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This August there over three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $100,000 to a free writing class. 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. Most of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline is past, you can prepare for next year.Good luck!
______________________
Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grants. Restrictions: Open to women and trans artists in Greater Philadelphia to fund art for social change projects. People living in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties Delaware who are 18 years of age or older and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Genres: Art in traditional or nontraditional modes, mediums or disciplines. Prize: $2500. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Source Writing Prize. Restrictions: Open to writers who have not written for Source before. Genre: Book reviews, exhibition reviews or texts introducing sets of pictures, so these would be good models to follow. "But we are also interested in others forms of writing so if you want to submit something in a different form then please do." Prize: £500 / 570 euro. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Lee & Low Books New Voices Award is sponsored by Lee &Low Publishers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers of color who are residents of the United States and who have not previously had a children’s picture book published. Genre: Children's books - fiction, nonfiction or poetry. Prize: $1,000 and publication. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships. Restrictions: Delaware poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year prior to application and who are not enrolled in a degree-granting program. Genres: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Prize: Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be Singaporean, Singaporean permanent resident or Singapore-born. Genre: A full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language. Prize: $20,000. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Granum Foundation Prize helps U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works. Additionally, a Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated by a U.S.-based writer. Prize: One winner will receive $5,000; up to three finalists will be awarded $500 or more; $500 or more will be awarded to one writer working in translation. Deadline: August 2, 2022.
Oregon Literary Fellowships. Two fellowships (one $10,000 grant and one $3,500 grant) are reserved specifically for writers of color. There are also fellowships for women/gender-nonconforming writers as well as special fellowships for fiction writers who have lived in Oregon over the past 5 years. Deadline: August 5, 2022.
Peter Blazey Fellowship. Restrictions: Applicants must either be an Australian citizen or have Australian residency. Genre: Non-fiction in the fields of autobiography, biography or life writing. Prize: $15 000, and a one-month writer-in-residency at The Australia Centre. Deadline: August 8, 2022.
Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genres: Drama, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. Prize: $500 and publication. Deadline: August 8, 2022 for poetry. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.)
Scotiabank Giller Prize. Restrictions: Open to books published in Canada in English between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Must be nominated by publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline: August 12, 2022.
Rebecca Swift Women's Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to women poets in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Prize: £1,000. Deadline: August 12, 2022.
Waterford Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of Ireland. Genre: Poem. Prize: First prize is €400 plus attendance at a designated writing course. Deadline: August 12, 2022.
4thWrite Short Story Prize. Restrictions: Open to Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic writers aged 18+ living in the UK or Ireland. Genre: Short story, 6,000 words maximum. Prize: £1,000, a one-day publishing workshop at 4th Estate and publication of their story on the Guardian website. Deadline: August 14, 2022.
Apparition Lit. Genre: Flash fiction between 1k words max based on the theme. Prize: $30. Deadline: August 14, 2022.
Wintermute Lit. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers who have not published a full-length manuscript or chapbook. The work you submit can have been previously published but not awarded large national/international awards. Genre: Speculative fiction, maximum of 4500 words. Prize: Winners receive cash prizes, speculative books of their choice, and publication in Wintermute. Deadline: August 14, 2022. Reprints accepted.
The Yale Drama Series. Genre: Original, unpublished full-length plays, with a minimum of 65 pages. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition. Genre: Haiku. Prize: $100. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
The Gotham “Manuscript-to-Market” Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to people of color who have completed a book manuscript (or nonfiction book proposal) and are ready to go to market with their book. Three fellowships will be offered every year. Prize: Admittance to the Gotham Writers Conference—the panels and presentations as well as a seat at a pitching roundtable with two agents in your genre. The Gotham course How to Get Published or Nonfiction Book Proposal. A one-on-one Agent Evaluation session and a Query Letter Coaching session, both with a literary agent. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Quarterly West. Genre: Poetry chapbook. Prize: $500. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Restrictions: Emerging African American writers. Genres: Short story collection or novel published in the current year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Ligonier Valley Writers. Genre: Flash fiction on theme of "mermaids, selkies, and other water dwellers";1000 words max. Prize: The first prize winner will receive $50, second prize $25, and third prize $15. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Women's Prize for Fiction. Genre: Published novel by a woman. Entrants must be writing in English and must be published in the UK between 1 April 2022 and 30 September 2022. All subject matters and women of any age, from any nationality or country of residence are eligible. Prize: £30,000.00. Deadline: August 26, 2022.
Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to writers living within Munster and a commuting distance from Cork City. "The Short Story Fellow must have at least two full-length works of fiction published at the time of deadline, of which at least one must be a short story collection. The ideal candidate will be a writer respected by peers and experienced in the giving of writing workshops." Genre: Short fiction. Fellowship: A stipend of €8000, in four monthly instalments of €2000. Deadline: August 29, 2022.
