There are lots of competitions out there. Here are just some of those we think you may be interested in. But do your research and check the terms and conditions.
This isn't an exhaustive list. But if you know of any others you think we should add, please email us. Thanks!
| Competition | Type | Details | Deadline | Link |
| The Henshaw Short Story competition | Short Story | 2000 words max. Any theme. £5 to enter. 1st prize £100, 2nd prize £50. | 10/01/2018 | Got to site |
| The Stinging Fly | Short story / Poetry | Free to submit. Discretionary token payment if published. | 11/01/2018 | Go to site |
| The Keats-Shelley Prize | Poetry | 30 lines max. Themes: Liberty: a celebration of Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound, or an essay, which can be on any aspect of the work or lives of the Romantics and their circles. Free to enter. Cash prizes. |
15/01/2018 | Go to site |
| The Masters Review Short Story Award | Short Story | Emerging writers only. 7000 words max. Any theme. $20 to enter. 1st prize $3000, 2nd prize $200, 3rd prize $100. | 15/01/2018 | Go to site |
| Magma Poetry competition | Poetry | 11-50 lines. £5 to enter. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £300, 3rd prize £150. | 15/01/2018 | Go to site |
| Cúirt New Writing Prize 2018 | Poetry / Short story | Up to 3 poems under 50 lines each. Short stories up to 2000 words. €10 per entry. €500 cash prize for the winner of each category. | 25/01/2018 | Go to site |
| The Bridport Prize | Poetry / Short story / Flash fiction |
Details to follow. To be launched 22/01/2018. Over £18,000 in prize money. | tbd | Go to site |
| Bath Novella in Flash | Novella/Flash Fiction | 6000 - 18000 words in total. Each piece of Flash no more than 1000 words. Any theme but there needs to be some connection between each piece. £16 to enter. 1st prize £300 and £100 for two runners-up. | 29/01/2018 | Got to site |
| The Fiction Desk Ghost Story competition | Short story | 1000 - 7000 words. Ghost theme. £8 to enter. 1st prize £500, 2nd prize £250, 3rd prize £100. | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| The Iowa Review Awards | Poetry, fiction & creative non-fiction | 25 pages of prose or 10 pages of poetry. $20 to enter. 1st prize $1500, 2nd prize $750. | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| Crazyhorse | Fiction, non-fiction & poetry | 2500-8500 words for fiction/non-fiction or 3-5 poems. Entry fee s $20/$35. $2,000 prize. | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| Dark Tales Monthly Short Story contest | Short story | 5000 words max. Horror and speculative fiction. Winning prize £100. | 31/01/2018 | Got to site |
| BBC World Drama International Playwriting competition | Play | A 53 minute play with up to 6 characters plus a synopsis of 400 words max. Free to enter. £2,200 winning prize plus broadcast on BBC World Service. | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| Arundel Festival Theatre Trail | Play | 30-40 minute plays. No reading fee. £250 for the best script. £150 writers fee for each play performed. | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| The Prole Laureate Poetry competition | Poetry | £3 to enter. 1st Prize £200 plus £50 for two runners-up | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| The Plough Prize Poetry competition | Poetry | Short Poem -10 lines, Open Poem - 40 lines. £5 to enter. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £500, 3rd prize £250. | 31/01/2018 | Go to site |
| Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize | Novel | 40-50 pages of novel opening plus 5-10 page novel synopsis. Literary and genre fiction. For unpublished female authors over the age of 21. £12 to enter. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to the Annual Fiction Prize dinner and a free consultation with a literary agent. | 09/02/2018 | Go to site |
| Bath Flash Fiction | Flash Fiction | 300 words max. Any theme. £9 to enter. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £300, 3rd prize £100. | 11/02/2018 | Go to site |
| Writers' and Artists' Yearbook Short Story Competition | Short story | Free to enter. Winning prize an Arvon or Clockhouse writers retreat. | 13/02/2018 | Go to site |
| The Margery Allingham Short Story competition | Short story | 3500 words max. Crime theme. £12 to enter. Winning prize £500. | 28/02/2018 | Go to site |
| Flash 500 | Short story | 1000 - 3000 words. Any theme. £7 to enter. 1st prize £500, 2nd prize £200, 3rd prize £100. | 28/02/2018 | Go to site |
| TSS International Flash Fiction competition | Flash fiction | 500 words max. Any theme. £5 to enter. 1st prize £75, 2nd prize £50, 3rd prize £25. | 28/02/2018 | Go to site |
| 1000 Word Challenge | Short story | 750 - 1000 words. Set at a party. £5 to enter. 1st prize £100, 2nd prize £50, 3rd prize £25 | 28/02/2018 | Go to site |
| Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Competition | Novel | Opening of a crime novel not exceeding 3,000 words and a synopsis of 500-1000 words. For anyone who has yet to publish a novel. £36 to enter. Winning prize £500. | 28/02/2018 | Go to site |
