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-- Contests Links --

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Deadline: February 7, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Standard Time)

or when the first 5,000 entries have been received in each category, whichever is earlier.

An international competition seeking fresh new writing voices. Self-published novels are now eligible. Two categories this year: Young Adult Fiction and General Fiction. One grand prize winner from each category will receive a full publishing contract with Penguin, including a $15,000 advance. No entry fee. Contest submission period begins January 25, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).

100 Words of Fewer Contest Number Four

Deadline: February 9, 2010

For our Fourth Contest, we offer three contests!
Contest 1: Any subject, any style (not poetry or anecdotes).
Contest 2: "The Walk." The story takes place on a walk.
Contest 3: Non-gendered pronouns only - "I, me, mine, you, yours, we, us, our, ours, they, them, their, theirs." Any subject. Each entry must be fiction in 100 words or less. Awards: Contest 1: $300, $50, $50. Contest 2: $150, $50. Contest 3: $150, $50. Entry fee: $15; plus checkmark evaluation: $18; plus critique: $31.

Dead of Winter Nonfiction Contest

Deadline: February 10, 2010

Memoir, articles, opinion pieces, essays, rants, etc. 2,000 words or fewer. Open subject. Free critique available upon request. Awards: $70, $35, $20. Entry fee: $5 per entry, limit 3 entries. Winner profiled, wining entries posted on Web site.

Normal Prize Contest

Deadline: 02/12/10
"Genre," 5245 N. Backer Ave, M/S PB 98, California State University-Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740.
Entry fee: $20. First prize: $1,000 and publication.
Type: Fiction and nonfiction (10,087 words MAX).

2010 MOONBEAM CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS

Early-bird entry fee is $75 per title, per category until Feb. 13, 2010, with increases to $85 and then $95 as the final deadline of August 21, 2010 approaches.

"Celebrating youthful curiosity, discovery and learning through books and reading"

Here is the first call for entries into the fourth annual Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards honor the year's best children’s books, authors and illustrators. The program accepts entries with 2009 or 2010 copyrights or that are released between January 1, 2009 and August 21, 2010. Entry is open to authors, illustrators, and publishers of children’s books written in English or Spanish and intended for the North American market.

To learn more about the awards, visit our links below:

Online entry form: https://secure.independentpublisher.com/secure/moonbeam/entry.php

Print out guidelines and entry PDF: http://www.moonbeamawards.com/MoonbeamGuidelines.pdf

See last year's Moonbeam Awards results and photos: http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1315

Download last year's event program cover: http://www.moonbeamawards.com/Moonbeam2009Program.pdf

Visit the Moonbeam merchandise site: xcggffghttp://www.jenkinsgroupinc.com/IXXO/index.php?p=catalog&parent=2&pg=1

Presented by Jenkins Group and Independent Publisher Online, the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and support childhood literacy and life-long reading. Awards are given in thirty-six (36) categories covering the full range of subjects, styles and age groups that children’s books are written and published in today. Gold, silver and bronze medals are presented in each category. The 2008 contest attracted 1,085 entries, and 138 Moonbeam medals were awarded to authors and publishers from 30 U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, and four countries overseas.

Judging is based on content, originality, design, and production quality, with emphasis on social relevance and age appropriateness. Our judging panels include experts from the fields of editing, design, teaching, bookselling and library, and many categories are judged by teachers and their students. Results will be announced on about October 15, 2010. Awards presentation location to be announced - past locations were Chicago, Denver, and Charleston, WV.

Questions? Contact Jim Barnes, Awards Director: 1-800-644-0133 x1011; email: jimb@bookpublishing.com

Writers' & Artists' 2010 short story competition
Deadline February 14, 2010. One entry only.
NO ENTRY FEE
For published and aspiring writers alike - enter the Writers' & Artists' 2010 short story competition and you could win a cash prize of £500, a place on an Arvon Foundation residential writing course worth at least £575, and publication of your story on the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook website. All you have to do is write a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words, on the theme of 'Unity or Union' and email it to competition@acblack.com with WAYB10 competition' as the subject line.