The Canadian Women Artists’ Award. Restrictions: Open to Canadian women living in New York who are between the ages of 21 and 35 before the application deadline. Genre: Fiction, poetry. Grant: $5,000. Deadline: August 30, 2022.
Debra E. Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize. Genre: Article that furthers the understanding of the history of working people. Articles focused on historical events AND articles about current issues (work, housing, organizing, health, education) that include historical context are both welcome. The work should be published in print or online between August 31, 2021 and August 30, 2022. Prize: $1000. Deadline: August 30, 2022.
Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction. Genre: Essay, maximum 5,000 words. Prize: $250 top prize. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation or Multi-Lingual Texts. Restrictions: Translators and authors of multi-lingual texts. Genres: Poetry and prose. Prize: $200. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Storyhouse. Genre: Biographical nonfiction. Stories must be true, not semi-fictional accounts. 1000 - 10,000 words in length. Stories must be suitable for children. Prize: $200. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Poetry Archive NOW! WordView 2022. Genre: Poetry. "Make a video/film recording of yourself reading or reciting a single poem which you have written in 2022." Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry collection (in English), at least 48 pages long, published between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the deadline year by an upstate New York author. Prize: $2000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
What’s Your Story? Restrictions: Open to Victorian residents. (Australia) Genre: Poetry, short stories, CNF. Prize: $500. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Kindle Storyteller Award (UK). Restrictions: The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk. Genre: Book. Prize: £20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $750 in any single year. Genre: Biographical Nonfiction. Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Finalists will receive $50. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
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: August 31, 2022. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.
Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award. Restrictions: Open to authors aged 18-35 as of December 31 of the deadline year. Books must have been first published in the UK and/or the Republic of Ireland, in the English language, between June 23 of the preceding year and August 31 of the deadline year. Authors must be UK or Irish citizens, or residents for the three years preceding the award. Genre: Published or self-published book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Prize: £10,000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing. Genre: Scholarly essay. All work submitted must have been written or published within the last year. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing. Genre: Short story with an overall word-count of 2000 on theme: ‘Storytelling" Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
YORKSHIRE PRIZE: The Good Old Days. Restrictions: The Yorkshire Prize is open to residents of Yorkshire, UK. Genre: Short story set in Yorshire, maximum word count of 2000 per entry. Prize: £100, and two further commendations of £25. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Micro fiction or essay on theme of Dreamy. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
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. Most of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline is past, you can prepare for next year.Good luck!
______________________
Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grants. Restrictions: Open to women and trans artists in Greater Philadelphia to fund art for social change projects. People living in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties Delaware who are 18 years of age or older and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Genres: Art in traditional or nontraditional modes, mediums or disciplines. Prize: $2500. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Source Writing Prize. Restrictions: Open to writers who have not written for Source before. Genre: Book reviews, exhibition reviews or texts introducing sets of pictures, so these would be good models to follow. "But we are also interested in others forms of writing so if you want to submit something in a different form then please do." Prize: £500 / 570 euro. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Lee & Low Books New Voices Award is sponsored by Lee &Low Publishers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers of color who are residents of the United States and who have not previously had a children’s picture book published. Genre: Children's books - fiction, nonfiction or poetry. Prize: $1,000 and publication. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships. Restrictions: Delaware poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year prior to application and who are not enrolled in a degree-granting program. Genres: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Prize: Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be Singaporean, Singaporean permanent resident or Singapore-born. Genre: A full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language. Prize: $20,000. Deadline: August 1, 2022.
Granum Foundation Prize helps U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works. Additionally, a Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated by a U.S.-based writer. Prize: One winner will receive $5,000; up to three finalists will be awarded $500 or more; $500 or more will be awarded to one writer working in translation. Deadline: August 2, 2022.
Oregon Literary Fellowships. Two fellowships (one $10,000 grant and one $3,500 grant) are reserved specifically for writers of color. There are also fellowships for women/gender-nonconforming writers as well as special fellowships for fiction writers who have lived in Oregon over the past 5 years. Deadline: August 5, 2022.
Peter Blazey Fellowship. Restrictions: Applicants must either be an Australian citizen or have Australian residency. Genre: Non-fiction in the fields of autobiography, biography or life writing. Prize: $15 000, and a one-month writer-in-residency at The Australia Centre. Deadline: August 8, 2022.
Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genres: Drama, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. Prize: $500 and publication. Deadline: August 8, 2022 for poetry. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.)
Scotiabank Giller Prize. Restrictions: Open to books published in Canada in English between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Must be nominated by publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline: August 12, 2022.
Rebecca Swift Women's Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to women poets in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Prize: £1,000. Deadline: August 12, 2022.
Waterford Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of Ireland. Genre: Poem. Prize: First prize is €400 plus attendance at a designated writing course. Deadline: August 12, 2022.
