (limited free entries available). Prizes: US$3,000 + agent consultation, US$300 + agent feedback, US$200 + agent feedback.

 

US competition open to writers 13 and over, with categories for short story, flash fiction and poetry. Short story: 1,001–7,500 words; flash: 1,000 words; poetry: 3 pages. Entry fees: US$15 short story, US$10 flash/poetry. Prizes: US$1,000 short story, US$300 flash, US$300 poetry, with publication and professional editing opportunities for finalists.

 

Open internationally to writers 18 and over, fiction, non-fiction or hybrid micro-narratives, 250 words max per piece. Entry fee: US$14 for up to 2 micros / US$23 for up to 4. Prizes: US$1,000, $500, $300, $150 for finalists, and all placers/finalists are published in the December 2026 issue of SmokeLong Quarterly. Previously published work is eligible.

 

US competition open internationally to writers of all levels, short fiction 1,000–5,000 words, open themed. Entry fee: US$20. Prizes: US$2,500, $500, $300, with all three winners published in CRAFT. Previously unpublished work only. AI-generated or AI-assisted submissions are explicitly prohibited.

 

Open to Australian residents, unpublished tanka and poetry (30 lines max for the latter). Theme: ‘show a sense of location’. Entry: FREE. Prize: publication online. Submissions require a Bio first.

 

Open internationally to writers 13 and over, short story 100–3,000 words, any genre. Entry fee: US$8. Entries are judged blind and every entrant receives a certificate and score out of 100; winners receive free entry to the next round. Prizes: $100, $50, $20.

 

27 November: The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction, Poetry, and Books International competition. Short fiction max 5,000 words, poetry max 70 lines, books max 5,000 words or 15 pages. Entry fee: US$20 short fiction, US$15 poetry, US$25 books. The short-fiction prize has a US$3,000 prize pool, with winners published and up to 20 shortlisted; the overall Letter Review prize programme awards more than US$16,000 annually across its categories.

 

Ireland-based competition, open to all, original unpublished travel article in English, 1,000 words max, theme: ‘Authentic Travel Experience’. Entry fee: €15. Prize: €300.

 

UK based competition open to writers 18 and over, open themed, first chapter of a novel 5,000 words max plus synopsis. Entry fee: £18 (optional appraisal £25). Prizes: £500 + appraisal, with shortlisted entrants receiving an appraisal.

 

US competition open internationally, flash fiction 1,000 words max per story, theme broadly concerning things that are fractured/fused, conflict, transformation and uneven power dynamics. Entry fee: US$20 for up to two stories. Prizes: US$3,000 + publication, $300 + publication, $200 + publication. All entries are also considered for publication.

 

Open internationally to writers yet to be traditionally published. Open themed. Categories include YA, children's novels, early readers, chapter books and picture-book texts. Submit first 5,000 words + one-page synopsis. Entry fee: £33, with some sponsored places. Prize: £5,000, plus an online novel-development course for the most promising longlisted novel.

 

Irish competition open to all, poetry 40 lines max. Entry: €7 or five for €30. Prizes: €2,000 + featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival, four nights' accommodation and full board, €500 second, €250 third, plus 10 × €50 runners-up; winners and runners-up are published.

 

Open to Australian and New Zealand writers 18 years of age and over, for complete and unpublished manuscripts suitable for graphic-novel publication. Categories: Junior Fiction, Middle Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and Non-fiction. Entry: $30 per manuscript.  Prizes: publication and a $2,000 advance towards royalties, with a possible two more winners receiving $1,000 each.

 

Open to writers aged 13 and over, Young Adult fiction. Short Story / Prequel to existing manuscript / First chapter of an upcoming novel. Entry: $45 (!) ($55 for optional assessment). Prizes – up to 20 winners Professional developmental edit, copy/line edit. Publication.

 

US/international competition for writers who have not published or been contracted to publish a single-author work with a Big Five publisher or its imprints. Poetry: up to 15 pages; prose: up to 25 pages (novel, memoir, book-length essay or short-story collection excerpts). Entry fee: US$30 early bird; regular fee US$35. Early-bird deadline 30 November 2026; final deadline 31 January 2027. Prizes: US$25,000 for poetry and US$25,000 for prose, plus five $1,000 finalists in each category.


 



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