April Fools! The world hasn’t gone mad! Everything is FINE. There’s no such thing as Coronavirus la la la la la…
Ok, so it’s not a prank. Crap. But we can still find hope and strength and much-needed distraction in fiction. So keep writing. Keep submitting. Head for that #Submit2020 goal. And stay safe, y’hear?
To help you out, we’ve put together over 90 writing competitions, opportunities, and excellent things with deadlines in April 2020, many of them free-to-enter, most of ’em with cash prizes or other great boons and bonuses.
Pick one. Sub one. Give yourself a gold star.
Call Me [Tomorrow]
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Word Limit: Short stories: 4,000 words / Flash fiction: up to 3 pieces of 1,000 words each / Poetry: up to 5 poems
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Tomorrow
More details and submission info HERE
Dead Awake Horror Anthology
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Word Limit: 2,000-6,000 words preferred (top limit 10,000)
Payment: $25
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Unadulterated horror. Slasher, psychological, monsters, clowns, stalkers, cults, demons, witches, whatever the hell you can think of!
More details and submission info HERE
The Globe Soup Spring Travel Writing Competition
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000 words
Prize: £1,000
Entry fee: £5-8
Notes: Entries must be written around the Secret Competition Theme. You won’t find out the theme until after you enter, however it will not restrict where you can write about or how you want to interpret travel writing. Participants are free to write in any style as long as it’s non-fiction.
More details and submission info HERE
Headway Quarterly
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Word Limit: 3,000 words
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Food
More details and submission info HERE
New South Writing Contest
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction: 7,500 words / Poetry: up to 3 poems
Prizes: (in each category) 1st prize: $1,000 / 2nd prize: $250
Entry fee: $18 (includes a year’s subscription to New South)
Notes: Theme: Unadulterated horror. Slasher, psychological, monsters, clowns, stalkers, cults, demons, witches, whatever the hell you can think of!
More details and submission info HERE
Society of Authors Grants for Works in Progress
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Requirements: Application + details of your plans for funding and WIP
Payment: Grants of up to £6,000
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: You have been commissioned by a commercial British publisher to write a full-length work of fiction, poetry, or non-fiction and need funding (in addition to any publisher’s advance) for important research, travel, or other general expenditure OR you are without a contractual commitment with a publisher but have had at least one book published commercially by a British publisher, and there is a strong likelihood that your next book will be published in Britain.
More details and submission info HERE
Tusculum Review Nonfiction Prize
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Word Limit: 2,000-6,500 words
Prize: $1,000 + limited edition chapbook
Entry fee: $15
Notes: Entry fees include a one-year subscription to The Tusculum Review (an annual publication) and consideration for publication.
More details and submission info HERE
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Requirements: Proposal + biography + 10 page writing sample
Prize: $2,500 + a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake, Oregon.
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: The Waterston Desert Prize honours literary nonfiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy – with the desert as both subject and setting.
More details and submission info HERE
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Deadline: 1st April 2020
Line limit: 250 lines
Prizes: 1st prize: $1,000 + 2-year Duotrope subscription / 2nd prize: $250 / 10 x honourable mentions: $100
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Authors from all countries eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions)
More details and submission info HERE
The Writer’s Games
Opens: 1st April 2020
Requirements: For six consecutive weeks, registered participants create short stories that meet the challenges (Events) announced for the week. Each Event lasts 72 hours and no one knows what that week’s challenge might be until the clock starts.
Prize: While the first event is practice, winners from the following five events are published in the Writer’s Games anthology.
Entry fee: FREE
More details and submission info HERE
Déraciné Summer Issue
Deadline: 3rd April 2020
Word Limit: Short stories: 8,000 words / Flash fiction: up to 2 pieces of 1,000 words each / Poetry: 4 poems
Entry fee: FREE
More details and submission info HERE
Voices in the Dark 2020
Deadline: 3rd April 2020
Requirements: Plays (or stand alone extracts which require no further explanation as part of a longer play) of up to 15 minutes for up to 4 people
Prize: 6 plays will be chosen to be staged in one night at Greenwich Theatre.