4thWrite Short Story Prize. Restrictions: Open to Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic writers aged 18+ living in the UK or Ireland. Genre: Short story, 6,000 words maximum. Prize: £1,000, a one-day publishing workshop at 4th Estate and publication of their story on the Guardian website. Deadline: August 14, 2022.
Apparition Lit. Genre: Flash fiction between 1k words max based on the theme. Prize: $30. Deadline: August 14, 2022.
Wintermute Lit. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers who have not published a full-length manuscript or chapbook. The work you submit can have been previously published but not awarded large national/international awards. Genre: Speculative fiction, maximum of 4500 words. Prize: Winners receive cash prizes, speculative books of their choice, and publication in Wintermute. Deadline: August 14, 2022. Reprints accepted.
The Yale Drama Series. Genre: Original, unpublished full-length plays, with a minimum of 65 pages. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition. Genre: Haiku. Prize: $100. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
The Gotham “Manuscript-to-Market” Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to people of color who have completed a book manuscript (or nonfiction book proposal) and are ready to go to market with their book. Three fellowships will be offered every year. Prize: Admittance to the Gotham Writers Conference—the panels and presentations as well as a seat at a pitching roundtable with two agents in your genre. The Gotham course How to Get Published or Nonfiction Book Proposal. A one-on-one Agent Evaluation session and a Query Letter Coaching session, both with a literary agent. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Quarterly West. Genre: Poetry chapbook. Prize: $500. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Restrictions: Emerging African American writers. Genres: Short story collection or novel published in the current year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Ligonier Valley Writers. Genre: Flash fiction on theme of "mermaids, selkies, and other water dwellers";1000 words max. Prize: The first prize winner will receive $50, second prize $25, and third prize $15. Deadline: August 15, 2022.
Women's Prize for Fiction. Genre: Published novel by a woman. Entrants must be writing in English and must be published in the UK between 1 April 2022 and 30 September 2022. All subject matters and women of any age, from any nationality or country of residence are eligible. Prize: £30,000.00. Deadline: August 26, 2022.
Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to writers living within Munster and a commuting distance from Cork City. "The Short Story Fellow must have at least two full-length works of fiction published at the time of deadline, of which at least one must be a short story collection. The ideal candidate will be a writer respected by peers and experienced in the giving of writing workshops." Genre: Short fiction. Fellowship: A stipend of €8000, in four monthly instalments of €2000. Deadline: August 29, 2022.
The Canadian Women Artists’ Award. Restrictions: Open to Canadian women living in New York who are between the ages of 21 and 35 before the application deadline. Genre: Fiction, poetry. Grant: $5,000. Deadline: August 30, 2022.
Debra E. Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize. Genre: Article that furthers the understanding of the history of working people. Articles focused on historical events AND articles about current issues (work, housing, organizing, health, education) that include historical context are both welcome. The work should be published in print or online between August 31, 2021 and August 30, 2022. Prize: $1000. Deadline: August 30, 2022.
Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction. Genre: Essay, maximum 5,000 words. Prize: $250 top prize. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation or Multi-Lingual Texts. Restrictions: Translators and authors of multi-lingual texts. Genres: Poetry and prose. Prize: $200. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Storyhouse. Genre: Biographical nonfiction. Stories must be true, not semi-fictional accounts. 1000 - 10,000 words in length. Stories must be suitable for children. Prize: $200. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Poetry Archive NOW! WordView 2022. Genre: Poetry. "Make a video/film recording of yourself reading or reciting a single poem which you have written in 2022." Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry collection (in English), at least 48 pages long, published between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the deadline year by an upstate New York author. Prize: $2000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
What’s Your Story? Restrictions: Open to Victorian residents. (Australia) Genre: Poetry, short stories, CNF. Prize: $500. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Kindle Storyteller Award (UK). Restrictions: The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk. Genre: Book. Prize: £20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $750 in any single year. Genre: Biographical Nonfiction. Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Finalists will receive $50. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
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: August 31, 2022. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.
Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award. Restrictions: Open to authors aged 18-35 as of December 31 of the deadline year. Books must have been first published in the UK and/or the Republic of Ireland, in the English language, between June 23 of the preceding year and August 31 of the deadline year. Authors must be UK or Irish citizens, or residents for the three years preceding the award. Genre: Published or self-published book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Prize: £10,000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing. Genre: Scholarly essay. All work submitted must have been written or published within the last year. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing. Genre: Short story with an overall word-count of 2000 on theme: ‘Storytelling" Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
YORKSHIRE PRIZE: The Good Old Days. Restrictions: The Yorkshire Prize is open to residents of Yorkshire, UK. Genre: Short story set in Yorshire, maximum word count of 2000 per entry. Prize: £100, and two further commendations of £25. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Micro fiction or essay on theme of Dreamy. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: August 31, 2022.
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