These are 28 contests for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, as well as for playwrights and journalists; all of these are free to enter, with prizes up to $10,000. Apart from these prizes, please also see our list of grants, residencies, and fellowships for writers in March and beyond, with awards up to $75,000. – S. Kalekar
PRIZES OPEN FOR INTERNATIONAL SUBMISSIONS
Baltimore Science Fiction Society Poetry Contest
For this contest, poets are required to submit poetry on science fiction/fantasy/horror/science themes. Up to 3 entries are allowed per person, of up to 60 lines each. Winners will receive a cash prize, convention membership and be invited to read their winning entries at Balticon. Attendance at Balticon is not required to win. Their submission form also says, entries received after 1 March will be automatically entered in next year’s contest.
Value: $100, $75, $50
Deadline: 1 March 2022
Open for: All poets
Details here.
Hippocrates Young Poets Prize for Poetry and Medicine
This is an annual international award for an unpublished poem on a medical subject. Poems must be no more than 50 lines in length and not have previously been published in any form. They must be written in English. They also have prizes for adults and medical professionals, which have an entry fee, and an earlier deadline.
Value: £500
Deadline: 1 March 2022
Open for: All poets ages 14-18
Details here and here.
Deep Wild: Student Essay Contest
This is a contest for students currently enrolled in graduate studies. Send an essay of up to 3,000 words that is backcountry infused and inspired.
Value: Unspecified cash prize for up to three authors, publication
Deadline: 1 March 2022
Open for: Students enrolled in graduate studies
Details here.
Earth Journalism Network: Two grants
For the two grants below, applications are open to journalists (or groups of journalists for a cross-border project) worldwide, working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with investigative reporting experience and a history of covering environmental issues. It is for both freelance and staff journalists from all mediums, including community-based outlets. Proposals that focus on topics or stories that have not been widely covered are preferred. Applications can be in English, Spanish, French, Bahasa Indonesia and Portuguese.
— Ocean Media Initiative Story Grants — Covering the High Seas: These reporting grants are for journalists worldwide. “We welcome story ideas that focus on the high seas – their importance and connection to climate change, biodiversity and other global issues; the threats they face; and ongoing efforts to protect and manage these areas, such as the UN’s efforts to negotiate the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty.
Journalists may explore the impacts of ocean acidification and eutrophication, marine pollution, IUU/overfishing, seabed exploration and deep-sea mining, and the challenges and opportunities pertaining to governance and conservation, among other topics.” Applications from coastal countries are preferred.
Value: 10 grants of average $1,200 each
Deadline: 2 March 2022
Open for: Journalists worldwide
Details here.
— Coastal Resilience Story Grants: EJN is offering reporting grants to journalists worldwide on coastal resilience themes – “including ecosystem rehabilitation, livelihood and food security, shelter and infrastructure, land use and development, managed retreat and more. We are particularly interested in cross-border collaborations and stories that explore similar efforts and shared solutions (including living shorelines, reef and island restoration and more) across regions.” Applicants can be from any country in the world; applicants from coastal countries reporting on their home communities are preferred.
Value: 15 grants of average $1,000 each
Deadline: 7 March 2022
Open for: Journalists worldwide
Details here.
(They have other opportunities listed as well; at the time of writing, the opportunities listed on the page were for journalists in Kenya, Malaysia, and East Africa. Their website has several resources for all environmental journalists, as well.)
Green Stories Writing Competition for 11-18s
They want a short story (2,000-5,000 words, and a synopsis) by writers ages 11-18. Entries must either present a positive vision of what a sustainable society might look like or include green solutions/policies/characters in the context of an otherwise mainstream story. It does not have to have an explicitly green theme. Conversely, stories that have an explicitly green theme but simply point out problems without including solutions also will not meet the criteria. Entrants must show they have read at least one chapter from successfully published pieces from the Green Stories project (which you can download from their website).
Value: £200
Deadline: 3 March 2022
Open for: Writers ages 11-18
Details here.
On the Premises Short Story Contest: Arrival
This is a short fiction contest. They want a story on the ‘Arrival’ theme, of 1,000-5,000 words, in which, in the first sentence, one or more characters arrive at a location and find something unexpected.
Value: $250, $200, $150, $75
Deadline: 4 March 2022
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
Platform Presents: 2022 Playwright’s Prize
This is an open call for distinctive, dynamic plays. Submit your script of up to 10,000 words. The prize includes ongoing mentoring and producing the winning script, as well as a cash prize.
