72 Writing Contests in May 2024 — No entry fees
This May there are six dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes this month range from $50,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.
Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.
If you want to get a jump on next month’s contests go to Free Contests. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.
Good luck!
Descant. Each year, descant offers four awards:
- the $500 Frank O’Connor Award for fiction (for the best short story in a issue)
- the $250 Gary Wilson Award (for an outstanding story in an issue)
- the $500 Betsy Colquitt Award for poetry (for the best poem or series of poems by a single author in an issue)
- the $250 Baskerville Publishers Award (for an outstanding poem or poems by a single author in an issue
There is no application process or reading fee. All published submissions are eligible for prize consideration. Simply submit your work. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards. Genre: Play that addresses the question: “What does it mean to be a human in a computerized world?” Prize: $5000. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
The Waterston Desert Writing Prize. Genre: Literary nonfiction, desert theme. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
CINTAS Creative Writing Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to any Cuban author (including those of direct Cuban lineage; need not reside in Cuba). Genre: Novel excerpts, short stories, plays, or poems of up to 25 pages. Prize: $20,000 fellowship. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
West Virginia Fiction Competition. Restrictions: Open to West Virginia residents or students. Genre: Short fiction, 5,000 words max. Prize: $500. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
The Future Bookshelf: Mo Siewcharran Prize. Restrictions: The contest is open to BAME writers in the UK. Genre: Picture book. Prize: £2,500, £1,500 and possible publication. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
Rabbi Sacks Book Prize. Genre: Published nonfiction book that contributes significantly to the arena of modern Jewish thought. Prize: $50,000. Deadline: May 1, 2024.
Casa Africa: Essay Contest. Genre: Essay on theme: Intra-African immigration. Essays, of 15,000–20,000 words, can be in Spanish, English, French or Portuguese. Prize: €2,000. Deadline: May 2, 2024.
On The Premises Mini-Contest. “For this mini-contest, tell, show, or evoke a complete story between 25 and 50 words long in which a hat of some kind matters to the story. We’re going with the fairly traditional definition of “hat” for this one. Scarves, hijabs, earmuffs, wigs, hoods, and other head coverings do not qualify. I’m going to say that even helmets don’t qualify. Caps are okay; they’re an informal hat. The judges will not care if anyone wears the hat in the story, so that’s up to you.” Prize: First place pays $35, second pays $25, and third pays $15, all in US dollars. Honorable mentions get published, but make no money. Deadline: May 3, 2024.
Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. “On the first Friday of every month, a new set of story prompts will be revealed. You will have 55 hours to submit your best 500-word (or fewer) story.” Prize: $500AUD. Deadline: May 5, 2024. Opens on May 3.
Singapore Poetry Contest. Genre: Poetry. “We are looking for poems that use the word “interrogation” in imaginative ways.” Prize: USD300, 200, and 100 will go to the top three winners. Deadline: May 6, 2024.
RTÉ Radio Short Story Competition. Restrictions: Open to Irish writers and residents of Ireland. Genre: Short story. Prize: Up to 5,000 euros. Deadline: May 10, 2024.
Pulitzer Center’s “Fighting Words — Poetry in Response to Current Events” Contest. Restrictions: Current K-12 students anywhere in the world may enter. Students may write in any language, and are welcome to submit multilingual poems. Judges will have reading fluency in English and Spanish. Genre: Poetry. Theme: How can poetry be an effective response to current events and underreported stories? How can journalism and poetry help us make connections between global issues and our local and personal contexts? Prize: $300 top prize. Deadline: May 12, 2024.
Quay Words Young Writers’ Flash Fiction Competition. Restrictions: Open writers aged 10 to 18-years. Genre: Flash fiction on theme ‘Trading Places.’ Prize: £200 top prize. Deadline: May 12, 2024.
Brown’s Mart Theatre Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: Script. There is no word limit. Scripts must have a performance time of more than 30 minutes. Script treatments are ineligible. Prize: The winner of the Brown’s Mart Theatre Award will receive a $1,000 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to select shows in Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Charles Darwin University Creative Non-Fiction Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: A factually accurate work, written with attention to literary style and technique. Can take the form of a biography, autobiography, memoir, diary entry, travel writing, food writing, literary journalism, or criticism. Word limit: 3,000 words. Prize: The winner of the Charles Darwin University Creative Non-Fiction Award will receive a $500 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Charles Darwin University Essay Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: A referenced academic essay on a topic relating to the Northern Territory. Word limit: 3,000 words. Prize: The winner of the Charles Darwin University Essay Award will receive a $1,000 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Flash Fiction Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: A blog post, fan fiction, short story, fictional diary entry or fictional letter. Word limit: 500 words. Entries limited to three entries per person. Prize: The winner of the Flash Fiction Award will receive a $600 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Kath Manzie Youth Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: A piece of creative writing, either poetry or short story, by a person aged 12 to 18 years as of 1 January 2023. Limit of three poetry entries with a 300-line limit OR a short story with a 3,000-word limit per person. Prize: The winner of the Kath Manzie Youth Award will receive a $600 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
NT Writers’ Centre Poetry Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: A single poem up to 300 lines. Entries limited to three separate poetry entries per person. Prize: The winner of the NT Writers’ Centre Poetry Award will receive a $1,000 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to Black writers of African descent who have not had a full-length book of poetry published by a professional press. Authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a maximum print run of 500 may apply. Genre: Unpublished, original collections of poems written in English. Prize: $10,000, publication by Graywolf Press in fall 2025, 15 copies of the book, and a feature reading. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Zip Print Short Story Award 2024. Restrictions: Open to all writers from across the Northern Territory, Australia. Genre: An original work of short fiction. Word limit: up to 3,000 words. Prize: The winner of the Zip Print Short Story Award will receive a $1,000 prize, an NT Writers’ Centre membership and a double pass to Brown’s Mart’s performance program. Deadline: May 13, 2024.
