Frequently Asked Questions about Writing Competitions (FAQ)

Participating in writing competitions offers many benefits. Winners or shortlisted authors will usually be offered publication of their work in a digital or print book. Most event organizers offer a a monetary award (a cash prize), which can often be a substantial sum, so it is a great way to monetize your writing talent.

All writing competitions have a deadline, and this is often a good motivator to write and practice your skills. The competitive element can be inspirational, but you have to be good to win!  You can write what you want, in your own style, or you can try writing towards a theme or prompt that the organizer provides.

Many organizers of writing competitions offer feedback, which gives you the opportunity to learn and perfect your writing craft. The response you get from the judges offers quick satisfaction, which is much better than many months of silence or not response at all from an agent or publisher when you submit your work through regular channels.

So, if writing to a deadline and theme is something you enjoy, participating in a writing competition is worth trying even if you are just getting started on your writing journey. Writing competitions are easier than standard submission calls (with no theme) or submissions a finished manuscript to a publisher (so you don’t have to write a whole novel). You can write what you want, events are usually simple to submit to, and you could potentially win a nice prize and gain recognition for your work.

There are many useful online resources you can use to find good writing competitions and opportunities to get published. We curate a comprehensive list of writing events with prizes, which is updated weekly.

We also recommend these reputable websites if you’re looking for writing competitions and other opportunities to submit your work:

• Chris Fielden has a great list and posts updates frequently.
• InterComp hosts a list of events, including writing competitions.
• UK Writers College is worth checking out.

There are many other reputable resources out there. Use your favourite search engine to find them.

Yes. As with any opportunity where you have to put in work to participate, there are many potential disadvantages to writing competitions.

You will not get paid unless you win or get your work shortlisted for the award (depending on the event). Also, most writing competitions require you to pay a fee to participate, however this is usually not a large sum of money.

Not all writers like the competitive element, or see winning as a worthwhile prize. If can be demotivating if you enter an event and you do not win, do not get shortlisted for the award, or if there is no reply or feedback at all. If the organizer does not respond or offer feedback, it can be hard to know why your work didn’t win or how close it did get to winning.

You can read more on this topic in our blog post about the pros and cons of participating in writing competitions.

That depends. Most events that you can find online are well established and have a good history. However, there are also many events that do not have your best intentions in mind, so be careful.

Always exercise caution before entering any event, especially if you have to pay to enter or if the rules state that you must give away rights to your work. Make sure to always do your own research!  Here are some things you can check to help discern if the competition is legitimate:

• unrealistic prizes
• very little detail about the event or the organizer of the event
• no clear guidelines or rules
• ‘new’ events without a history
• no event website or a website with very little detail (for example if the event is advertised through social media only)
• hard to find any previous participants or winners
• events that require you to relinquish copy rights to your work (non-exclusive rights are OK)

Yes, you should always exercise caution before entering a writing competition. Always conduct your own thorough research before making a decision. If you decide to enter you will be sharing your hard work, so it is your responsibility!

A requirement to pay an entry fee is not a sign that the competition is some sort of ‘scam’ or money-grabbing scheme. In fact, most well-established writing competitions require you to pay to enter (90% of all events according to our research).

Use your own common sense to decide. Consider your budget, the rules of the event, and what you want to gain from participating.

If you do not wish to pay to enter, or you do not have suffcient budget for it, there are many writing competitions where entry fees are not required (free to enter events).

Read more about this topic in our blog post – Should I Pay to Enter a Writing Competition?

Yes. There are many well-established, legitimate events that do not require an entry fee. However, they might be a bit harder to find (most organizers require some payment or subscription to enter).

Here are a few examples of a free-to-enter events with great prizes:

• Oxford/42 New Writing Prize
• Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest
• The Irene Adler Prize
• Purorrelato Micro-story competition

If you are unable to find a good writing competition that is free of charge. Consider bookmarking our list of events and check back regularly. We post new opportunities every week. You can also join our dedicated Facebook group with updates posted almost daily.

There is no such thing as ‘best’ or ‘worst’ when it comes to writing competitions. Each event has its own unique set of rules, guidelines, and expectations.

Not all events are for all writers and it’s totally up to your own preference what you think is a ‘good’ event!

‘Prestigious’ is a relative term. With that in mind, it is widely accepted that the ‘most prestigious’ writing award is the Nobel Prize in Literature. However, the nobel prize is not really a ‘competition’ according to most definitions because candidates are nominated by a committee and writers can’t chose’ to enter it.

When it comes to prestigious but ‘open’ competitions that any writer can submit their work to, here are some examples:

• The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is an annual, peer-juried American literary prize.
• The T. S. Eliot Prize is an annual prize for the best new poetry collection published in the UK or Ireland.
  
