essay writing contests canada 2021

Heather McLeod

Submission calendar.

Every January I mark my calendar with the deadlines of some big Canadian fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry writing contests.

Ideally, this reminds me to submit to them. But even if I don’t, the deadlines remind me that “oh, right, I’m supposed to be writing.”

I recommend marking the deadlines, as well as a reminder 30 days beforehand.

2022 Canadian Writing Contest Submission Deadlines/Important Dates

**Please confirm the deadlines and guidelines yourself before submitting.**

1st: CBC Nonfiction Prize contest opens. Max. 2,000 words.

22nd: NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge ‘s 1st round begins. (Writers need to pre-register for this.)

1st:   The Malahat Review ‘s  Novella Prize  (or  Long Poem Prize  in 2023) contest closes.

12th: The Writers’ Union of Canada’s Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers deadline.  Max. 2,500 words.

22nd: RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Poetry & Short Fiction Writers deadline. **NEW as of 2021: no age limit.

28th:   CBC Nonfiction contest  deadline. Max. 2,000 words.

28th: The New Quarterly ‘s Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest deadline.

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1st: The Fiddlehead ‘s poetry and/or fiction and/or creative nonfiction contest opens or closes on this day … the webpage is quite confusing!

1st: CANSCAIP & the Writers’ Union of Canada’s  Writing for Children Competition opens. **Details TBC for 2021.**

28th:   The New Quarterly ‘s Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest deadline. (No word limit.)

1st: CBC Poetry Prize contest opens. Max. 600 words.

1st: The Malahat Review ‘s  Far Horizons Award for Poetry  (or  Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction  in 2023) contest closes.

28th:   The New Quarterly ‘s Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award deadline. (No word limit.)

31st:   CBC Poetry Prize contest deadline.

31st: CANSCAIP & the Writers’ Union of Canada’s  Writing for Children Competition deadline.

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1st: The Malahat Review ‘s annual  Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize contest deadline. 2,000-3,000 words.

31st: deadline for the  Federation of BC Writers’  literary contests . Categories include: Flash Fiction, Short Fiction, Creative Non-fiction & Poetry. Submissions are welcome from all genres & styles, not just literary.

1st:  CBC Short Story Prize contest opens. Max. 2,500 words.

1st: The Fiddlehead ‘s Fiction Contest deadline. Max. 6,000 words.

31st:   CBC Short Story Prize contest deadline.

1st:   The Malahat Review ‘s Open Season Awards  annual deadline. Short fiction & creative non-fiction: max. 2,500 words. Poetry: max. 3 poems @ 100 lines each.

4th: Writing Battle ‘s Autumn Battle registration deadline. You’ll have 5 days to write up to 2,000 words.

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2023 Canadian Writing Contest Submission Deadlines/Important Dates

3rd: Writing Battle ‘s Winter Battle registration deadline. You’ll have 2 days to write up to 1,000 words.

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7 thoughts on “Submission Calendar”

Thank you for providing the submission calendar! Super handy. I’m glad to have found your website and to learn about you, too. Best to your writing! Cheers!

Yay! I’m so glad you find it useful, Rachel. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Good luck with your own submissions 🙂

Hi! Just wondering, do you know if any of these contests have free entry?

Hi Maire! Thanks for your question. I think they all require some amount of entry/administration fee. Often the literary publications will give you a year’s subscription to their journals, which is roughly the same cost as the fee. Best of luck with your writing!

Dear Heather, Thank you for providing the submission calendar. I have written a short story I would like enter into some good contests. Can you spare half an hour to check whether it is good enough? Thanks Kenny

Hi Kenny, That’s great that you’ve written a story! I don’t review or edit other people’s work, but there are many other writers who do offer that service. You might want to look into Scribophile, an online community where people read and comment on each others’ work: https://www.scribophile.com/ Good luck with the contests! – Heather

Thank you for this submission calendar! I am trying to set some goals this year and this was very helpful. 🙂

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Heather McLeod is a mystery writer based in British Columbia, Canada.

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Best Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 383 contests that match your search.

The Reedsy Prompts Contest

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Every Friday, Reedsy sends out five writing prompts. Enter your response within a week for a chance at $250. Winners may also be included in a future issue of Reedsy’s literary magazine, Prompted.

Additional prizes:

$25 credit toward Reedsy editorial services

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

The Christy Award

Genres: Christian, Fantasy, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Young Adult

The Christy Award® was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture. Since that time, the Christys have been a focal point for the writers and publishers in our community.

💰 Entry fee: $175

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Hispanic Culture Review Contest 2022-2023

Hispanic Culture Review

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.

$100 for photography, poetry, and essay winners

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)

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Interactive Narrative Writing Contest

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, and Romance

An interactive narrative writing contest. Four categories, capped at 20 participants in each category, and 3 prizes for the winners in each. No need to write a complete novel, just 3 shorts "episodes". We're hosting the contest to find amazing writers and get feedback on our interactive narrative writing tool!

2nd: $150 | 3rd: $100

📅 Deadline: May 22, 2024 (Expired)

"Write On!" Short Story Contest

Ann Arbor District Library

Genres: Children's and Short Story

The annual "Write On!" Short Story Contest for Grades 3-5 accepts story entries each winter. All writers, their friends, and families are invited to a Story Celebration and awards ceremony on Saturday, April 23, 2022, featuring a published children's author and the top three writers in each grade will receive an award.

Publication on website

📅 Deadline: February 05, 2024 (Expired)

Britain vs The World: Flash Battle 2024

Genres: Flash Fiction

The Top 5 Flashes from Team Britain and Team World will duke it out for prizes, glory – and points. The higher you rank, the more points you get for your team. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will get a host of cash prizes. The team with the most points will win additional prizes.

2nd: £50 | 3rd: £25

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)

Annual Short Story Contest

We are looking for stories (of any genre) ranging between 1,000 and 3,000 words, with strong characters, a well-crafted plot and realistic dialogue (where used). Make us laugh, make us cry, but most of all, make us feel!

£200 for 2nd place, £100 for 3rd place

💰 Entry fee: $8

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

Amazing Women’s Edition Contest

National Youth Foundation

Genres: Children's

Founded by Black women with a vision for change, the mission of the National Youth Foundation is to promote diversity, inclusion and gender equality through innovative literary programs. To honor the vast accomplishments of women in the United States, the National Youth Foundation is pleased to announce the Amazing Women’s Edition (AWE) competition. This writing contest is open to students in grades K to 8 residing in the United States.

