Writing Contest: Birth Stories 2021

Genre: Nonfiction or essay
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: August 1, 2021
Prize: First prize of $200; second prize of $100; third prize of $50; 15 English and 10 French honorable mentions; all prizes include publication on the Doula Support Foundation (DSF) website
Description: Birth experiences are as powerful and diverse as birthers are. As doulas, we know the joys, frustrations, surprises and struggles of giving birth. Each story is different. We want to hear yours. The top three winning stories and the 25 honorable mention stories will be published on the DSF’s website and a Canadian Anthology of Birth Stories (paper and electronic book format) will be created. All winners will be invited to a Birth Sharing Circle to present their stories in October 2021 on Zoom.
Details: https://www.doulasupport.org/birth-story-contest-2021

 

Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize

Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Entry Fee: $35 for Canadian entries, $40 USD for US entries, and $45 USD for entries from Mexico and outside North America, plus $15 for each additional entry submitted at the same time as the first entry (includes a one-year print subscription to The Malahat Review)
Deadline: August 1, 2021
Prize: $1,000; a book prize to one lucky contest entrant
Description: The entry must be no longer than 3,000 words and not previously published or accepted for publication. There are no restrictions to the subject matter or approach, so the entries may be personal essay, memoir, cultural criticism, nature writing, literary journalism, etc.
Details: http://www.malahatreview.ca/contests/creative_non-fiction_prize/info.html

 

Grindstone Literary 2021 Short Story Award

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: Early Bird rate of £10 per entry and regular rate of £12 per entry; £8 for optional feedback supplement
Deadline: Early Bird deadline of May 1, 2021; final deadline of August 1, 2021
Prize: Grand prize of £500; runner-up prize of £200; four shortlist prizes £50; top twenty entries will be curated into Grindstone’s yearly anthology and published in print
Description: Open to writers from all over the world. Entries should be no longer than 3,000 words and no shorter than 1,000 words. Entries may fall under any genre.
Details: https://www.grindstoneliterary.com/short-story-prize

 

Room’s 2021 Poetry Contest

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $35 for Canadian entries plus $7 for each additional entry, and $42 USD for entrants outside Canada plus $7 USD for each additional entry (includes a one-year subscription to Room)
Deadline: August 15, 2021
Prize: First prize of $1,000; second prize of $250; honorable mention prize of $50; all prizes include publication on Room’s website
Description: Open to women (cisgender or transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit, and nonbinary people. One poetry entry includes up to three poems or 150 lines of poetry in a single document.
Details: https://roommagazine.com/contest/#PTY

 

2021 Omnidawn Open Poetry Book Contest

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $27 USD
Deadline: August 16, 2021 at 12:00 am PDT
Prize: $3,000 USD, 100 copies of the winning book, publication of the winning book by Omnidawn, and extensive display advertising and publicity, including large display ads that will appear in Poets & Writers Magazine, American Poets Magazine, Rain Taxi Review of Books, etc.
Description: This contest is open to all writers worldwide with no limitations on the amount of poetry a writer has published. Submissions are recommended to be between 40–120 pages, not including front and back matter, with most manuscripts received being between 40-80 pages long.
Details: http://www.omnidawn.com/contest/poetry-contests.htm#broadside-contest

 

The Masters Review Summer Short Story Award for New Writers

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $20 USD
Deadline: August 31, 2021 at 12:00 am PDT
Prize: First prize of $3,000; second prize of $300; third prize of $200; all prizes include online publication and agency review
Description: No style or genre preferences, however, this is a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Take chances and be bold! Previously unpublished stories under 6,000 words. Emerging writers only (self-published writers and writers with story collections and novels with a small circulation are welcome to submit, and writers with novels published with a circulation of fewer than 5,000 copies can also submit).
Details: https://mastersreview.com/short-story-award-for-new-writers/

 