Value: £5,000, mentoring, production
Deadline: 7 March 2022
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
The UC Berkeley-11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowships
The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism offers 10 postgraduate Food and Farming Journalism Fellowships, for print and audio journalists. “Aimed at early and mid career journalists, the fellowship presents an opportunity to report ambitious long form print and audio stories on the full range of subjects under the rubric of food systems: agricultural and nutritional policy, the food industry, food science, technology and culture, rural and urban farming, agriculture and the environment, food and climate change, global trade and supply chains, consolidation and securitization of the food system and public health as it relates to food and farming.” Preference is for U.S. focused stories, but they’ll also consider international stories with a strong U.S. angle or connection. Applications should include a one-page pitch with a clearly defined story idea. There will be in-person meetings/workshops at Berkeley in June and November (Covid permitting); travel and lodging expenses will be covered by the fellowship.
Value: $10,000 each for 10 journalists + travel and lodging covered for in-person meetings
Deadline: 15 March 2022
Open for: Early and mid-career print and audio journalists
Details here.
Limp Wrist: 2022 Glitter Bomb Award
Limp Wrist publishes the work of LGBTQ poets, non-binary poets, and their allies; read more about them here. Writers can send up to three poems, each poem a maximum of two pages. Submissions are open internationally, to any poet writing in English—other languages are okay to include, as long as the majority of the poem is in English. Translations are not eligible.
Value: $600; $50 for honorable mentions
Deadline: 24 March 2022
Open for: LGBTQ/Nonbinary poets and their allies
Details here and here.
Invisible City: Blurred Genres Flash Contest 2022
Invisible City is an online publication of the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco. Their contest will open in March. Contest submissions must be 750 words or less and can be flash fiction, prose poetry, or some unique combination of the two.
Value: $500, $200, $100
Submission period: 1-31 March 2022
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Shady Grove Literary Flash Fiction Contest
They have a quarterly contest of flash fiction, in any style or genre.
You can read previous winners, including last year’s winner, here. The contest runs every quarter, with deadlines at the end of March, June, September, and December – information about deadlines is here. Runners-up get publication on their website.
Value: $100
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (contest rules) and here (prizes).
BreakBread Magazine: Villena Aldama Art & Writing Contest
This contest is for writers under 25 years. Writers are invited to submit work in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art/hybrid forms that adheres to BreakBread Magazine’s submission guidelines. BreakBread publishes work by creatives under the age of 25.
Value: $250 in each genre
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Open for: Writers under 25
Details here and here.
Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award
This international grant is for supporting the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. She or he may choose activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. This is for an emerging writer (see guidelines). The application process includes a writing sample – an unpublished piece of crime fiction, written with an adult audience in mind. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress, 2,500 to 5,000 words.
Value: $2,000; the winner can choose from a range of activities
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Open for: Writers of color
Details here.
America Media: The Foley Poetry Contest
For the contest, they want an unpublished poem of 45 lines or fewer. Apart from the contest, this Catholic magazine is also open for general submissions.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
(They also administer the George W. Hunt, S.J., Prize for Excellence in Journalism, Arts & Letters and for this cycle it is for cultural or historical critics. The prize is $20,000, and self-nominations are not permitted. In 2023, the prize will be for a poet; in 2024, for a journalist; and in 2025, for a fiction writer or dramatist.)
The Restless Book Prize for New Immigrant Writing
This is a prize for a debut literary work by a first-generation immigrant. The prize alternates between fiction and non-fiction. For this cycle, they are reading non-fiction manuscripts. Non-fiction submissions can take the form of a memoir, a collection of essays, or a book-length work of narrative non-fiction. The submission should address some combination of identity, the meeting of cultures and communities, immigration and migration, and today’s globalized society. Non-fiction submissions must consist of either a complete manuscript, or a sample of at least 25,000 words and a detailed proposal that includes a synopsis and an annotated table of contents. All submissions must be in English (translations welcome). Candidates must not have previously published a book of non-fiction in English. Apart from the cash prize, the winner also gets publication.
Value: $10,000
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Open for: First-generation residents of their country
Details here.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
This prize is for humor poetry. Submit a poem of up to 250 lines.
Value: $2,000 and a subscription to Duotrope; second prize of $500; 10 prizes of $100 each
Deadline: 1 April 2022
Open for: All poets
Details here.
The Fountain Essay Contest: Revival
They want an essay on the topic (post-Covid) ‘Revival’. See guidelines for details on the theme. Ideal length is 1,500-2,500 words. Read the FAQ carefully, any of the entries may be published, whether or not they win the prize.
Value: $1,000, $500, $300; two prizes of $150 each
Deadline: 1 April 2022
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Robert Louis Stevenson Fable Competition
This is for writers globally – write a fable in up to 350 words, in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson; and they accept entries from minors as well as multiple entries. See the website for tips and examples of appropriate themes. Please read the guidelines carefully, all entrants grant the Robert Louis Stevenson Club the right to publish any entries. This project supports Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
Value: £500, £100
Deadline: 2 April 2022
Open for: All writers
Details here.