📅 Deadline: January 07, 2022 (Expired)

Louise Bogan Award

Trio House Press

Genres: Poetry

The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence includes $1,000, publication, and twenty books. The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence is open to ALL poets, regardless of publication history.

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition

Ironclad Creative CIC

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

We are looking for short stories that respond in any way to: 7:12am. You can use that in the text, as a theme, or any way you want. We accept any prose genre and any length of story up to 6k words. We’re looking for writers who have exciting voices and can move us - that can happen in any genre of prose. We’re not accepting plays or poetry for this competition.

2nd: £50 | 3rd & 4th: £25 | 10 short-listed entries: publication

The Book of the Year Awards

The Independent Author Network

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Crime, and Short Story

The Independent Author Network presents the 10th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 55 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes of $6,000 USD. Open to all English language print and eBooks available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.

$6,000.00 USD in total cash prizes

💰 Entry fee: $49

📅 Deadline: August 16, 2024

Great American Fiction Contest

Saturday Evening Post

In its two centuries of existence, The Saturday Evening Post has published short fiction by a who’s who of great American authors, including Ray Bradbury, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Louis L’Amour, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, Joyce Carol Oates, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Tyler, and Kurt Vonnegut, among so many others.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: July 01, 2024

Ó Bhéal Five Words International Poetry Competition

Every Tuesday at 12pm (Irish time) from 9th April 2024 – 28th January 2025, five words will be posted on this competition page. Entrants will have one week to compose and submit one or more poems which include all five words given for that week. The winners & shortlist are announced around the first week of March.

Publication in Five Words Vol XVIII

📅 Deadline: January 28, 2025

Cricket Magazine Contest

Cricket Magazine

Will you write about a hidden talent or secret superpower? A secret identity or a hidden message? Whatever you decide, all the bugs in Cricket Country just can’t hide their excitement to read your wonderful words. They’ll be sticking close to the mailbox in hopes that you don’t hide your poetic talent. Proudly share your best poem—of 24 lines or fewer, please—about hiding.

Publication in Cricket Magazine

📅 Deadline: May 30, 2024 (Expired)

Rhyming Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Write a poem of any type that has a rhyme scheme.

📅 Deadline: August 12, 2024

Journalism Competition 2024

Write the World

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

What are the most important issues taking place close to home? Perhaps a rare bird sighting near your town? Or a band of young people in your province fighting for access to higher education? This month, immerse yourself in a newsworthy event inside the borders of your own country, and invite us there through your written reporting.

Best entry: $100

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50

📅 Deadline: July 22, 2024

WOW! Women on Writing Spring 2024 Flash Fiction Contest

WOW! Women On Writing

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Short Story

Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 - 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants.

2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024 (Expired)

Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction

Lambda Literary

Genres: LGBTQ and Novel

The Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction, in memory of the celebrated author Randall Kenan, honors Black LGBTQ writers of fiction. The award will go to a Black LGBTQ writer whose fiction explores themes of Black LGBTQ life, culture, and/or history. To be eligible, the winner of the prize must have published at least one book and show promise in continuing to produce groundbreaking work.

📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)

The TRP Southern Breakthrough Series

Texas Review Press

The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series highlights a first full-length collection by emerging authors from each state in the southern U.S. This year's state is South Carolina. Open to any poet born in South Carolina, currently residing in South Carolina, or who has lived in South Carolina for five consecutive years at any point, who has not yet published a full-length collection of poetry. The author may have published chapbooks or books in other genres. Submissions accepted through Submittable only.

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

3-6-9 Poetry Contest

This poem has three stanzas. Each stanza has three lines that follows the 3-6-9 syllable count. The first line has 3 syllables, the second line has 6 syllables and the last line 9 syllables. The subject can be anything.

📅 Deadline: November 15, 2024

Geminga: $250 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art

Sunspot Lit

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, Short Story, and Novella

Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less.

Publication in digital and print

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

AWP Prize for Creative Nonfiction

Association of Writers & Writing Programs

Genres: Non-fiction

AWP sponsors the Award Series, an annual competition for the publication of excellent new book-length works. The competition is open to all authors writing in English regardless of nationality or residence, and is available to published and unpublished authors alike.

Publication by the University of Georgia Press

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2024 (Expired)

Fischer Prize

Telluride Institute

This annual award is open to poets of all ages living in the US. Deadline for submissions is August 31st, 2021.

Attendance at Telluride Literary Arts Festival

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2024

The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books

The Letter Review

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Free to enter. Seeking 0-5000 word (poetry: 15 pgs) excerpts of unpublished books (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction), including most self-published and indie-published works. 2-4 Winners (publication of extract is optional). We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind.

Optional Publication of Excerpt, Letter of Recommendation

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

Anthology Short Story Competition 2024

Anthology Magazine

Established to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication, the Anthology Short Story Competition is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. There is no restriction on theme or style. Stories submitted must not exceed the maximum of 1,500 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they wish. Each submission will require a separate entry form and is subject to a separate entry fee.

💰 Entry fee: $19

📅 Deadline: July 31, 2024

Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Ayn Rand Institute

Genres: Essay

Atlas Shrugged is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder—and rebirth—of man’s spirit. We seek exceptional essays of up to 1600 words that analyze its themes and ideas. High school to graduate students worldwide are invited to participate.

📅 Deadline: June 14, 2024

Reader Views Literary Awards

Reader Views

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Reader Views Literary Awards program helps level the playing field for self-published authors, recognizing the most creative and exciting new books in the industry. Our awards program is recognized industry-wide as one of the top literary awards programs for independent authors.

Several marketing prizes (e.g. book review)

💰 Entry fee: $89

📅 Deadline: December 15, 2024

F(r)iction Poetry Contest

We seek work that actively pushes boundaries, that forces us to question traditions and tastes. If your work takes risks, we want to read it. We like strong narratives that make us feel something and stories we haven’t seen before. We accept work, written in English, from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcome speculative writing and experimental literature. Strange is good. Strange with a strong character arc is even better. Keep it weird, folks.