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Writers must be based in the UK. Voices in the Dark are looking for short plays from emerging writers that seek to explore some of the most pertinent socio-political issues affecting the UK today,
More details and submission info HERE
FAB Prize 2020
Deadline: 4th April 2020
Word Limit: 5,000 word writing sample for children (1-18 years) – can be a sample of a longer work
Prize: £500 + online Faber Academy writing course + a place on a five-part programme: Insights into the Publishing Process + the opportunity to shadow already established authors on school visits.
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Entrants must be of black, Asian or non-white minority ethnic background, and residents of the UK or Ireland.
More details and submission info HERE
Montana Mouthful
Deadline: 6th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Nonfiction: 2,000 words / Flash fiction & Poetry: 1,000 words
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: The Great Outdoors
More details and submissions info HERE
Ellipsis Flash Collection Competition
Deadline: 7th April 2020
Requirements: A collection of flash: 8,000-17,000 (each piece should not exceed 1,000 words)
Prize: The published author will receive 10 complimentary copies and a royalty payment of 25% of each collection sold
Entry fee: £3 (includes digital copy) or £6.50 (includes print copy)
Notes: This call for submissions is only open to authors who have not had a collection/novel/novella published previously, or one forthcoming. Having a single piece within a multi-authored anthology or collection does not exclude you.
More details and submissions info HERE
Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Competition
Deadline: 9th April 2020 (*regular deadline)
Requirements: Original feature-length screenplays (70-160 pages)
Prizes: Up to five $35,000 fellowships + participation in awards week ceremonies and seminars
Entry fee: $63
Notes: *Deadline continues to 1st of May with increased entry fees
More details and submissions info HERE
Puerto del Sol Prose & Poetry Contests
Deadline: 9th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Nonfiction: 25 pages / Poetry: up to 3 poems
Prizes: $500 in each category
Entry fee: $9 (includes one-year subscription)
More details and submissions info HERE
The Cowles Poetry Book Prize
Deadline: 10th April 2020
Requirements: 48-100 pages of poetry
Prize: $2,000 + 30 copies for the author, publication and distribution of a full-length poetry manuscript with a full-colour perfect-bound cover
Entry Fee: $25
More details and submissions info HERE
Eyelands 10th International Short Story Contest
Deadline: 10th April 2020
Word Limit: 2,500 words
Prize: A five-day stay in the island of Serifos
Entry Fee: €10
Notes: Theme: Numbers
More details and submissions info HERE
New Deal Writing Competition
Deadline: 10th April 2020
Word Limit: 10,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $200 / 2nd prize: $100 / 3rd prize: $50
Entry Fee: $5
Notes: Writers are asked to use a painting chosen by the GVCA’s staff as inspiration. This year’s painting is “Down and Out” (1937) by Barnet Braverman (see website)
More details and submissions info HERE
The Popelei Seed Commission 2020
Deadline: 10th April 2020
Requirements: A short monologue (up to 4 mins) for a female character who has had some kind of restriction placed on her liberty
Prizes: 25 pieces will be chosen, and the authors paid £100 each. Actors will self-tape the monologues and the winners will be broadcast online by Popelei
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: The commission is focused on female characters rather than writers and they welcome submissions from writers of all genders. They also welcome writers of any level of experience.
More details and submissions info HERE
Queer Sci Fi Flash Contest
Deadline: 10th April 2020
Word Limit: 300 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $75 / 2nd prize: $50 / 3rd prize: $25
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Innovation. The QSF Flash Contest accepts sci fi, fantasy, paranormal and horror LGBTIQA stories. 120 works will be selected for publication in the QSF anthology
More details and submissions info HERE
Oberon Poetry Prize
Deadline: 13th April 2020
Requirements: Up to 3 poems (2 pages max per poem)
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $18
More details and submission info HERE
The Red Planet Prize
Deadline: 13th April 2020
Requirements: An existing original full length spec script (TV, film, radio or theatre) + 1-2 page pitch and logline for an original TV serial or series idea for ITV + writing CV
Prize: Up to 10 shortlisted writers will be invited to a one day pitching master-class and will then have 3 weeks to write up their pitch and series outline. 4 writers will be invited to final interview to discuss their idea. The winner of the competition will get a script commission for their submitted pitch as well as development opportunities. The runners up will also be provided with development opportunities.