A couple of contests with later deadlines are:
— Coastal Shelf: Two contests: They will be open for two contests with cash prizes; writers can send one fee-free submission for each contest. The FuPo Poetry Contest is for “funny and poignant” poems; and the Ceiling 250 Contest is for very short fiction or prose poetry under 250 words long. The prize is $500 for each contest, and non-winning entries will be considered for the journal, which pays $30. The reading period for the contest is 1-30 April 2022. Also, regular submissions to this journal are usually charged, but they have some fee-free periods. Details here.
— The Black Orchid Novella Award: This is an international contest for novellas (15,000-20,000 words) that confirm to the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series. They should focus on the deductive skills of the sleuth. They are not looking for derivatives of the Nero Wolfe series, or the milieu. They accept mailed submissions only. The prize is $1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and the deadline is 31 May 2022 (postmarked). Details here.
PRIZES FOR WRITERS IN THE US AND CANADA
The Waterman Fund Essay Contest
The contest is for emerging US and Canadian writers. Essays should be 2,000 to 3,000 words. Their guidelines say, “We have no specific prompt for the 2022 essay contest. Just keep in mind when you pick up your pens or turn on your computers that Laura and Guy Waterman spent a lifetime exploring, living, and writing within the boundaries of culture and nature, and through our annual contest, the Waterman Fund seeks new voices on the role and place of wilderness in today’s world. Please send us your essays on what the wild and wilderness means to you.” They welcome personal, scientific, adventure, or memoir essays.
Value: $1,500; $500
Deadline: 1 March 2022
Open for: US and Canadian writers
Details here and here.
Broadside Lotus Press: Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award
This is for a poetry manuscript by an African American poet. Submit a manuscript that is approximately 60 to 90 pages.
Value: $500
Deadline: 1 March 2022
Open for: African American poets
Details here.
Andres Montoya Poetry Prize
This is for a poetry manuscript by a Latinx poet in the US who have not published a full-length book of poetry. Send a manuscript of 48 pages of poetry, or more. Apart from the cash prize, the winner gets a contract from the University of Notre Dame Press.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 15 March 2022
Open for: Emerging Latinx poets in the US
Details here.
The New York Times Modern Love College Essay Contest
This is a personal essay contest for undergraduate students in an American college or university, who are legal residents of the US and aged 18 years or over. Their guidelines say, “The last time we hosted a college essay contest, in 2019, the world was a very different place. Three years ago, college students had yet to experience a pandemic, a global movement for social and racial justice, an increasing number of climate catastrophes, or a riot at the United States Capitol.
What has love been like for you during these extraordinary times? Have you experienced surprising opportunities, unexpected challenges, new ways to connect or make the best of difficult circumstances? We are looking for stories that are timely or timeless, affected by world events or not.” Send submissions of 1500-1700 words to essaycontest@nytimes.com. They have examples of past successful essays on their website.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 27 March 2022
Open for: US undergraduate students
Details here.
PRIZES FOR WRITERS IN THE UK AND IRELAND
Christopher Tower Poetry Competition: Dream
This is the UK’s most valuable prize for poets aged 16-18 years. Submit a poem of up to 48 lines on the theme of ‘Dream’.
Value: £3,000 for the top winner
Deadline: 2 March 2022
Open for: Young poets studying in the UK
Details here.
David Nobbs Memorial Trust: New Comedy Writing Competition
This is for UK-based comedy writers in early stages of their career, to carve time for writing. Entrants must have at least one credited broadcast comedy writing credit. Part of the application is a writing sample – the first 10 pages of a half-hour radio or television sit-com pilot script, or four three-minute comedy sketches.
Value: £1,000; £250 for runners-up
Deadline: 11 March 2022
Open for: UK-based early-career comedy writers
Details here and here.
Jane Martin Poetry Prize
This is for writers in the UK between ages 18 and 30 years. Send up to two poems, of no more than two sides of A4.
Value: £700, £300
Deadline: 11 March 2022
Open for: UK writers ages 18-30
Details here and here.
2022 Fitzcarraldo Editions/Mahler & LeWitt Studios Essay Prize
This is a cash prize (advance) for the best proposal for a book-length essay (minimum 25,000 words) by a writer resident in the UK and Ireland who has yet to secure a publishing deal. The proposal itself should be no longer than 5,000 words. Entrants may also submit a separate writing sample of up to 5,000 words. They also offer a residency for up to three months at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios in Spoleto, Italy.
Value: £3,000 advance, residency
Deadline: 14 March 2022
Open for: Writers in UK and Ireland
Details here.
BBC Radio 4: BBC National Short Story Award
This prestigious award, by BBC and the Cambridge University, is for UK writers, for a short story of up to 8,000 words. Writers must have a prior record of publication in the UK.
Value: £15,000, four awards of £600 each
Deadline: 21 March 2022
Open for: Published UK writers (see terms and conditions)
Details here and here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