Apparition Lit. Genre: Speculative flash fiction on themes related to food. (See site for specifics) Length: 1000 words max. Prize: $30. Deadline: May 14, 2024.
Governor General’s Literary Awards. Restrictions: Books must have been written by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. They do not need to be residing in Canada. Genre: The Governor General’s Literary Awards are given annually to the best English-language and French-Language book in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Young People’s Literature (Text), Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books). Prize: $25,000. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
Dark Tales from the Tarot. Genre: Horror based on Tarot card. See website. Prize: $10. Deadline: May 15, 2024. Opens May 1.
Prose Poetry Contest. Genre: Prose poem. Prize: First place: £50 plus publication; Second place: £25 plus publication; Third place: £15 plus publication; Honorable mention: £10 plus publication. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
Leeway Foundation: Transformation Award. Restrictions: Women and transgender poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who have been creating art for social change for five or more years. Writers who have lived for at least two years in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties, who are at least 18 years of age, and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Award: $15,000. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction. Sponsored by the American Bar Association. Restrictions: Entrants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Genre: Original works of short fiction that illuminate the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern society. 5000 words max. Prize: $3,000 and publication in ABA Journal. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Genre: Articles, books, and short-form writing about contemporary art — the grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. The program also supports art writing that engages criticism through interdisciplinary methods and experiments with literary styles. Grant: $15,000 to $50,000. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Contest. Restrictions: The competition is open to all citizens and residents of the Commonwealth aged 18 and under. Genre: Essay. The theme of the contest is “Community in the Commonwealth.” Prize: Past prizes have included certificates, resources for winner’s school, visits to Cambridge University, a trip to London and a week of activities, work experience at international organizations, and having your entry featured in worldwide media. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
The James Laughlin Award is sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. Genre: A second book of poetry forthcoming in the next calendar year. Must be under contract with US publisher. Restrictions: Open to US citizens and residents only. Prize: $5,000, an all-expenses-paid week long residency in Florida, and the Academy will purchase approximately 1,000 copies of the book for distribution to its members. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
Brain Mill Press Chapbook Contest. Restrictions: Open to all Wisconsin poets, with a particular interest in voices under-represented in traditional publishing, such as writers of color, women, indigenous voices, disabled writers, queer writers. Genre: Poetry chapbook, 18–30 pages in length. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: May 15, 2024.
Boroondara Literary Awards. Restrictions: Open to Australians. Genre: Prose and poetry. Prize: More than $5,000 in prize money across various age groups in the Young Writers’ category; more than $3,500 in prize money in the Open Short Story category. Deadline: May 17, 2024.
Creative Future Writers’ Award. Restrictions: Open to underrepresented writers in the UK only, who are over 18 years old. Genre: Poetry, fiction. This year’s theme is ‘Reveal.’ Prize: Publication, unspecified monetary award (?) Deadline: May 19, 2024.
RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award. “The RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award is an annual award that aims to encourage new writing and to provide a space where unpublished Canadian writers can submit short stories, creative nonfiction, journalism, and poetry. The shortlisted submissions are judged by a distinguished jury of Canadian writers.” Prize: The winning entry will receive a $3,000 CAD cash prize and mentorship from a distinguished Canadian author. Deadline: May 19, 2024.
Roscommon New Writing Award. Restrictions: All entrants must have a connection with the county of Roscommon (born in, living in, currently working in, went to school in, etc). Genre: Short story. Prize: €600.00. Deadline: May 20, 2024.
How Does War Affect People’s Lives? Restrictions: Open to young people ages 9–18. Genre: Poetry, art, speech, song. Prize: Unspecified. Deadline: May 24, 2024.
Changing Light Prize for a Novel-in-Verse. Genre: Novel-in-Verse. Prize: $500 and publication for a novel-in-verse, 90–160 pages. Deadline: May 25, 2024.