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Unmissable 4-Part Thriller – this could be a psychological, conspiracy, relationship, crime, or political thriller OR Returning Procedural series – this could include crime, medical and legal, where the authenticity and diversity of the world, the characters and their relationships hook you in week after week.
More details and submission info HERE
The Other Stories
Deadline: 13th April 2020
Word Limit: 2,000 words
Payment: $5 + accepted stories will be recorded for The Other Stories podcast
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Big Brother. Genre: horror, scifi, thriller.
More details and submission info HERE
Xposed
Deadline: 13th April 2020
Requirements: Plays and monologues of up to 15 minutes (no more than 4 characters)
Prize: A selection of scripts will be performed at Southwark Playhouse, London on Sunday 14th June at 7pm.
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Plays must explore LGTBQ+ themes. Authors must be UK based.
More details and submissions info HERE
The Alpine Fellowship Prizes
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Requirements: Writing prize: 2,500 words / Theatre prize: 500 word treatment + 10 page sample of previous work + 3-4 sample of proposed script/ Academic writing prize: 4,000 words
Prizes: Writing prize: 1st: £10,000, 2nd: £3,000, 3rd: £2,000 / Theatre & Academic writing prizes: 1st: £3,000 / Runners up will be invited to attend the Fjällnäs symposium to exhibit their work, all food and accommodation covered. Travel expenses will be reimbursed up to a total of £500.
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Forgiveness & retribution
More details and submission info HERE
Chance Encounters Travel Writing Competition
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000-1,500 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $100 / up to 3 finalists will also receive the standard writers’ fee
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Write a true travel story about an interesting conversation, quirky character or unexpected encounter that occurred during your travels.
More details and submission info HERE
The Compassion Anthology
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,500 words
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Hope and the human spirit
More details and submission info HERE
Everything Change Climate Fiction Contest
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 5,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $1,000 / 9 runners-up: $100
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Climate change
More details and submission info HERE
Mason Street Review: A Flash of Summer
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000 words
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Genre: science fiction / speculative / slipstream
More details and submission info HERE
Michigan Quarterly Review
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Non-fiction:1,500-7,000 words / Poetry: 3-5 poems (12 pages max)
Payment: $30
Entry Fee: $3
Notes: Theme: Persecution. All fiction accepted for publication is passed on to a judge as a finalist for the $2,000 Lawrence Prize.
More details and submissions info HERE
Neutrino Short-Short Prize
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000 words
Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Notes:One or more honourable mentions may also be selected and published.
More details and submissions info HERE
New Ohio Press Prizes
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & non-fiction: 20 pages / Poetry: 6 pages
Prizes: $1,500 in each category
Entry Fee: $22
More details and submissions info HERE
Panther Creek Book Award in Non-fiction
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Requirements: An original, unpublished, full length work of non-fiction
Prize: $1,000 + publication
Entry fee: $20
More details and submission info HERE
Parsec Short Story Contest
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 3,500 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $200 / 2nd prize: $100 / 3rd prize $50
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Foraging. All stories must be of the Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror genres.