As Bright as the Moon

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller

Can’t decide between the headstrong alpha or the hunky omega? Us either. We’re seeking stories featuring steamy werewolf romance, perfect for reading under a full moon. Whether you’re Team Jacob Black or Team Alcide Herveaux…we’re all Team Awoooo. Works up to 3,000 words will be considered.

2nd place: $300; 3rd place: $100

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2022 (Expired)

Fiction Factory Poetry Competition

Fiction Factory

This is a UK based competition but we welcome international entries. Poets are invited to enter poems (maximum 40 lines excluding title) on any theme. Discounts are offered on multiple entries. Besides the cash prize, our judge, poet and author and mentor, Helen Cox, will offer feedback on five of the winner's poems plus an hour-long mentorship zoom call about their poetry.

Feedback on poems, a Zoom mentorship call, and publication

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

Twist in the Tale - May 1k Words

Twist in the Tale

Genres: Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fiction

All entrants share a main genre but will be given a twisted subgenre (unusual) from a pool of ten. Entrants will also get either an event/character/object/subject (depending on the contest) that they must include. They can reroll subgenre and subject three times each. For example, if thriller is the main genre, you might get occult detective as your subgenre. Rerolling that might give you cyberpunk, environmental, etc.

📅 Deadline: May 19, 2024 (Expired)

Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The 2024 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, the fifteenth edition of the prestigious prize, is open from 1 February to 1 July 2024. Exceptionally international in scope, the prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication in Wasafiri magazine.

💰 Entry fee: $15

Goldilocks Zone

Sunspot Literary Journal

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

Sunspot Lit is looking for the perfect combination of craft and appeal in stories, CNF, novel or novella excerpts, artwork, graphic novels, poems, scripts/screenplays. Literary and genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope.

Irene Adler Prize

Lucas Ackroyd

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel

I’ve traveled the world from Sweden to South Africa, from the Golden Globes to the Olympic women’s hockey finals. I’ve photographed a mother polar bear and her cubs and profiled stars like ABBA, Jennifer Garner and Katarina Witt. And I couldn’t have done it without women. I’ve been very fortunate, and it’s time for me to give back. With the Irene Adler Prize, I’m awarding a $1,000 scholarship to a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution.

2x honorable mentions: $250

Poetry International Prize 2024

POETRY INTERNATIONAL is one of the oldest and most respected literary journals dedicated to publishing poetry from around the globe. Each issue of the print journal brings together poems, portfolios, and prose representing a rich diversity of countries and languages.

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

How to Craft a Killer Short Story

The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction

How to Write a Novel

Understanding Point of View

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character

Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine

On Editing:

Story Editing for Authors

How to Self-Edit Like a Pro

Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites

How to Write a Short Story in 7 Steps

Reedsy's guide to novel writing

Literary Devices and Terms — 35+ Definitions With Examples

10 Essential Fiction Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft

How to Write Dialogue: 8 Simple Rules and Exercises

8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character

Bonus resources

200+ Short Story Ideas

600+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You

100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors

Story Title Generator

Pen Name Generator

Character Name Generator

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

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Essay Contest Winners Announced

August 25, 2021

The winners of JASNA’s 2021 Essay Contest have been selected, and we invite you to  read their outstanding entries on our website . A list of the students awarded  Honorable Mention  is also posted online.

"Indulged with his favorite instrument."Illustration by C.E. Brock, Mansfield Park, 1908 (Internet Archive)

The JASNA Essay Contest is an annual event open to high school, college/university, and graduate school students worldwide. We sponsor it each year to help foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen's works in new generations of readers. This year, participants were asked to discuss Jane Austen and the arts: how she used the arts to reveal character, address social standing, advance the plot, or otherwise make a point in her novels.

We received submissions from students in the United States,  Canada, and 13 other countries: Croatia, China, Ethiopia, India, New Zealand,  Pakistan,  the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, Ukraine,  United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.  The entries were evaluated in two rounds by 31 judges, and the top 3 essays in each division were selected for scholarship awards. The first-place winners have also been invited to attend JASNA's 2021 Annual General Meeting.

Congratulations to this year's winners, and many thanks to all the contest participants and judges!

High School Division

•  First Place:  Emma K. Fontenot "The Master Manipulator: Jane Austen’s Use of Portrait Drawing in  Emma"
•   Second Place:    Aidyn Turk "The Myth of the Accomplished Woman: The Arts in Austen’s Novels"
• Third Place:   Clara C. Brodey "Portraiture in  Emma : Realist or 'Imaginist'?"

 College/University Division 

•   First Place:   Audrey K. Peterson "Seeing and Knowing: Taste as Moral Judgment"
• Second Place:   Rebecca H. Kilroy "Elinor and Emma: Artistic Vision and Social Standing of Two Jane Austen Heroines"
• Third Place:    Josephine M. Roy "Mistresses of Music: The Pianoforte and Social Mobility in Jane Austen’s Novels"

Graduate School Division      

• First Place:    Anjalee Nadarajan "Staging Flirtation at the Pianoforte in  Sense and Sensibility  and  Emma"
• Second Place:    Sharon Cohen "Interpretive Ekphrasis and the Marital Marketplace: Elinor’s Drawings in  Sense and Sensibility"
• Third Place:    Victoria Zhuang "The Triumph of the Insufficiently Accomplished Woman: Austen’s Examination of how the Arts Reflect Women’s Agency"

 You'll find the winning essays published here . 

The JASNA Post

About jasna.

The Jane Austen Society of North America is dedicated to the enjoyment and appreciation of Jane Austen and her writing. JASNA is a nonprofit organization, staffed by volunteers, whose mission is to foster among the widest number of readers the study, appreciation, and understanding of Jane Austen’s works, her life, and her genius.  We have over 5,000 members of all ages and from diverse walks of life. Although most live in the United States or Canada, we also have members in more than a dozen other countries.

©2024 The Jane Austen Society of North America, Inc. All rights reserved.

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• What is Creative Nonfiction?
• Mission and Background
• Board of Directors
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• 2024 – 1st place winner
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CNF contest

Register for the readings and announcement of the winners HERE .

2024 cnfc-hlr creative nonfiction contest shortlist:.