Open Ages Poetry Contest 2021

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: 2021 deadline to be announced
Prize: 18 years and up winners receive first prize of $500; five second prizes of $50; ten third prizes of $25; 20 fourth prizes of winner Medallions; 20-30 winners receive Award of Excellence Certificates
17 years and under winners receive first prize of $100; three second prizes of $50; five third prizes of $25; eight fourth prizes of winner Medallions; ten winners receive Award of Excellence Certificates
Description: Presented by the Poetry Institute of Canada & Young Writers. This poetry contest is open to “all ages”. Poems must not exceed 32 lines (spaces not included). One entry per poet/per contest.
Details: https://poetryinstituteofcanada.ca/?page_id=158

 

The BookLife Prize in Fiction

Genre: Fiction
Entry Fee: $99 USD
Deadline: August 31, 2021
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 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 five fiction categories – Romance/Erotica, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, General Fiction, and Middle-Grade & YA Fiction. Novels submitted to the Middle Grade & YA Fiction category must contain 30,000-100,000 words. All other submissions must contain 40,000 to 100,000 words.
Details: https://booklife.com/about-us/the-booklife-prize.html

 

Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: €25 per manuscript
Deadline: August 31, 2021
Prize: First prize of €1000; second prize of €500; both win a chapbook publication, 25 complimentary copies, and are offered a reading and three nights’ accommodation at the Cork International Poetry Festival
Description: The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country. One of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published. Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as “highly commended”. Manuscripts can be between 16 and 24 pages in length, in the English language and the sole work of the entrant with no pastiches, translations or versions. The poems can be in verse or prose.
Details: http://munsterlit.ie/Fool%20for%20Poetry.html

 

The 3rd Melody Richardson Memorial Contest

Genre: Short Fiction, Flash Fiction
Entry Fee: $10 for Muskoka Authors Association members or $25 for non-members
Deadline: 2021 deadline to be announced
Prize: Short fiction – first prize of $300; second prize of $100; honorable mention prize of publication on MAA website
Flash fiction – first prize of $200; second prize of $75; honorable mention prize of publication on MAA website
Description: Flash fiction submissions have a 500 word maximum and fiction submissions have a 1,500 word maximum.
Details: https://muskokaauthors.ca

 

Storyhouse Biographical Nonfiction Contest

Genre: Nonfiction
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: August 31, 2021
Prize: First prize of $200 and automatic entry to the Winners Circle Contest; runner-up prize of $100; all winners receive certificates of recognition suitable for framing
Description: A biographical entry must be a true story of an individual(s) known to the author personally–not a fictional or historical character. Or, it could be autobiographical, a true story about the author’s life, the whole or an episode. Stories must be between 1000–10,000 words in length. Language in the stories should be free of words or scenes not suitable for children. Stories can be submitted from any country, although they must be written in English. There is a limit of two contest submissions. No story may be entered in more than one contest. Stories entered in any of our previous contests will not be eligible for current year contests.
Details: http://www.storyhouse.org/contest2021.html

 

The Alcott Award for Young Adult Fiction

Genre: Book-length YA Fiction
Entry Fee: $22 USD
Deadline: 2021 deadline to be announced
Prize: $1,000 and publication by Many Frog Press
Description: Hidden River announces the inaugural Alcott Award for an unpublished book-length work of young adult fiction featuring at least one strong female lead character. The Alcott Award is offered for a YA novel that, in the tradition of Little Women, offers us at least one central female character. Style is open – the book may be any form of fiction (historical, fantasy, literary, etc.) as long as its protagonist is female. This competition is open to international submissions for all writers in English.
Details: https://hiddenriverarts.wordpress.com/awards-deadlines-and-guidelines/the-alcott-award-for-young-adult-fiction/

 

Glass Buffalo 2020 Short Fiction Contest and 2020 Poetry Contest

Genre: Poetry and Short Story
Entry Fee: $30 per short story or $30 for up to two poems (includes a one-year subscription or extension to Glass Buffalo)
Deadline: 2021 deadline to be announced
Prize: $500 and publication in the Glass Buffalo Fall 2019 issue
Description: Open to all Canadian writers. Short stories must be under 750 words. There is no minimum or maximum word count for poetry.
Details: https://www.glassbuffalo.com/contest/