More details and submissions info HERE
Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel Journal
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction: 3,000 words / Poetry: up to 5 poems
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Appalachian Edge
More details and submissions info HERE
Slope Editions 2020 Book Prize
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Requirements: 40-90 pages of poetry
Prize: $1,000 + publication
Entry fee: $25
More details and submission info HERE
Spoon River Editor’s Prize Contest
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Requirements: Up to 3 poems (10 pages max)
Prizes: 1st prize: $1,000 / 2x runners-up: $100
Entry fee: $20 (includes one-year subscription to SRPR)
Notes: All winning poems, honourable mentions, and several finalists are published in the winter issue of SRPR
More details and submission info HERE
Stonecoast Review
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Creative nonfiction: 5,000 words / Poetry: up to 3 poems (50 lines each)
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Superstition. Stonecoast Review offers feedback on 10% of declined submissions
More details and submission info HERE
The Trench Coat Chronicles
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Word Limit: 500-3,500 words each
Payment: $10
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Stories must be on a murder mystery theme and include a trench coat
More details and submission info HERE
Zone 3 Press Book Award
Deadline: 15th April 2020
Requirements: 48-80 pages of poetry
Prize: $1,000 + publication
Entry fee: $20
More details and submission info HERE
Pen Parentis Fellowship
Deadline: 17th April 2020
Word Limit: 710 words
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $15 for 1 story, $20 for 2, $10 per story thereafter
Notes: Applicants must be the parent of at least one child under 10 years old
More details and submission info HERE
QuietManDave Prize
Deadline: 17th April 2020
Word Limit: Flash fiction & flash non-fiction: 500 words
Prizes (in each category): 1st prize: £1,000 / 2nd prize: £200 / 3rd prize: £50
Entry Fee: £5 (sponsored entries are available for those who might not otherwise be able to participate; you can also sponsor entries for someone else)
More details and submission info HERE
Green Stories Full Length Screenplay Competition
Deadline: 18th April 2020
Requirements: Full-length film screenplays that in some way touch upon ideas around building a sustainable society: 90-120 pages
Prizes: 1st prize: £500 / 2nd prize: £100 / 3rd prize: £50
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: BBC Writersroom, Red Production Company and Picture Zero Productions will also read the top entries.
More details and submission info HERE
BBC Writers’ Academy
Deadline: 19th April 2020
Requirements: CV + agent details (if applicable) + an original drama script (minimum 30 mins) + a story idea concerning a regular character on one of the Continuing Drama shows (max 1 page)
Prizes: The BBC Studios Writers’ Academy will give a minimum of eight writers a year’s paid training, with guaranteed commissions on the BBC’s flagship shows as well as the chance to develop an original project with BBC Studios, or one of the BBC’s independent production partners.
Entry Fee: FREE
More details and submission info HERE
Middleground
Deadline: 19th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Nonfiction: 2,500 words / Poetry: up to 3 poems
Payment: All contributors will be paid a small fee
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Middleground focuses on the voices of mixed race people.
More details and submission info HERE
Bath Short Story Award
Deadline: 20th April 2020
Word Limit: 2,200 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £1,200 / 2nd prize: £300 / 3rd prize: £100 / Local prize: £50 / Acorn Award: £100
Entry Fee: £8
More details and submission info HERE
BBC Script Room (Comedy)
Deadline: 20th April 2020
Requirements: A comedy script of at least 30 full pages in length for TV, film, radio, stage or online
Prizes: A group of writers (usually between 10 and 15) will be selected to join the BBC Comedy Room writer development group for 2020/21.
Entry Fee: FREE
More details and submission info HERE
Leicester Writers Short Story Prize
Deadline: 20th April 2020
Word Limit: 3,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £125 / 2nd prize: £50 / 3rd prize: £25
Entry Fee: £7 (Writers from Leicestershire can submit for a discounted fee of £3. Entry is free for current students at De Montfort University, Loughborough University and University of Leicester)
Notes:A longlist of a maximum of 20 stories will be published in an anthology.
More details and submissions info HERE
The Medley
Deadline: 20th April 2020
Word Limit: Prose: 2,500 words / Poetry: up to 3 poems
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Dissent
More details and submissions info HERE
The Page International Screenwriting Awards
Deadline: 20th April 2020
Requirements: Full-Length Features: 80-120 pages / Short Film Scripts: 30 pages / TV Drama Pilots: 50-70 pages / TV Comedy Pilots: 25-45 pages
Prize: Grand prize: $25,000 + a full fellowship to the Nostos Screenwriting Retreat in Tuscany / Gold prize: $1,000 / Silver prize: $500 / Bronze prize: $250
Entry Fee: $75
Notes: Winners will also receive promo packages and gift card prizes.
More details and submissions info HERE
Science Me A Story
Deadline: 20th April 2020
Length: 1-4 pages
Prizes: 1st prize: £150 / 2nd prize: £100 / 3rd prize: £50 in each category
Entry Fee: £5 for the first poem, £4 for the second, £3.50 thereafter
Notes: The topic should be related to science, the scientific method, the research process and scientific discovery, the everyday life of a scientist, and others alike. The contest has two categories: stories in Spanish and stories in English.
