As always, I do my very best to bring you legitimate contests with reasonable or no entry fees. But I am human, and all humans make mistakes. Do your own research on any contest that you are considering. This could also improve your chances of winning, as you will be more familiar with what the contest hosts are looking for.
Writing is hard work -- don't forget to have fun!
***Quotations are from the competition sites themselves***
2-Day Poem Contest
Contest Deadline: "12 AM (CDT) April 19, 2024 (when Friday becomes Saturday) to 12 AM (CDT) April 21, 2024 (when Sunday becomes Monday)."
Entry Fee: "'Play & Read' discount – $26. Includes registration plus a 1-year subscription to CV2 magazine. You save over 60% off our standard subscription price." The second option is "Registration only – $16."
Special Requirements: Must use all 10 words given.
Theme: None.
Age Category: None.
Prizes: 1st Prize, $500 + one-year subscription and publication in CV2 magazine;
2nd Prize, $300 + one-year subscription and publication in CV2 magazine;
3rd Prize, $150 + one-year subscription and publication in CV2 magazine. There are a few more prizes, but you can go find them on CV2's website.
The gist of the contest as I understand it is this: you have a 48 hour window to write a really good poem incorporating 10 words that will be only be available during the time that the contest is live.
Contemporary Verse 2, does not tell you what rights they ask for your poem if you win, so I sent them an email, and this is part of the reply I received. "2-Day Contest winners are published in the Fall Issue of CV2. We purchase first North American serial print rights and limited, non-exclusive digital rights to the poem, while you would retain full copyright over the work."
As I am not an expert, you should look up the definitions of these rights yourself.
You can find the full guidelines here.
You can find last year's winning poems here.
Listen To A Life Story Contest
Contest Deadline: April 12, 2024, 11:59 pm Eastern Time
Entry Fee: FREE
Special Requirements: "Open only to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia ("United States") and Canada (except Quebec) who are 8-18 years of age. Co-entrant must be living and 50 years or older."
Theme: Life Story
Age Category: "young people 8-18 years, with a grandparent or grandfriend 50 years or older (cannot be a parent)."
Prizes: "One Grand Prize Timeless Award winner receives a beautiful keepsake art piece from Cedar Lake Studios – which offers a curated selection of finely-crafted, unique, inspired art and gifts created by Canadian artisans – along with $100 cash. 7 Legacy Awards receive a keepsake mini chest. One GTB (Greater Tkaronto Bioregion) EcoLegacy Award winner receives $250 cash. All winners also receive a framed award certificate and an autographed copy of Dream, an award-winning bestseller about hopes and dreams across a lifetime, through history, and into the future."
Entry must be no more than 300 words in length.
The contest has three steps:
Read Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes by Susan V. Bosak
Listen to a grandparent or grandfriend tell about their life
Write your essay based off of what you learned from the interview with your grandparent/grandfriend. Keep it 300 words or under.
You can find a post explaining why Legacy Project thinks you should enter.
You can find the full rules here.
Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest
Contest Deadline: April 1st, 2024
Entry Fee: FREE
Special Requirements: "Authors from all countries eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus (due to US government restrictions)."
Theme: None.
Age Category: None.
Prizes: "First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value), Second Prize: $500, Third Prize: $250, Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each. Top 13 entries published online."
You can find the guidelines page here. See other links on the same page for more information.
Writing Magic 500 Word Short Story Contest
Contest Deadline: April 1st, 2024.
Entry Fee: $10 USD (if money is a big issue for you, Sadie does have a few free spots.)
Special Requirements: Your entry must be no longer than 500 words.
Theme: "The story can be about anything magical. Maybe it’s something that you’ve experienced in real life or it’s something you’ve created. Maybe it’s the start of a great idea. Maybe it’ll be the thing that inspires you to finally publish your book."
Age Category: None found.
Prizes: Winner, $500 USD; Runner-Up, $150 USD.
This contest is run by Sadie Tells Stories. The website is beautiful, by the way.
If you would like to see past winners, go to Sadie Tells Stories, and hover on the Writing Contests tab. You'll see all of the stories and be able to choose one.
Ten Minute Play Contest
Contest Deadline: "The contest will close when either 250 entries have been received or on Monday, April 1, 2024, at 1 p.m. (ET) — whichever happens first."
Entry Fee: FREE
Special Requirements: "Eligible students are in the eleventh grade in the U.S. (or international equivalent of the eleventh grade)"
Theme: None
Age Category:
Prizes: 1st Prize, $500; 2nd Prize, $250; 3rd Prize, $100
One entry per person.
Ten pages max. 1 page = 1 minute
You can find the rules page here.
# GWstorieseverywhere
Contest Deadline: Run monthly. See website.
Entry Fee: FREE
Special Requirements: Entry must be "original and unpublished."
Theme: Otherworldly
Age Category: None found
Prizes: One Gotham Writers class of your choosing (excluding premium classes). Your entry will also be posted on GothamWriters.com.
This contest is run monthly. A max of 25 words, and no more than 280 characters. This includes all spaces, and the hashtag #GWstorieseverywhere. Gotham Writers gives a new theme for each month. April's theme is Otherworldly. Once your story is complete, you post it on X (formerly Twitter), with the above hashtag.
Please do take the time to read their blog post with tips on writing a winning entry in this contest. You can find it here.
The full guidelines are found right here.