| Nature and Place Poetry competition | Poetry | Poems that deal with any aspect of nature or place. £6 to enter. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £500, 3rd prize place on creative writing course. | 01/03/2018 | Go to site |
| The White Review Short Story Prize | Short story | 2000-7000 words. Any theme. £15 to enter. £2500 winning prize. | 01/03/2018 | Go to site |
| Howard Frank Mosher short fiction prize | Short story | 10000 words max. Any theme. $20 to enter. 1st prize $1000 plus $100 for two runners-up. | 01/03/2018 | Go to site |
| BBC National Short Story Award | Short story | 8000 words max. Any theme. Free to enter. 1st prize £15,000 plus £600 for 4 short-listed entries. | 12/03/2018 | Go to site |
| Writing World, Twisted Mysteries short story competition | Short story | 2500-3000 words. Mystery stories with a twist, set in 1930s. £5 to enter. 1st prize £100, 2nd prize £50, 3rd prize £25. | 30/03/2018 | Go to site |
| The Caterpillar Poetry Prize | Poetry | Poems suitable for 7-11 year olds. €12 to enter. €1000 winning prize. | 31/03/2018 | Go to site |
| Flash 500 | Flash Fiction | 500 words max. Any theme. £5 to enter. 1st prize £300, 2nd prize £200, 3rd prize £100. | 31/03/2018 | Go to site |
| Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize | Short story | Details to follow. Open to black, Asian, minority ethnic writers living in the UK and Ireland. Expected winning prize £1000. | tbd - April | Go to site |
| Tell a Tale - Gothic Fiction Writing Project | Fiction | 500 words max. Gothic fiction using the following quotation from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as inspiration, “It might be possible, of course, that far from being one, we may possess two selves.” Free to enter. Winning prize £300. | 21/04/2018 | Go to site |
| The Bath Short Story Award | Short story | 2200 words max. Any theme. £8 to enter. 1st prize £1200, 2nd prize £300, 3rd prize £100. | 23/04/2018 | Go to site |
| The Bath Novel Award | Novel | 1st prize £2500. Short-listed entries receive manuscript feedback and intros to literary agents. Long-listed entries receive an online professional editing course worth £1800. | 30/04/2018 | Go to site |
| Bristol Short Story Prize | Short story | 4000 words max. Any theme. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £700, 3rd prize £400 plus £100 to remaining 17 short-listed entries. | 01/05/2018 | Go to site |
| The Raymond Carver Short Story Contest | Short story | Entry details to follow. 1st prize $1500, 2nd prize $500, 3rd prize $250 plus two Editors Choice prizes of $125. | 15/05/2018 | Go to site |
| Daniel Goldsmith Associates First Novel Prize | Novel | 50,000 min, adult genre. For unpublished authors. £25 to enter. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £250, 3rd prize £100. | 31/05/2018 | Go to site |
| Reading Room Café competitions | Poetry Short/Flash Fiction |
3o lines max. Emotional distress/mental ill health theme. £4 to enter. Winning prize £100. | 07/06/2018 | Got to site |
| Christopher Fielden's Annual Short Story competition | Short story | 2500 words max. Stories with a humorous twist. £9/£11 to enter. 1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £500, 3rd prize £250 plus smaller cash prizes for highly commended and shortlisted. | 31/07/2018 | Go to site |
| Cinnamon Press Annual Debut Novel/Novella Prize | Novel / Novella | £12 to enter. Winning prize 1 years free mentoring worth £1000. | 31/07/2018 | Go to site |
| The Sean O Faolain International Short Story Prize | Short story | Entry details to follow. Expected 1st prize €2000 plus a week long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat. | 31/07/2018 | Go to site |
| New Voices Competition | Novel | First page of novel and one page synopsis. For those in the early stages of writing their novel. £10 to enter. Winning prize a mentoring package worth £550. | 14/09/2018 | Go to site |
| The Sunday Times Short Story Award | Short story | Details to follow. Entries are expected to open at the end of June and close in late September. Open to anyone published in the UK. Winning prize £30,000. | tbd - September | Go to site |
| Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter Competition | Novel | Opening chapter of no more than 3,000 words, plus 1 page synopsis. Details to follow. Expected to open for submissions in May with entry fee £10. Expected 1st prize £500, 2nd prize £200. | 31/10/2018 | Go to site |
| Commonwealth Short Story Prize | Short story | Details to follow. Expected 1st prize £5000 plus four regional prizes of £2500. | tbd - November | Go to site |
| The Betty Trask Prize | Novel | Details to follow. For first novels in a traditional or romantic style by authors under the age of 35. Free to enter. Expected prize £20,000 which must be spent on foreign travel. | tbd - November | Go to site |