More details and submission info HERE
Falling Star Magazine
Deadline: 22nd April 2020
Word Limit: 2,000-5,000 words
Payment: $20
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Twenty
More details and submission info HERE
Pocket Samovar
Deadline: 24th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Nonfiction: 5,000 words / Poetry: 3-5 poems
Entry fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: Dislocation/hyphenation
More details and submission info HERE
A3 Review
Deadline: 25th April 2020
Word Limit: 150 words
Prizes: The two winning entries from each month’s contest will be published in Issue #13 of The A3 Review in early October 2020. Winners will also receive contributor copies and Writing Maps. Three overall winners of the March till August contests will receive cash prizes: 1st = £250, 2nd = £150, 3rd = £75
Entry Fee: £3
Notes: Theme: Hospitals
More details and submission info HERE
Sixfold
Deadline: 23rd April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction: 20 pages / Poetry: 1-5 poems (10 pages max)
Prizes: $1,000 in each category
Entry Fee: $5
Notes: All entrants must read, comment, and vote on 6 randomly assigned manuscripts in their chosen genre for the 3 rounds of the contest.
More details and submission info HERE
The Julia & Martin Wilson Short Story Prize
Deadline: 26th April 2020
Word limit: 2,000 words
Prize: £400
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: There is also a prize for entrants under the age of 16
More details and submission info HERE
Penguin: WriteNow
Deadline: 26th April 2020
Requirements: Application form + 1,000 word writing sample
Opportunity: A free workshop on getting published (in London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast) + one-to-one feedback from a Penguin editor + the chance to join a year-long programme with support from an editor + the chance to get your book published with Penguin
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: WriteNow is open to any unpublished writers based in the UK and Ireland, who identify as coming from an under-represented background or community.
More details and submission info HERE
Habinteg 2020 Essay Prize
Deadline: 27th April 2020
Word Limit: 2,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £2,500 + the opportunity to take up a weeklong placement with the Centre for Accessible Environments / 2nd prize: £500
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Entries are welcome from any resident of the UK or overseas student studying at a UK institution. The Habinteg 2020 Prize competition is open to both academic and non-academic entries. Disabled people are particularly encouraged to enter, as well as students of subjects such as disability studies, occupational therapy, architecture or inclusive design.
More details and submission info HERE
Is Royalty Relevant? Poetry Competition
Deadline: 27th April 2020
Line Limit: 50 words
Prize: £200
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Entries should be about a member or members of royal families from countries around the world.
More details and submission info HERE
Love in the Time of Corona
Deadline: 27th April 2020
Requirements: Monologues or single voice plays of no more than 10 minutes
Prizes: 10 prizes of £350
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Your character should be in lockdown and feel compelled to speak. They may be using technology to communicate. Entries must be suitable for an audience of children or young people in one of the following targeted age range categories: Cat A: 7-11 yrs / Cat B: 12-14 yrs / Cat C: 15-18 yrs
More details and submission info HERE
Grindstone International Short Story Competition
Deadline: 28th April 2020
Word Limit: 3,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £500 / 2nd prize: £200 / 4x runners up: £50
Entry Fee: £8
Notes: Feedback optional for an additional £8
More details and submissions info HERE
87 Bedford Historic Fantasy Anthology
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000-5,000 words
Payment: $0.08 per word
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: 87 Bedford is seeking stories that offer a riveting reimagining of a historic time period imbued with fantasy and magic.
More details and submissions info HERE
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: 48-100 pages of poetry
Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
More details and submissions info HERE
The Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: 1-3 poems (10 pages max)
Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Notes: A limited number of complimentary entries are available to poets for whom the fee presents a hardship.