Mieke de Vries – “How To Give Yourself a Subcutaneous Testosterone Injection”

Mieke de Vries is a queer, nonbinary, trans, disabled, and neurodivergent writer, editor, and musician of Dutch and Danish descent. He lives on the unceded land of the Quw’utsun, MÁLEXEȽ, and W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations. He works as essays editor for  The Ex-Puritan . You can read his work at  miekedevries.com

Nancy Huggett – “Watershed”

Nancy Huggett is a settler descendant who writes, lives, and caregives on the unceded Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation (Ottawa, Canada). Her work is in American Literary Review, Event, Prairie Fire, and The New Quarterly. She’s won some awards and a gazillion rejections. She keeps writing.

Basma Kavanagh – “Km i tkinu/Watanuna: On belongingness and the practice of homeland”

Basma Kavanagh, a multidisciplinary artist and writer, lives and works in Nova Scotia, in Mi’kma’ki. She produces artist’s books, has published three volumes of poetry, and recently completed an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. See more of her work at  www.basmakavanagh.ca

Murgatroyd Monaghan is an Autistic mother, poet and writer of mixed descent. She tells the true stories of the beautiful and diverse people of northern Turtle Island/Canada. When she isn’t writing or having experiences that she plans to write about, she can be found on her giant fluffy bed discussing Star Trek with her children.

Erika Thorkelson is a freelance journalist and writer of fiction and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in The Walrus, Maisonneuve, and Room Magazine, among others. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and is a lecturer at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

2024 CNFC-HLR creative nonfiction contest longlist:

Christopher Cameron – “Found Wanting”

Donna Costa – “Seven Forward, Seven Back”

Hanne De Jaegher – “Caring Detectives”

Carmen Farrell – “r/Repeat i/Imagining y/You k/Kindness”

Murgatroyd Monaghan – “The Train”

Jennifer Robinson – “Field Guide to Melissas”

Erika Thorkelson –  “Smoker”

Darryl Whetter – “ This Twenty-Three-Kilogram Marriage”

2024 CNFC-HLR nonfiction contest is now closed.

CONTEST CLOSES Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:59pm PST.

First place: $1,000 and publication in The Humber Literary Review

Second place: $300 and publication on CNFC website

At CNFC, we honour diversity and inclusivity without discrimination. We are keen to empower viewpoints from communities that include but are not limited to multiple dimensions of diversity such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, ability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, class, socio-economic status, and neurodiversity.

WHAT:  Original previously unpublished creative nonfiction – maximum word length 3,000 words (no minimum). Literary journalism, memoir, and the personal or lyric essay—all are welcome. Please take note of the contest rules below.

WHO:  The competition is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.

WHEN: The competition is open from November 13, 2023 to February 29, 2024.

FEE:  General public $20; CNFC members $15. CNFC members receive a discounted entry fee. You can become a member by registering  here.

HOW:  Submissions will be accepted via CNFC’s event management system.

• The contest will be judged blind so please DO NOT put your name (first and/or last) or contact information anywhere within the submission.
• Submit work that is entirely your own. We strongly discourage including the creative work of another (poems, songs, quotes), unless it abides by Canadian copyright law and is essential to the creative element of the submission.
• Entries must not have been previously published, either in print or online, or been accepted for publication elsewhere.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but please advise us immediately should your work be accepted elsewhere.
• Multiple entries are allowed; however, each entry must be accompanied by its own $20 or $15 entry fee.
• Please take note of the word count and ENSURE that your entry is no more than 3,000 words (excluding the title). Include the word count in the top right corner of the first page of your entry (e.g., Word count: 2900).
• Proper formatting is required. Please ENSURE that your entry is double-spaced, with no less than 1-inch margins, using standard 12-point fonts such as Times New Roman, Garamond, or Arial, and submitted in one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .txt, or PDF. 

Submissions that do not meet these rules will be disqualified.

To ensure your entry qualifies, please tick off the following boxes before submitting your entry:

❑ There is zero reference to my name (first and/or last) or my identity anywhere in the submission.

❑ The piece submitted is based on work that is entirely my own.

❑ My submission has not been published previously, nor has it been accepted for publication, either in print or online.

❑ I understand that each entry I submit must be supported by a payment of $15 or $20 depending on whether I am a CNFC member.

❑ I have carried out a word count and confirm that my submission is 3,000 words or less (excluding the title). The exact word count is entered on the top right corner of the first page.

❑ My submission has been checked to ensure that

• the margins are no less than 1 inch (top, bottom, left, and right),
• the entire entry is double-spaced,
• is presented in either Times Roman, Garamond, or Arial, 12-point font, and
• is submitted in one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .txt., or PDF.

The Humber Literary Review , a literary and arts magazine, publishes two print issues a year (fall/winter & spring/summer). Its pages feature personal essays, short fiction, poetry, artwork, and comics by emerging and established Canadian artists. The HLR is distributed by Magazines Canada and can be found in bookstores and on newsstands across the country. Work from the HLR has been featured in Best Canadian Poetry, Best Canadian Essays, and has been nominated for a National Magazine Award.  Find out more.

For the sixth year in a row, the Humber Literary Review (HLR) and the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society (CNFC) will join forces to bring you a Canada-wide creative nonfiction contest. Past contest winners include Raymond Gariepy, Taslim Jaffer, Nancy O’Rourke, Deborah Elderhorst, Margaret Nowaczyk, and Becky Blake.

