I do my very best to bring you legitimate contests with reasonable or no entry fees, but be sure to your own research on any contest that you are considering. Sometimes I make mistakes.
I found some really fun writing contests for April 2025, and I do hope you find one that interests you. I also found one for March that I missed last month. If you would like to see it, follow this link and scroll down to the last contest listed.
A note on contests without stated themes: Often if I am interested in entering a themeless contest, I will attempt to hunt down previous winning entries. Then I read through them, looking for a common theme or style. Often reading previous winners helps me find inspiration for my own entry. Perhaps this could help you too?
***Quotations are from the competition sites themselves***
Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest
Contest Deadline: August 15, 2024-April 1, 2025
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.
Rights Information:
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.
Ten Minute Play Contest
Contest Deadline: "The contest will open for online submissions on January 8, 2025. The contest will close when either 250 entries are received, or at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on April 1, 2025 (whichever of these happens first)."
Entry Fee: NONE.
Special Requirements: See Age Category.
Theme: None.
Age Category: "Eligible students are in the eleventh grade in the U.S. or international equivalent of the eleventh grade."
Rights Information: You retain ownership to your play.
Prizes: 1st Prize, $500; 2nd Prize, $250; 3rd Prize, $100
One entry per person.
Ten pages max. 1 page = 1 minute
You can find more information here.
The Sophie Coe Prize
Contest Deadline: "...midnight GMT on Friday 25th April 2025."
Entry Fee: FREE
Special Requirements: The instructions, requirements and specifications for entry are very particular, so instead of listing them all, I am instead giving you a link to the contest page, which will answer any special requirement questions.
Theme: "The Sophie Coe Prize is awarded annually to the author of an original, informative article or essay on any aspect of food history relating to any period, place, people or culture. The Trustees wish to emphasise the need for originality in the form of new research or new insights, and remind entrants that the Judges are seeking work that combines excellent research with lively writing."
Age Category: All.
Rights Information: "If appropriate and if not being published elsewhere, the winning entry may be published either in Petits Propos Culinaires or in the series of Oxford Symposium documents. Such publication will carry no fee and will not prejudice the author’s copyright."
Prizes: "The Prize in 2025 will be £1,500, which will not be divided.
The Prize winner will be announced in July 2025 and the Prize awarded. There will be a presentation either virtually or in person at the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery according to its schedule, and the winning candidate will be notified in advance to make it reasonably possible for them to participate in that presentation. The Prize will be paid either by bank transfer or in the form of a cheque in UK sterling."
"Entries will normally range from 2,500 words up to a maximum total of 10,000 words including notes and bibliography."
You can read about the prize's namesake here.
All rules and guides for your submission can be found here.
Author of Tomorrow Award
Contest Entry Period: "...1st March 2025, and close on 30th April 2025, at 23.59pm BST."
Entry Fee: FREE.
Special Requirements: Nothing especially odd. They do mention requiring a photo of you if your story places successfully.
Theme: Adventure stories. See specifics here.
Age Category: 11 & under, 12-15 yrs., 16-21 yrs.
Rights Information: "If your entry is shortlisted it will be published on Worldreader’s BookSmart app under your name. By entering the competition, you agree to your story being published in this way. The story will be online and available free of charge for readers anywhere in the world there is internet. You still own the story.
"We may also publish shortlisted and prizewinning stories (or extracts of them), including for example on our website, social media, and in other materials or publicity for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and The Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation. Your name and age will be published if you are a winner, shortlisted or commended.
"If your entry is shortlisted, we require an image of you to use for promotional purposes, including for example, on our website, social media and in other publicity."
Prizes: "11 and Under | Up to 500 words | Prize: £100, plus £150 book tokens for your school
12-15 years | 1,000 - 2,000 words | Prize: £250, plus £150 book tokens for your school
16-21 years | 1,500 - 3,000 words | Prize: £1,000."
Find information and links to more information via this page. A specific link to T&Cs can be found here.