National Magazine‘s 48th Annual Awards

Genre: 29 categories, 18 of which are Writing and Visual Awards
Entry Fee: See variable fees for multiple categories at http://magazine-awards.com/
Deadline: Early bird deadline of January 10, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET; final deadline of January 17, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET
Prize: See multiple categories and awards at http://magazine-awards.com/
Description: The 2025 National Magazine Awards feature 28 categories, with two special awards, and eight additional categories that are part of a cross-programming initiative with the Digital Publishing Awards.
Details: http://magazine-awards.com/

 

gritLIT 2025 Short Story Contest

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $15 CAD
Deadline: January 15. 2025
Prize: First prize of $500 CAD; honourable mention prizes of $150 CAD each
Description: gritLIT is Hamilton’s annual literary festival, a four-day celebration of Canadian authors. They are now accepting submissions of fiction or creative non-fiction that are 2,000 words or less. This year’s theme is CONNECTION.
Details: https://www.gritlit.ca/contest

 

The Australian Book Review (ABR) Calibre Essay Prize

Genre: Essay
Entry Fee: $20 AU for ABR subscribers and $30 AU for non subscribers
Deadline: January 28, 2025, at 11:59 pm AEST
Prize: Total prize money of $10,000 AU
Description: The prize is open to all essayists writing in English. Seeking essays of between 2,000 and 5,000 words on any subject. This year, the Calibre Essay Prize is judged by Georgina Arnott, Theodore Ell, and Geordie Williamson.
Details: https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/prizes-programs/calibre-prize/2025

 

Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Genre: Short Fiction, Short Nonfiction, Poetry
Entry Fee: $15 CAD
Deadline: January 31, 2025, at 12:00 pm PT
Prize: First prize in each category of $200 CAD, a 2025 festival registration package, and a certificate for registration in one of the online writing courses presented; second prize in each category of $125 CAD and a 2025 festival registration package; honourable mention in each category of $100 CAD and a 2025 festival banquet package; all winning entries will be published in the 2025 edition of the Askew’s Word on the Lake Anthology
Description: Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (up to 2,000 words), nonfiction (up to 2,000 words), and poetry (up to three one-page poems). In addition to the prizes noted above, all winners will be published in the annual Askew’s Word on the Lake Anthology, and will receive copies of the anthology in print and e-book.
Details: https://wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/saw/writing-contest/

 

BookLife Prize Nonfiction Contest

Genre: Nonfiction
Entry Fee: $119 USD
Deadline: January 31, 2025
Prize: Grand prize of $5,000 USD and an author profile in Publishers Weekly; one finalist from each respective submission category will receive $1,000 CAD worth of BookBaby’s Facebook + Instagram for Authors service, a promotional “blurb”  from one of the guest judge’s for the Prize, and a mention in Publishers Weekly; all entrants receive a Critic’s Report (a brief critical assessment of their novel written by a Publishers Weekly reviewer)
Description: Unpublished or self-published novels in the English language. The BookLife Prize seeks to support independent authors and discover great written works in four nonfiction categories – Memoir/Autobiography, Self-Help, Inspirational/Spiritual, and Business/Personal Finance. Submissions must contain 40,000 to 100,000 words.
Details: https://booklife.com/about-us/the-booklife-prize.html

 

Danuta Gleed Literary Award

Genre: Short Story Collection
Entry Fee: None, but all submissions must be made by publishers only
Deadline: January 31, 2025
Prize: First prize of $10,000 CAD; two finalist prizes of $1,000 CAD each
Description: The award was created as a celebration of the life of Danuta Gleed, a writer whose short fiction won several awards before her death in 1996, and is administered by The Writers’ Union of Canada. The prize is awarded annually to a Canadian writer for the best first collection of published short fiction in the English language. All entries must be Canadian-authored titles published in English between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. Only first collections of short fiction are eligible.
Details: http://www.writersunion.ca/danuta-gleed-literary-award

 

New Writers Flash Fiction Competition 2025

Genre: Flash Fiction
Entry Fee: £10 per entry, £19 for two entries, and £27 for three entries
Deadline: January 31, 2025
Prize: First prize of £1,000; second prize of £300; third prize of £200
Description: The New Writers Flash Fiction Competition 2025 is open to stories of up to 300 words on any theme or subject. It is open to entrants from anywhere in the world and £1 from each entry will be donated to charity (First Story).
Details: https://newwriters.org.uk/

 