More details and submissions info HERE
Amsterdam Quarterly
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: Fiction & Nonfiction: 3,000 words / Poetry: up to 2 pages
Payment: 2 copies of the yearbook
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Theme: The weather
More details and submissions info HERE
Bristol Short Story Prize
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 4,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £1,000 / 2nd prize: £500 / 3rd prize: £250 / 17 runners-up: £100
Entry Fee: £9
Notes: 20 stories will be shortlisted and published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 13. All shortlisted writers will receive 2 free copies of the anthology.
More details and submissions info HERE
Broken Sleep Books
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: Up to 3 poems
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Broken Sleep Books is looking for submissions of poetry for our video game anthology. We want works that explore video games and video game consoles starting with the NES in 1985, through to the Dreamcast in 1998 – with all consoles and games in between.
More details and submissions info HERE
Coast to Coast: Individual Poet Journal Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: 12 pages of poetry (24 lines per page)
Prizes: Two poets will receive 15 copies of their journal with hand stitched covers
Entry Fee: £11
More details and submissions info HERE
Craft Short Fiction Prize
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 5,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $2,000 / 2nd prize: $500 / 3rd prize: $300
Entry Fee: $20
More details and submissions info HERE
Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,500 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £150 / 2nd prize: £75 / 3rd prize: £50
Entry Fee: £5 for ! entry, £8 for 2, £10 for 3
Notes: A selection of short- and long-listed stories from each competition will be published in forthcoming anthologies.
More details and submissions info HERE
Didcote Writers Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 500 words (prose, script or poetry; fiction or non-fiction; a complete story or an extract of a longer work)
Entry Fee: FREE (for first entry, £5 for subsequent entries)
Notes: Theme: A fundamental change
More details and submissions info HERE
DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press Chapbook Contest
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: 18-44 pages of prose, poetry, or a combination
Prize: $1,000 + publication
Entry Fee: $20
Notes: All finalists will also be considered for publication
More details and submissions info HERE
Force Majeure Flash Contest
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000 words/5 pages
Prizes: 1st prize: $300 / 2x runners-up: $100
Entry Fee: 1 flash: $5 (includes e-book of prize issue) / 3 flashes: $12 (includes print copy of prize issue)
More details and submissions info HERE
The Fiction Desk General Short Story Submissions
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,000-20,000 words
Payment: £20 per 1,000 words
Entry Fee: £3
Notes: ‘General’ submissions includes the range of styles and genres that feature in The Fiction Desk anthologies: literary or general fiction, light supernatural or science fiction, and combinations of those.
More details and submissions info HERE
The Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,500-10,000 words
Prize: 1st prize: $1,000 / 2x honourable mentions: $250
Entry Fee: $20
Notes: Submissions must contain a paranormal or supernatural theme, as well as magic realism.
More details and submissions info HERE
Grist ProForma Contest
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: Short stories: 5,000 words / Shorter work: up to 5 pieces
Prize: $1,200
Entry Fee: $18
More details and submissions info HERE
Madness Heart: Devouring Earth
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 1,500 minimum
Payment: $5
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Devouring Earth is looking for stories of massive monsters causing mayhem, from strange things rising from the ocean to dragons emerging from subway tunnels.
More details and submissions info HERE
The Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: Poetry manuscripts of 48–84 page
Prizes: 1st prize: $1,000 / 2x runners-up: $250
Entry Fee: $25
More details and submissions info HERE
Omnidawn Single Poem Broadside Poetry Contest
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Line Limit: 8-24 lines
Prize: $1,000 + letterpress publication of the broadside by Omnidawn + 50 free copies
Entry Fee: $10 for first poem, $5 thereafter
More details and submissions info HERE
Poetry International Prize
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: Up to 3 poems
Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15 for first entry (up to 3 poems), $3 per poem thereafter
More details and submissions info HERE
ScreenCraft Comedy Screenplay Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: Feature screenplays: 75-150 pages / Short screenplays: 7-35 pages / TV pilots: 25-75 pages
Prizes: Grand Prize: $1,000 + a personal introduction to top literary managers / Feature, Pilot & Short category prizes: $500 each
Entry Fee: $79
More details and submissions info HERE
ScreenCraft Film Fund
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: A completed screenplay + cover letter
Prizes: $10,000-30,000 in film production financing
Entry Fee: $59
More details and submissions info HERE
ScreenCraft Horror Screenplay Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020 (*early deadline)
Requirements: Feature screenplays: 75-150 pages / Short screenplays: 7-35 pages / TV pilots: 25-75 pages
Prizes: Grand Prize: $1,000 + a personal introduction to top literary managers / Feature, Pilot & Short category prizes: $500 each
Entry Fee: $49
Notes: *Deadline extends to June with increased fees
More details and submissions info HERE
SI Leeds Literary Prize
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: A finished novel manuscript + 500 word synopsis
Prize: 1st prize: £3,000 / 2nd prize: £1,250 / 3rd prize: £750
Entry Fee: £10
Notes:The SI Leeds Literary Prize is open to Black and Asian women writers aged 18 or over, based in the UK and writing fiction in English.