• The Iowa Short Fiction Award is an annual prize awarded to emerging short fiction writers, which are then published by the University of Iowa Press.
• The Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize was founded by Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson. It recognizes writers of exceptional talent for the best novel or short story collection of the year.
• The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer published in the English language.

Each competition is different. Some events have very specific and restrictive rules, while others are more general and open in nature. Pay attention to the following rules and requirements when considering a writing event:

• Writer eligibility such as age, country of residence, gender, or cultural background.
• Submission deadline – the final date and time by which you must submit your work.
• Format such as maximum word count, file format, text formatting, and font style and size.
• Theme, topic, or prompt – some events require writers to write about a specific subject or in a certain style, while other events are ‘open’.
• Work ownership and origin criteria such as copyright, originality, publication history, and work submitted to other events.
• Entry fee – do you have to pay to enter the event? If yes, how much?
• Simultaneous submissions – can you submit multiple pieces of work to the same event?

These are just a few examples of requirements for writing competitions, but keep in mind that each event is different. Make sure to read the rules and guidelines carefully before you decide to participate and submit your work. Especially if you need to pay to enter. Many organizers will disqualify work that does not follow the requirements without the possibility of a refund!

Writing competitions offer many types of prizes – each one is different. Prizes are awarded to the winner, but quite often also to the runners up and shortlisted authors (entrants who did not win but whose work was still recognized and selected).

In general, writing competitions offer one or more of the following as prizes:

• A cash prize which can range from just a few to many thousands of dollars.
• Publication in print or digital. For example, an anthology, journal, or literary magazine. This is often paired with the monetary prize.
• Sponsored participation in a writing workshop, redidency, or retreat. This is an opportunity for a writer to learn and practice their craft, and network with fellow writers.
• Critique and feedback from the judges and editors that can be used to help improve your writing.
• Funded educational and learning opportunities such as online or physical writing courses to develop your writing skills.
• Memberships in writing groups and communities.
• Physical or digital goods such as books, subscriptions, and software.
• An introduction to agents, editors, and publishers.
• Award certificates and diplomas (physical and/or digital)
• and, of course, the recogition, visibility, and prestige that comes with participating in event, and hopefully winning it!

Of course. Every writing competition has one or many genres and/or themes to guide the writers who participat in it.

In terms of genre, the most popular forms are short story, poetry, and flash fiction competitions. There are also events for non-fiction genres such as essays, letters, or memoirs.

There is an almost endless number of themes that writing competitions offer. For example science fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers, romance, historical fiction, as well as young adult fiction and even literature for children. The list goes on, so there is something suitable for every type of writer.

Each competition has its own method of judging and eveluating work that is submitted. Sometimes the process is public so each writer can understand the how the judging works before entering. However, more often than not, the process is not fully disclosed to entrants.

There is always some type of editor or judge who reviews all the submitted work and makes a decision. This can be one person or a whole group of individuals. Judges are usually experienced writers, editors, or publishers themselves.

In general, the judging and selection process follows these steps:

1. Initial screening. This is a general review that filters out work that is low-quality or does not adhere to the rules and guidelines set out by the organizer.
2. Reading and evaluating. This is when the judges/editors read the work, evaluate, and score it. The best work is added to a ‘longlist’. Sometimes there are many rounds of reading after which the very best work is added to a ‘shortlist’.
3. Final selection. This is when the judges select the winner and other writers who will be recognized and awarded for the work they submitted to the event.

During judging, evaluation is usually done based on specific criteria, such as originality, creativity, technique, use of language, plot, and emotional impact. There are many things that competition judges look for, so writers should always try to submit their best work.

The most common mistake the writers make when submitting their work to a writing competition is not following the rules and guidelines! You can be disqualified and forfeit the money you paid to enter if your work doesn’t follow requirements like length, formatting, if you miss the deadline, or if you ignore the theme and genre of the competition.

It is your responsiblity follow the rules and make sure that your writing meets the expectations of the judges!

This depends on the rules of the event you are entering. Many writing competitions do not accept work that has been published previously. Sometimes this restriction is limited only to work published in print, but it can also include work published in other channels such as a blog or website.

Always check the rules and guidelines before entering an event to make sure your writing meets the requirements. Otherwise you risk your work being disqualified if the organizer finds that your writing has aleady been published elsewhere. You can always reach out to the organizer and ask them to confirm their rules on previously published work before you commit to participating.

Generally yes, you can enter multiple competitions at the same time. However, if your work is selected in one event, you may have to withdraw your submission from other events. Always read the competition rules and check with the organizer how they treat work that is submitted to multiple events.

There is no rule and it all depends on the type of competition you are entering and the scale of the event. Usually, you must wait at least a few weeks after the deadline to hear back, but it can also take many months. It is best to be patient and not think too much about when you’ll get a reply. If you are concerned that you have not heard back in a long time, you can always try contacting the organizer to ask for an update.