Past contest news:

How winning the 2015 CNFC contest changed me

Kirsten Fogg is a bilingual Australian-Canadian journalist, editor and award-winning essayist who has been shaped by living in four countries and by the suicide of her 16-year-old brother. Her essays have been published in journals including Creative Nonfiction and The Malahat Review and adapted by ABC Radio National Australia. Her journalism has appeared in various world media. She has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction (2022). Sign up to her newsletter here:  Writer out of Residence and connect with her on…

Interview with 2024 CNFC Contest Judge, Lisa Bird-Wilson

Interview with 2024 CNFC Contest Judge, Lisa Bird-Wilson Volunteer Margaret Lynch interviews 2024 CNFC/HLR Contest Judge, Lisa Bird-Wilson who shares her thoughts on writing, reading, and what she’s looking for in contest submissions. Lisa Bird-Wilson is a Saskatchewan Métis and Cree writer whose work appears in literary magazines, newspapers, and anthologies across Canada. Her most recent book, Probably Ruby (2021), is published internationally and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, for the Amazon First Novel Award,…

2023 Contest Shortlist

Congratulations to the five writers who’ve made the CNFC-HLR nonfiction contest shortlist! Our judge, Donna Morrissey, had some tough choices to make. According to her, the finalist selection process was difficult because the calibre of writing in each of the longlisted pieces was quite high. 2023 CNFC-HLR nonfiction contest shortlist:   Anita Allen – “Funhouse” Raymond Gariepy – “The Unborn and Born Dead are Yet Among Us” Rayyan Kamal – “Departure Lounge” Dhana Musil – “By Association” Laura Ollerenshaw –…

2023 CNFC-Humber Literary Review CNF Contest Longlist

The Creative Nonfiction Collective Society and The Humber Literary Review are pleased to announce the long list for this year’s creative nonfiction contest. Congratulations to the following writers! Anita Allen – Funhouse Carmen Farrell – Closet Full of Monsters Raymond Gariepy – The Unborn and Born Dead are Yet Among Us Rayyan Kamal – Departure Lounge Ivy Lerner-Frank – Mercy Dhana Musil – By Association Laura Ollerenshaw – Of Least Concern Adelle Purdham – Wild Horses Laura Wershler – To…

Interview with Donna Morrissey

Interview with CNFC Contest Judge, Donna Morrissey In December 2022, CNFC volunteer, Nancy O’Rourke, interviewed the 2023 CNFC Contest Judge, Donna Morrissey. Read about Donna’s thoughts on writing, reading, and advice for CNFC contest writers. – Donna Morrissey has published seven national best-selling novels. She has received awards in Canada, the U.S. and England and her novel, Sylvanus Now, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize. Donna’s fiction has been translated into several different languages. She was nominated for a Gemini for her script, The Clothesline…

Getting Your CNF Writing into the Winner’s Circle

Nancy O’Rourke, for the CNFC Blog CNFC member and volunteer, Nancy O’Rourke, a former CNFC contest winner and jury reader, interviewed two jury readers from the 2022 contest, Allyson Latta and Becky Blake. The interview explores how potential contest writers can best prepare their submissions to improve their chances of winning. BECKY BLAKE is a two-time winner of the CBC Literary Prize (for non-fiction in 2017 and short fiction in 2013). More recently, she was the 2021 winner of the CNFC/Humber…

Congratulations to the winner of the 2022 CNFC/HLR Nonfiction Contest!

The Creative Nonfiction Collective Society and The Humber Literary Review are pleased to announce the winner for this year’s creative nonfiction contest. Congratulations to Taslim Jaffer! Her submission Survival “is beautiful through and through, an elevated memoir that goes beyond rich storytelling into universal themes about motherhood and immigration. It takes great skill to weave together entomology and ethnography into a personal narrative, but the writer’s sharp voice and exquisite craft makes it seamless” according to our contest judge, Omar Mouallem…

CNFC and HLR Contest Longlist Announced!

The Creative Nonfiction Collective Society and The Humber Literary Review are pleased to announce the long list for this year’s creative nonfiction contest.

A Man of Many Gifts: Omar Mouallem

Lesley Buxton interviews this year’s CNFC contest judge Omar Mouallem.

Congratulations to the winner of the 2021 CNFC/HLR Nonfiction Contest

The Creative Nonfiction Collective Society and The Humber Literary Review are pleased to announce the winner for this year’s creative nonfiction contest.

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2 years ago

• #Free Writing Contests
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• #Writing Contests

19 Free Writing Contests With Cash Prizes in 2021

Below are 19 free writing contests with cash prizes and numerous opportunities to see your work published. Check 'em out and get your manuscript ready for submission!

And, if you're looking for help getting your work out into the world with care and purpose, check out these upcoming classes on the business of writing:

You can join literary agent Christopher Hermelin for his 3-Week Zoom Publishing Seminar: Getting Your Query Letter Right starting September 28th.

Sign up for Poets & Writers Magazine contributing editor Michael Bourne for his How to Pitch to your Dream Publication Zoom Seminar on October 14th.

Join our Executive Director, Blake Kimzey, for his Publishing in Literary Journals to Launch Your Career Zoom Seminar on January 13th, 2022.

And, you can get your submissions out the door and into the hands of the waiting editors below. What are you waiting for? Get out there!

You can win $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press with this prize, awarded for a collection of short fiction.

You may submit an unpublished manuscript of short stories, two or more novellas or a combination of novellas and short stories. Your total word count should be between 150 and 300 typed pages. You must also have already published a novel or book-length work of fiction “with a reputable publisher,” or no fewer than three short stories or novellas in nationally-recognized journals.

Deadline: Annual submissions must be postmarked between May 1 through June 30.

2. Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prizes

Graywolf Press hosts a variety of contests for both established and up-and-coming writers. Graywolf also offers smaller fiction and nonfiction prizes, with genres rotating by year; 2020 was a nonfiction year, so fiction is up in 2021. These awards include a sizable advance — $12,000 in previous years — as well as publication with Graywolf.

Deadline: Contest is held annually with rotating genres; the 2021 deadline is TBA.

3. The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans

Hosted by the prestigious Iowa Review, the Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award is offered to U.S. military veterans and active-duty members writing in any genre about any subject. Manuscripts of up to 20 pages will be accepted, and the first-prize winner will receive $1,000 and publication in the Review. A second place prize of $750 is also available, as well as three runner-up prizes of $500 each.

Deadline: Biennially. The next contest will be held in 2022.

4. PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers

This contest requires you to have already published a short story in a literary magazine or journal or cultural website. But if you’ve made your debut (but gone no further), you may be eligible for the generous cash prize of $2,000, which is annually awarded to 12 emerging writers, whose works are then published together in an anthology.

Short stories of up to 12,000 words are eligible and must be published in the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is given. Additionally, keep this in mind: Submissions are only eligible if submitted by an editor. Authors may not submit their own work.

Deadline: Contest is open annually between June and November.

5. Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

Fiction and nonfiction writers who have recently published a book that “contribute[s] to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity” are eligible for this award, which offers $10,000 cash as well as media and publicity opportunities. Plus, winners receive their prize at a ceremony in Cleveland.

