Writing competitions and opportunities – October 2020
We’ve brought together October’s best writing competitions, contests and opportunities open to writers of short stories, flash fiction, poetry, novels, memoirs and nonfiction.
All the writing opportunities listed should be open to writers across the UK and most are open internationally too. We share details of prizes, requirements, eligibility, entry fees (some have free entry) and deadlines to help you choose the right ones for you.
Bath Flash Fiction Award
The Bath Flash Fiction Award is open to stories of up to 300 words and offers entrants the opportunity to be published in print and digital anthologies through Ad Hoc Fiction.
- Prizes – First prize: £1,000 / Second prize: £300 / Third prize: £100 / Two commendations: £30 each / 50 long-listed entrants will be offered publication in an anthology.
- Deadline – 11th October.
- Entry fee – £9.
- Full details – Visit the Bath Flash Fiction Award website.
Dream Foundry Short Story Contest
Emerging writers of speculative fiction are invited to enter the Dream Foundry Short Story Contest. Submit a single story of up to 10,000 words. The competition is open internationally and will be judged by Neil Clarke and SL Huang.
- Prizes – First prize: $1,000 / Second prize: $500 / Third prize: $200.
- Deadline – 11th October.
- Entry fee – FREE entry.
- Full details – Visit The Dream Foundry website.
Eyelands Book Awards
The international, Eyelands Book Awards are open for submissions of books, short stories and poetry across five categories. This year’s judges are children’s book and graphic novelist, P.H.C. Marchesi, poet Andriana Minou and, novelist and memoirist, Gregory Papadoyiannis.
- Prizes – Grand prize (for published books): Five-day holiday in Athens, translation into Greek, publication and an exclusive, handmade ceramic / Ten more writers will also be award a special ceramic.
- Deadline – 20th October.
- Entry fee – €27.
- Full details – Visit the Eyelands Awards website.
The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction
Comma Press and the University of Central Lancashire are once again hosting the annual, Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction. The prize is open to writers based in the UK. Stores should be between 2,000 and 6,000 words and based on this year’s theme which is ‘home’.
- Prizes – £500 and online publication in Northern Soul / 10 shortlisted authors will be featured in a digital anthology.
- Deadline – 23rd October.
- Entry fee – FREE entry.
- Full details – Visit the Comma Press website.
Retreat West Short Story Prize
The latest competition from Retreat West, the Short Story Prize, is open to short fiction of between 1,500 and 3,000 words. The judge is award-winning author, Peter Jordan.
- Prizes – First prize: £400 / Second prize: £250 / Third prize: £150 / Shortlisted: £20 / All winning and shortlisted stories will be published in an anthology.
- Deadline – 25th October.
- Entry fee – £10.
- Full details – Visit the Retreat West website.
VanderMey Nonfiction Prize
Ruminate Magazine’s annual, VanderMey Nonfiction Prize is open to essays and short memoirs of up to 5,500 words.
- Prizes – Winner: $1,500 and publication / Runner up: $300 and publication.
- Deadline – 27th October.
- Entry fee – $20 (includes a digital copy of Ruminate).
- Full details – Visit the Ruminate website.
F(r)iction Literary Contest
Submit short stories, flash fiction and poetry into F(r)iction’s autumn contest. The judges, Lev Grossman, Benjamin Woodard, and Rachel Mennies, are looking for pieces with strong narratives that push boundaries, take risks and force traditions and tastes to be questioned.
Short stories can be up to 7,500 words and flash fiction up to 1,000 words. Poetry submissions can include up to five poems of up to three pages each.
- Prizes – Short story: $1,000 / Flash fiction: $300 / Poetry: $300.
- Deadline – 30th October.
- Entry fee – Short story $15 / Flash Fiction: $10 / Poetry: $10.
- Full details – Visit the F(r)iction website.
Blue Light Books Prize
Indiana Review’s Blue Light Books Prize is open to poetry collections. Manuscriptions should be between 48 and 75 pages. The judge is Nandi Comer.
- Prize – $1,000 and publication. The winner will be flown to Bloomington in Indiana to read a selection of their work at the 2021 Blue Light Reading.
- Deadline – 31st October.
- Entry fee – $20.
- Full details – Visit the Indiana Review website.
Fishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition
Fishing Line Press is inviting submissions of chapbook-length poetry submissions. Manuscripts should be between 16 and 38 pages.
- Prizes – $1,000 and publication / The top ten finalists will also be offered publication with Fishing Line Press.
- Deadline – 31st October.
- Entry fee – $15.
- Full details – Visit the Fishing Line Press website.
Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter Competition
If you have completed a novel with strong, credible characters and a page turning plot, enter it into the Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter Competition which will be judged by Headline Publishing. Entries must be unpublished and up to 3,000 words.
- Prizes – First prize: £500 / Runner-up: £200.
- Deadline – 31st October.
- Entry fee – £10.
- Full details – Visit the Flash 500 website.
Ginkgo Prize for Ecopoetry
The Ginkgo Prize for Eco Poetry is an international writing competition that is open to poetry of any length and form that engages with the climate crisis and ignites global conscience. The judges are UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and Jade Cuttle.
- Prizes – First prize: £5,000 / Second: £2,000 / Third prize: £1,000.
- Deadline – 31st October.
- Entry fee – £7.
- Full details – Visit the Ginkgo Prize website.
National Poetry Competition
The Poetry Society’s prestigious, National Poetry Competition is open to unpublished poems of up to 40 lines. The judges are Neil Astley, Jonathan Edwards and Karen McCarthy Woolf.
- Prizes – First prize: £5,000 / Second prize: £2,000 / Third prize: £1,000 / Commendations: £200.
- Deadline – 31st October.
- Entry fee – £7.
- Full details – Visit The Poetry Society website.
Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook/Novelette Contest
Omnidawn runs a variety of competitions throughout each year and its latest, the Fabulist Fiction Chapbook/Novelette Contest, is inviting submissions of magic realism and literary forms of fantasy, science fiction, horror, fable, and myth from writers worldwide. Stories can be primarily realistic, with elements of non-realism, or entirely non-realistic. They may be between 7,500 and 17,500 words. The judge is Molly Gloss.
- Prize – $1,000 and publication.
- Deadline – 31st October.
- Entry fee – $18.
- Full details – Visit the Omnidawn website.
That’s it for this month but do join us on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to our newsletter below to make sure you don’t miss out on new opportunities.
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If you are running a great competition or are creating a wonderful opportunity for writers in the near future, do get in touch with us here. We publish the best every month on Lightbox Originals and promote even more on social media.
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