Great Lakes Colleges (GLCA) New Writers Award. Restrictions: Open to Americans and Canadians. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. In each category, the submitted work must be an author’s first published volume. Prize: $500. Deadline: May 25, 2024.
Write the World Competition: Poetry & Spoken Word Competition. Restrictions: Young writers ages 13–19.5. Genre: Poem. Theme: Seeds of Change. Prize: Best Entry: $100; Runner up: $50. Deadline: May 27, 2024. (Note: This is a monthly contest.)
Dream Foundry Emerging Writers Contest. Restrictions: You have published a total of less than 4,000 words of paid or income-earning speculative fiction in English. You have earned a total of less than USD 320 from those words. You have never been nominated for any award listed here as a major award in speculative fiction. Genre: Short speculative fiction, up to 10,000 words. Prize: $200 — $1,000. Deadline: May 27, 2024.
Irene Adler Prize for Women Writers. Restrictions: Open to Canadian women. Genre: Creative nonfiction. Prize: $1,000 scholarship to a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution in the U.S. or Canada. Deadline: May 30, 2024.
The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans. This creative writing contest for U.S. military veterans and active duty personnel is hosted by The Iowa Review and made possible by a gift from the family of Jeff Sharlet (1942–69), a Vietnam veteran and antiwar writer and activist. The contest is open to veterans and active duty personnel writing in any genre and about any subject matter. Prizes: First place: $1,000 plus publication in The Iowa Review. Second place: $750. Three runners-up: $500 each. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
The Drabble Harvest Contest. Genre: Drabble on theme of Interstellar Archives. A “drabble” is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words — but no more than 15. Prize: $5. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing. Restrictions: Open to first-generation residents of the United States. “First-generation” can refer either to people born in another country who relocated to the U.S., or to American-born residents whose parents were born elsewhere. Genre: Unpublished nonfiction books. Prize: $10,000 and publication. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Baltimore Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work. Payment: $40. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
The Wolfe Pack Black Orchid Award. Genre: Mystery novellas in the style of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novellas. Manuscript length: 15K-20K words. Prize: $1,000, plus recognition and publication in a forthcoming issue of AAMM. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Harlequin: Romance Includes You Mentorship. Restrictions: Open to debut writers in Canada and the US. Genre: Romance novel. Prize: A contract advance plus grant with a value of $5,000 U.S. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
A Voice for Animals Teen Essay Contest. Restrictions: Open to students between the ages of 14–18. Genre: Essays on an animal rights topic. In the 16–18 year olds category, essays must be 800–1,000 words long and be accompanied by a photograph; in the 14–15 year olds category, essays should be between 1,400–1,500 words. Prize: $200 — $500. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
bpNichol Poetry Chapbook Award. Restrictions: Canadian publishers only. Genre: Published poetry chapbook. Prize: The author receives $4,000 and the publisher receives $500. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Vancouver Writers Fest’s Youth Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to students in British Columbia. Genre: Short stories and personal essays: 1,000 word limit (for elementary school student submissions) and 1,500 (for high-school student submissions). Prize: $100 top prize. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Furphy Literary Award: Junior and Youth Competition. Restrictions: Open to juniors & youth age writers who live in the Goulburn Valley, Australia. Genre: Short stories and poetry. Prize: First prize of $300. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Jerry Jazz Musician Fiction Contest. Genre: Unpublished fiction approximately 1,000–5,000 words. Story should pertain to music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America. Prize: $100 and publication in Jerry Jazz Musician. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Speculative Literature Foundation Older Writers Grant. Restrictions: Open to writers who are fifty years of age or older at the time of grant application. Genre: Speculative fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
Genesis Emerging Writers’ Programme. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers over 18 years of age, of any background living in the UK. Genre: Fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Prize: Up to £1,500 and mentorship. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
The Center for Fiction / Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships offer grants, editorial mentorship, and other opportunities to early-career New York City-based practitioners who are at a critical moment in their development as fiction writers. Genre: Fiction. Grant: $5,000. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
James Bartleman Aboriginal Youth Creative Writing Awards. Restrictions: Open to aboriginal youth, 18 years or younger, residing in Ontario, Canada. Genre: Creative writing. Prize: $2,500. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
A Very Short Story Award. Genre: Short story of ten words or fewer. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: May 31, 2024.
#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Micro fiction. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. See themes. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: May 31, 2024. This is a monthly contest.
Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge. Genre: Poetry based on art. (See website) Prize: $100. Deadline: May 31, 2024. Monthly contest.
Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to “revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful.” Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: May 31, 2024. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.
Like this article? For more articles about the publishing world, useful tips on how to get an agent, agents who are looking for clients, how to market and promote your work, building your online platform, how to get reviews, self-publishing, as well as publishers accepting manuscripts directly from writers (no agent required) visit Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity.