Submissions must be published in the prior year (so books published in 2020 are eligible for the 2021 award).

Deadline: Annual submission window is September 1 through December 31.

6. Marfield Prize (aka National Award for Arts Writing)

Presented by the Arts Club of Washington, this award seeks to honor nonfiction books that deal with the “visual, literary, media, or performing arts.” The prize is $10,000 and may be awarded to works of criticism, art history, memoirs and biographies, and essays.

Deadline: Annually in the last quarter of the year; the 2021 deadline is November 16 to December 31.

7. W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction

If you’re a war buff, this competition is for you. It awards $5,000 — and a 24-karat-gold-framed citation of achievement — to the best piece of fiction set during a period when the U.S. was at war (war may either be the main plot of the piece or simply provide the setting). Submissions may be adult or YA novels.

Deadline: Annually on December 1.

8. Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Contest

Hektoen International, an online journal dedicated to medical humanities, offers two prizes annually for essays of no more than 1,500 words: $5,000 is awarded to the winner and $2,500 to the first runner-up. Eligible topics are broad so long as they have a relation to medicine, and many include art, history, literature, education and more.

Deadline: Annually; September 15, 2021 is the most current deadline.

9. St. Martin’s Minotaur / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition

Writers 18 and older who have never had a novel published (in any genre) are eligible for this prize, awarded to an original book-length manuscript where “murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story.” The winner receives a publication contract with Minotaur Books and an advance of $10,000 against future royalties.

Deadline: Annually in the first quarter of the year; the deadline for 2022 is TBA. 

10. ServiceScape Short Story Award

ServiceScape, a platform matching freelance writers, editors and graphic designers with clients offers a yearly Short Story Award of $1,000 to a winning fiction or nonfiction work of 5,000 words or fewer. The winner will also have their story featured on the ServiceScape blog, which sees thousands of readers each month.

Deadline: November 30, 2021

11. Stowe Prize

This biennial prize of $10,000 honors an American author whose adult fiction or nonfiction work has had an impact on a critical social justice issue (as did Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin ).

Deadline: Biennially; the 2022 deadline is TBA. 

12. The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction essays of no more than 5,000 words on any subject are eligible for consideration for this award, whose winner receives $250 and publication in Lunch Ticket , the literary and art journal produced by the MFA community of Antioch University Los Angeles.

Works must not have been published elsewhere. Award winners are required to submit a 100-word biography, recent photo and a short note thanking the Woods family for their generosity and support.

Deadlines: Biannual reading periods are in February for the Summer/Fall issue and in August for the Winter/Spring issue.

13. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms Essay Contest

Each year, this Canadian organization offers three prizes, ranging from $500 to $1,500, to the essay with the most thoughtful, well-reasoned arguments around a specific human-rights theme. (For example, 2019’s prompt was, “Should universities police student behavior at private events?”

The contest is open to Canadian college and university students, and essays should be 2,500 words or less in length.

Deadline: 2021 contest guidelines and deadline TBD

14. Write the World

For young writers ages 13-18, these cool contests also serve as mini workshops. Recognizing that “a first draft is never perfect,” submissions actually receive peer review by authors, writing teachers and other experts and writers are given the chance to revise their pieces based on this feedback before submitting them for final prize consideration.

Contests vary each month, but there’s a $100 prize for the winner and $50 for the runner-up (plus $50 for the best peer-reviewer). All three are featured on Write the World’s blog alongside comments from a guest judge. And since each month’s prompt is from a different genre, developing writers get a chance to test out different styles.

Deadline: Monthly.

Prose offers weekly challenges meant to spark your creativity; many are just for fun, but look for the weekly numbered challenges posted by Prose (rather than community members or sponsors) for a chance to win money.

Prizes are typically between $100 to $200 and word counts are low — some as low as under 150, some as high as 500. So even if all you get from the prompt is a chance to flex your brain, it’s not a bad deal.

Deadline: Weekly and monthly.

16. The Restless Books Prize For New Immigrant Writing

First-generation immigrants have a chance to win $10,000 and publication by Restless Books for telling their stories (real or imagined). The contest alternates annually between fiction (novel or short story collection) and nonfiction (memoir, essay collection, narrative nonfiction). In 2021, it will go to a work of nonfiction of at least 25,000 words; 2022 will be fiction.

Deadline: Annually; the deadline for 2021 has passed. The 2022 submission deadline is TBA.

17. African Poetry Book Fund Prizes

The APBF awards three prizes annually for African Poetry. The Luschei Prize for African Poetry gives $1,000 for a book of original African poetry published in the prior year.

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets gives $1,000 and a publication contract for a book-length collection of poetry by an as-yet-unpublished African author.

The Brunel International African Poetry Prize is a new prize that grants £3,000 to a poet who was born in Africa, or has African parents, who has not yet had a full-length book of poetry published. (U.S. citizens qualify.) To submit, you’ll need 10 poems.

Deadlines: See individual prize pages.

18. Tufts Poetry Awards

Claremont Graduate University presents two awards each year to poets they deem to be “outstanding.” The Kate Tufts Poetry Award grants $10,000 for a published first book of poetry that shows promise.

The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award grants a mammoth $100,000 for a published book of poetry by an established or mid-career poet.

Deadline: 2021 deadlines not yet announced.

19. Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Now in its 21st year, this humor contest wants your best published or unpublished work for a grand prize of $2,000; runners-up are awarded $500 and 10 honorable mentions will receive $100 each. Writers of all ages from eligible countries can submit an original, humorous poem with 250 lines or less, and it must be in English.

Deadline : April 1, 2022.

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THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION

Since 1883, we have delivered The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, the world's oldest international schools' writing competition. Today, we work to expand its reach, providing life-changing opportunities for young people around the world.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024 is now closed for entries

Find out more about this year’s theme

'Our Common Wealth'.

140 years of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools and has been proudly delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883. 

ABOUT THE COMPETITION 

An opportunity for young Commonwealth citizens to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences on key global issues and have their hard work and achievement celebrated internationally.

Frequently Asked Questions for the Competition. Before contacting us please read these.