More details and submissions info HERE
Soundwork Short Story Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 2,500 words
Prize: The winner will have the story recorded by a professional actor and placed on Soundcloud and the soundwork-uk.co.uk website along with a photo.
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Stories may have been published elsewhere.
More details and submissions info HERE
Trio House Press Book Awards
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: 48-70 pages of poetry
Prize: $1,000 + 20 copies
Entry Fee: $25
Notes: The Trio Award for First or Second Book is only open to poets with fewer than two books published
More details and submissions info HERE
Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature International Literary Residency 2020
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Requirements: Application form + biography/CV + extracts from published texts (in English or Russian) or a fragment of a translation (from Russian into another language): up to 2 pages + recommendation letter
Prize: €1,000 + one month residency in Ulyanovsk city centrewith a photo.
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Applicants must have an interest in Russian culture and literature + least one officially published book (fiction or non-fiction) (or screenplay, script or translation from Russian into another language). Writers will be asked to write a text (work of fiction or non-fiction) that will feature the City of Ulyanovsk (min. 15 000 characters with spaces)
may have been published elsewhere.
More details and submissions info HERE
Ver Poets Open Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Line Limit: 30 lines
Prizes: 1st prize: £600 / 2nd prize: £300 / 3rd prize: £100
Entry Fee: £4 per poem, 3 for £10, £3 per poem thereafter
More details and submissions info HERE
Ware Open Poetry Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Line Limit: 50 lines
Prizes: 1st prize: £600 / 2nd prize: £300 / 3rd prize: £150 / The Ware Sonnet Prize: £150
Entry Fee: £4 per poem, £12 for 4 poems, £3 per poem thereafter
More details and submissions info HERE
WOW Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: 200-1,000 words
Prizes: 1st prize: $500 / 2nd prize: $300 / 3rd prize: $200 / 7x runners-up: $25 Amazon gift voucher
Entry Fee: $12
Notes: Optional critique available for an additional $13
More details and submissions info HERE
Worcestershire Litfest Flash Fiction Competition
Deadline: 30th April 2020
Word Limit: Up to 3 entries of 300 words
Prizes: 1st prize: £50 / 2nd prize: £25 / 3rd prize: £10
Entry Fee: £4 for 1 story / £10 for 3
More details and submissions info HERE
Ad Hoc Fiction (RECURRING)
Deadline: Various (weekly)
Word Limit: 150 words
Prize: Free entry to the Bath Flash Fiction Award
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Entries must include the prompt word (see website for latest deadline). Once submissions are closed, entries are published for public voting on the Ad Hoc site.
More details and submissions info HERE
Third Word Press Great Eighty Challenge (RECURRING)
Deadline: Rolling
Word Limit: Exactly 80 words
Prize: Royalties on publication
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Title not included in word count (but limited to 6 words).
More details and submissions info HERE
Faber Academy QuickFic (RECURRING)
Deadline: Weekly (new prompt every Friday)
Word Limit: 250 words
Prize: A selection of books
Entry Fee: FREE
Notes: Stories must be in response to a weekly prompt posted each Friday at 9.50am
More details and submissions info HERE
If you have a writing competition or opportunity to add to our May listings, contact [email protected] before the 31st of April.
Please note: We rarely list contests with an entry fee of over £20 (with the exception of scriptwriting and chapbook competitions) unless they also offer free entries for low income writers.
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