River of Words Competition 2025

Genre: Poetry (Ages 5 – 19)
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: January 31, 2025
Prize: See multiple categories and awards at  https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/centers-institutes/center-environmental-literacy/river-of-words
Description: This free, annual, international youth poetry and art contest — the largest in the world — inspires students ages 5 to 19 to translate their observations into creative expression. Poems should not exceed 32 lines in length (written) or 3 minutes (signed). For ASL poetry, please include a brief written summary of the poem’s content.
Details: https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/centers-institutes/center-environmental-literacy/river-of-words

 

The Darling Axe Clash of the Query Letters

Genre: Query Letter
Entry Fee: $5 CAD; optional feedback for $20 CAD
Deadline: January 31, 2025
Prize: First prize of $700 CAD; second prize of $200 CAD; third prize of $100 CAD; all winners will be published on the Chopping Block and receive complimentary access to the new craft book, Immersion and Emotion: The Two Pillars of Storytelling
Description: In the fiction world, a query letter alone is not enough to land representation. The manuscript’s first sentence, first paragraph, and first page are the crucial test. However, a query letter acts as a writer’s resume or c/v. It sets the tone, lays out the book’s market potential, and introduces the human behind the words and ideas. And of course, it also pitches the story itself. While an ideal query letter may not seal the deal, it will fill literary agents with eager excitement—a most helpful frame of mind for them to be in as they turn to your sample pages. Must be one page with a maximum of 500 words.
Details: https://darlingaxe.com/pages/query-letter-clash

 

The Ontario Poetry Society’s Entitled Titles Poetry Competition 2025

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $5 CAD for up to 3 poems or $2 CAD for each additional poem
Deadline: January 31, 2025
Prize: First prize of $100 CAD; second prize of $50 CAD; third prize of $25 CAD; 20 honorable mention awards; all winning poems receive a certificate, publication in the chapbook anthology and one free chapbook
Description: Poems to be written on the theme of a movie title, or a title of a play, or a book title, or a song title. The entitled title needs to appear either as the title of your poem or somewhere in the body of your poem, or as the epigraph for your poem. Poems to be no longer than 32 lines.
Details: https://www.theontariopoetrysociety.ca/contest-The-Entitled-Titles-Poetry-Competition.html

 

Brucedale Press 26th Annual Acrostic Story Contest

Genre: Fiction
Entry Fee: $5 per story CAD
Deadline: 2025 contest details to be announced
Prize: First prize of 25% of the entry fees; second prize of 15% of the entry fees; third prize of 10% of the entry fees; all winners will be published in The Leaf
Description: Your story must begin with “Dreaming of success”, and use exactly 26 sentences to keep readers interested. If your story has too many or too few sentences, it will not be judged. Following sentences must begin with words in the order of the English alphabet, ending with a C sentence (dreaming of success, E, F – through Z, followed by A, B, and last sentence starting with C). Any subject or theme is acceptable, provided there is no profanity, obscenity, ageism, racism, or sexism.
Details: https://www.brucedalepress.ca/project/twenty-fourth-annual-acrostic-story-contest/

 

James Knudsen Prize for Fiction

Genre: Fiction
Entry Fee: $20 USD per story (includes the contest issue of Bayou Magazine)
Deadline: Inactive contest in 2025
Prize: $1,000 USD and a one-year subscription to Bayou Magazine; all entries will be considered for publication
Description: James Knudsen served as Director of the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans from 2001-2003. A beloved teacher, friend, and colleague, Jim taught all levels of creative writing at UNO from 1977 until his death in 2004. Submissions must be original, previously unpublished work of fiction, no longer than 7,500 words.
Details: https://bayoumagazine.org/writing-contests/fiction-contest-guidelines/

 

Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $20 USD per poem (includes the contest issue of Bayou Magazine)
Deadline: Inactive contest in 2025
Prize: $1,000 USD and a one-year subscription to Bayou Magazine; all entries will be considered for publication
Description: Kay Murphy served for many years as Poetry Editor for Bayou Magazine. She was awarded the Louisiana Division of the Arts Individual Artist Grant in 2002 for her poetry and an International Alumnae Excellence in Teaching Award in 2001.
Details: https://bayoumagazine.org/writing-contests/

 

PRISM International Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $35 CAD if you reside in Canada, $40 CAD if you reside in the US, and $45 CAD if you reside outside of North America, plus $5 for each additional entry (includes a one-year subscription to Prism Magazine)
Deadline: Inactive contest in 2025
Prize: Grand prize of $1,500 CAD; runner-up prize of $600 CAD; second runner-up prize of $400 CAD
Description: Maximum word count of 4,000. Entries must be original, previously unpublished in print or online.
Details: https://prismmagazine.ca/2020/12/22/now-open-for-submissions-2021-jacob-zilber-prize-for-short-fiction/