MEET THE WINNERS 

In 2023 we were delighted to receive a record-breaking 34,924 entries, with winners from India and Malaysia. Read their winning pieces as well as those from previous years.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms and Conditions for entrants to The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. Please ensure you have thoroughly read them before submitting your entry.

Tracking Preferences

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Exploring the art of prose

CRAFT First Chapters Contest 2024

CRAFT 2024 First Chapters Contest

$2,800 awarded, guest judge: kimberly king parsons, june 1, 2024 – august 4, 2024 add to calendar.

Isn’t the start of something new incredibly, deliciously exciting? Here at CRAFT , we want to share in that excitement by reading the first chapter(s) of your novel in progress. We long to immerse ourselves in novels over the summer, and what could be more thrilling than sampling the newest work out there? For the 2024 First Chapters Contest, we’re eager to read your first 5,000 words. Guest Judge Kimberly King Parsons is equally keen:

I love it when the beginning of a novel (especially the very first line) contains the stylistic signature and the tonal genetics for the whole book. I’m always looking for attention and care at the sentence level, beautiful acoustics, and a voice that begs me to follow it. Not every novel has to do everything at once, but I value humor, the subversive, complicated characters (especially “unlikeable” or “unreliable” narrators), and plots that aren’t afraid to swerve into the very weird or very dark. Most of all, I’m hoping for opening pages that feel as if only you—with your distinct authority, unique perspective, and precise choices—could have written them.

Submissions are open June 1 to August 4, 2024. Guest Judge Kimberly King Parsons will choose three winning excerpts from fifteen anonymized entries. Learn more in our guidelines below!

GUIDELINES:

• The First Chapters Contest is open to all fiction writers; CRAFT is a market for adult literary fiction.
• International submissions are welcome. Work must be written primarily in English, but some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• Please send excerpts of book-length fiction only —please submit the first chapter or chapters* of your unpublished novels/novellas. Your novel need not be completely written.
• Please do not submit short stories or nonfiction essays.
• Please adhere to the 5,000 word count maximum*.
• We review adult literary fiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles, as long as you show excellence in your craft.
• Submit previously unpublished work only —we do NOT review reprints or partial reprints for contests (including any form of self-publishing such as on blogs, personal websites, social media, et cetera.). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
• We allow simultaneous submissions—writers, please notify us and withdraw your excerpt if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• We allow multiple submissions—please submit each excerpt as a separate submission accompanied by an entry fee.
• Please note the $20 entry fee per submission.
• Kindly double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12. (Feel free to contact us directly if you need to change these formatting requirements for better accessibility.)
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable), and a summary of your book-length project. Also include any necessary content warnings, in consideration of our reading team.
• We do not require anonymous submissions, but the guest judge will read the shortlist anonymized.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups will be able to submit for FREE until we reach fifty free submissions. This free category will close when we reach capacity. No additional fee waivers will be granted.
• We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
• Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication: work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
• Any AI-generated work submitted to this contest will be immediately disqualified.
• Unless you’ve already secured the necessary permissions, please do not include quoted song lyrics in your submitted work.
• Any work that does not adhere to these guidelines will be automatically disqualified.
• Artful Editor is offering every entrant a 10% discount for query services—they will critique and edit your query letter, synopsis, and first fifty pages. Coupon code provided upon contest entry.
• First place will receive $2,000 and a full manuscript critique of the novel or novella, up to 100K words, by Artful Editor .
• Second and third place will receive $500 and $300, respectively.
• First, second, and third place will receive an agent query workshop by Annalise Errico of Ladderbird Literary Agency —Annalise will offer feedback on the first 5,000 words of the project, the summary, and a query letter.
• The top three excerpts will be published in CRAFT , each with an introduction by Guest Judge Kimberly King Parsons.
• Each publication will include an author’s note (craft essay) written by each of the three winning writers.

FINE PRINT:

• Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for consideration for the award.
• Our collaboration with editorial professionals and agents in the judging and awarding of our contests does not imply an endorsement or recognition from their agencies, houses, presses, universities, et cetera.
• Check out our 2023 winners for examples of the type of work we seek.
• As we only consider unpublished writing, and will publish the winning excerpts in December 2024, anything under contract to publish prior to March 2025 should not be entered.

GUEST JUDGE:

KIMBERLY KING PARSONS is the author of the novel We Were the Universe and the short story collection Black Light , which was longlisted for the National Book Award and The Story Prize. A recipient of fellowships from Yaddo and Columbia University, Parsons won the 2020 National Magazine Award for “Foxes,” a story published in The Paris Review . She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner and children. Find her on Instagram @kimberlykingparsons.

CONTEST PARTNERS:

OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your excerpt. We will provide marginal notes, as well as a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. While editorial feedback is inherently subjective, our suggestions are always actionable and encouraging. We aim to have feedback completed within twelve weeks from the close of the contest. Work that we critique is not eligible for submission to future CRAFT contests, but can be revised and resubmitted in our general queues for further consideration.

EDITORIAL FEEDBACK TEAM:

JOANNA ACEVEDO (she/they) is the Pushcart-nominated author of three books and two chapbooks. Her work has been seen across the web and in print, including Free State Review , The Rumpus , and The Adroit Journal . She received her MFA in fiction from New York University in 2021 and also holds degrees from Bard College and The New School. Find her on Twitter @jo_avocado.

MELISSA BENTON BARKER is the flash fiction section editor at CRAFT . A graduate of the MFA program at Antioch University Los Angeles, her writing appears in Longleaf Review , Moon City Review , Wigleaf , SmokeLong Quarterly , and Best Small Fictions 2021 . She has received Pushcart and Best of the Net nominations. She lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

ALYSE BURNSIDE is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn. She holds an MFA from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic , The Nation , The Believer , and elsewhere. She’s working on a book.

KYLE COCHRUN (he/him) is a writer living in Seattle, Washington. He is a contributing writer for PopMatters , where he writes features, interviews, and album reviews. His essays and creative nonfiction have appeared in  The Akron Anthology ,  Watershed Review ,  Echo,  and  CRAFT . He received an MFA in creative writing from the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts graduate program.

ALEXA DORAN recently completed her PhD in poetry at Florida State University. Her full-length collection DM Me, Mother Darling  won the 2020 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize and was published in April 2021 (Bauhan). She is also the author of the chapbook  Nightsink, Faucet Me a Lullaby (Bottlecap Press 2019). Look for work from Doran in recent or upcoming issues of  Pleiades ,  Witness, Salt Hill Journal , and  Gigantic Sequins , among others.

BRANDON DUDLEY is the  author of Hazards of Nature: Stories , selected by Sigrid Nunez as the winner of the 2020 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Chapbook Contest. His writing, interviews, and criticism have appeared in  New South, The Millions, The Forge, Fiction Writers Review, North by Northeast 2 , and others. He holds an MFA from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. He lives in Maine with his wife and two sons. Find him on Twitter @brandondudley8.

ROSS FEELER ’s fiction has appeared in Electric Literature ‘s “Recommended Reading,” The Common , New South , Potomac Review , Story | Houston , Hypertext , and others. His novel-in-progress received the Marianne Russo Award from the Key West Literary Seminar and was a finalist for James Jones First Novel Award. He teaches English at Texas State University.

B. B. GARIN is a writer living in Buffalo, New York. Her echapbook, New Songs for Old Radios , is available from Wordrunner Press. Her work has appeared in Hawaii Pacific Review , Luna Station Quarterly , Palooka , 3rd Wednesday , Crack the Spine , and more. She is currently a prose reader and blog contributor for The Masters Review . She continues to improve her craft at GrubStreet Writing Center, where she has developed several short fiction pieces, as well as two novels. Connect with her online @bb_garin.

COURTNEY HARLER (she/her) is a queer writer, editor, and educator based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe (2017) and an MA in English (Literature) from Eastern Washington University (2013). Courtney is currently editor in chief of CRAFT and editorial director for Discover New Art, and has read and written for UNT’s Katherine Anne Porter Prize, The Masters Review , Funicular Magazine , Reflex Fiction , and Chicago Literati in recent years. She also hosts the literary podcast PWN’s Debut Review , as well as teaches and edits for Project Write Now, a nonprofit writing studio in New Jersey. For her creative work, Courtney has been honored by support from Key West Literary Seminar, Writing By Writers, Community of Writers, Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and Nevada Arts Council. Courtney’s work has been published in multiple genres in literary magazines around the world. Find her on Instagram @CourtneyHarler.

KATELYN KEATING (she/her) was the editor in chief of CRAFT from 2018 to 2021 and now serves as editor at large. She was a 2017 fellow of the LA Review of Books Publishing Workshop and has been on their faculty since 2018, overseeing PubLab , leading the magazine track as a program manager, and serving as the publisher coordinator for LITLIT: The Little Literary Fair. She is a production manager with Berrett-Koehler Publishers, and was the production and operations manager at Prospect Park Books until it left California in 2021. Her essays appear in Crab Orchard Review ,  Flyway ,  Lunch Ticket ,  Tahoma Literary Review , and elsewhere. Katelyn has an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles, where she worked for two years on Lunch Ticket , serving as editor in chief for issues 11 and 12. Find her on Twitter @katelyn_keating.

JILL KOLONGOWSKI writes the Substack Tiny True Stories  and is also the author of the essay collection  Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me (Ulysses Press, 2017). Her work also appears in Electric Lit , Insider , the  Los Angeles Review of Books ,  Brevity ,  River Teeth , and elsewhere. Her essays have won  Sundog Lit ’s First Annual Contest series and the Diana Woods Memorial Prize in Creative Nonfiction at  Lunch Ticket , and she earned her MFA from St. Mary’s College of California. Jill teaches writing at the College of San Mateo, and lives in Northern California with her husband and daughter. Find her on Twitter @jillkolongowski.

VAL M. MATHEWS  is a big-hearted, fun-loving editor who teaches courses in developmental editing for the University of California Berkeley Extension, Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and the Editorial Freelancers Association in New York City. Val also freelances on the side and works as an editorial consultant for  CRAFT  and  The Masters Review . Previously, she was an editor for The Wild Rose Press, a small traditional publishing house in New York. She earned an MA in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University and a BFA from the University of Georgia. Fun fact about Val: She’s been an FAA-certified flight instructor for over twenty-five years, and in the past, she flew Lear jets for a living.

GABRIEL MOSELEY is a writer and editor from Seattle, Washington. His work has appeared in  The Masters Review ,  Nordic Kultur ,  Stratus , and Alaska Airlines’  Alaska Beyond Magazine . He received an MFA from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and certificates in both editing and literary fiction from the University of Washington. He has been a finalist for the Made at Hugo House Writing Fellowship, LitMag ’s Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction, and the Haleakalā National Park Residency. He is a guest editor for  The Masters Review. 

GAGE SAYLOR is the assistant director of creative writing at Oklahoma State University. His fiction and poetry have appeared in Passages North ,  Tampa Review ,  Crab Creek Review ,  Iron Horse , and elsewhere. He has won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize at  Nimrod and is a previous semifinalist for the Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize at  North American Review . He received his MFA at McNeese State University, where he was awarded the Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction.

After retiring from full-time work, DAVID K. SLAY completed a two-year program of short fiction writing workshops in the University of California, Los Angeles, Writers’ Program. His short stories, flash fiction, and microfiction can be found in a group of diverse literary journals, including Door Is A Jar , Gold Man Review , ImageOutWrite, The Magnolia Review , Random Sample Review , Ginosko Literary Journal , American Writers Review , and others. Nonfiction craft articles are in CRAFT and Submittable’s “Content for Creatives,” and he has served as a guest editor for Vestal Review . He has been a submissions reader for CRAFT since 2019, and is currently an associate editor for the short fiction section.

• Short Stories
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• First Chapters Contest 2024
• EcoLit Challenge 2024
• Short Fiction Prize 2024
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• Memoir Excerpt & Essay Contest 2023
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• Setting Sketch Challenge 2023
• First Chapters Contest 2023
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• Short Fiction Prize 2023
• Hybrid Writing Contest 2023
• Creative Nonfiction Award 2022
• Amelia Gray 2K Contest 2022
• First Chapters Contest 2022
• Short Fiction Prize 2022
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• Creative Nonfiction Award 2021
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• First Chapters Contest 2021
• Short Fiction Prize 2021
• Short Fiction Prize 2020
• Flash Fiction Contest 2020
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• Elements Contest 2020: Conflict
• Short Fiction Prize 2019
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