CONTEST: New Women's Voices

Deadline: 02/15/10
Submit to: New Women's Voices, Finishing Line Press, P.O. Box 1626, Georgetown, KY 40324.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $1,000 and publication for a chapbook-length poetry collection
Type: Poetry (26 pages MAX). Open to women who have never before published a full-length poetry collection.

Diverse Voices Quarterly

Deadline is February 15, 2010

Poetry (5 titles MAX), short stories and essays (3,000 words MAX), and artwork/photography (.jpeg attachments, 2 images MAX).

MEMOIRS INK HALF YEARLY CONTEST

Deadline: February 15, 2010 (postmark)

Late Deadline: February 28, 2010

(Postmark - Late entries require additional $5 entry fee per entry)
ENTRY FEE: $15
First Prize: $1,000. Second Prize: $500. Third Prize: $250.
Word Limit: 1,500 words
Winners will be announced April 30 by e-mail and on our website. Send via postal mail with submissions form available at website.

2010 The Sandy Writing Contest

Deadline February 15, 2010

Just two weeks to get your Sandy Entries polished up!

The entries are starting to trickle in and I'm so excited, hoping to find some fantastic writing to send to our agent and editor final judges.

Spread the word to all your unpublished pals about this wonderful opportunity at!

Theresa's Tips:

1) For putting your entry as an rtf document and other formatting help, go to "Judging and Entry Tips"  (http://thesandy.org/sandy_tips.php)

2) Print out your genre's Score Sheets posted on the website and make sure you've included everything.

3) Read the final judge Bios and interviews to see if they are looking for a novel just like yours!

4) Take a look at The Sandy Honor Roll--we've got an impressive number of past finalists who have gone on to get agents and sell to major publishers--and adding to it all the time!

*** Permission to Forward Granted and Appreciated ***

Theresa Rizzo

www.theresarizzo.com

The Sandy Writing Contest Coordinator

“You will find true success in those efforts that captivate your heart and soul. Belief fuels passion, and passion rarely fails.”

Kundiman Poetry Contest

Deadline: 02/16/10.
Submit to: Kundiman, PO Box 2565, Staunton, VA 24402-2565.
Entry fee: $25. First prize: $2,000 and book publication.
Type: Poetry (50–70 pages MAX, single spaced).

Las Vegas Film Festival Annual Screenwriting Competition

Deadline: February 15, 2010

Awards: Ten scripts will be recognized as Finalists in the Competition along with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Winners. Cash prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Winners will have the opportunity to have their work forwarded to our talent management and agency partners. Finalists and winners will be featured on our Web site and in our annual press release announcing the winners of the competition. Entry Fee: $40.. Info: Las Vegas Film Festival, 10300 West Charleston Blvd. Suite 13-149, Las Vegas NV 89146.

Wild Violet annual Fiction and Poetry Contests

Deadline: February 26, 2010

Awards: First place winners in each contest receive $100 and publication; second and third place winners receive publication. Entry fee: $5

WordHustler is taking our writing contests to a whole new level with the debut of our

Literary Storm Novel Contest (ENTER HERE)

Deadline: February 26, 2010

Submit the first 50 pages of your novel and you could win BIG!

Official Judge: Literary Agent Danielle Chiotti of Upstart Crow Literary

Abbey Hill Literary 1st Quarter 2010 Quick Lit Challenge

Deadline: February 28, 2010

Write a story of up to 1,500 words incorporating challenges posted on Web site. Awards: $250, $100, $50, $25. New! Separate 750-word Flash Fiction contest - no prompt required. Winning entries, including author's name and a brief bio, will be posted. Entry fee: $10 or $20 including critique. Editor@ahliterary.com

Summer Literary Seminars

Contest Deadline: February 28, 2010.

SLS is pleased to announce its 2010 unified fiction and poetry contest, held this year again in affiliation with Fence. This year, Mary Gaitskill will judge fiction, and Mary Jo Bang will judge poetry. Contest winners will be published in Fence. Additionally, they will receive airfare, tuition, and housing for any of the SLS-2010 programs – in Montreal , Quebec (June); Vilnius , Lithuania (August); or Nairobi-Lamu , Kenya (December).

Poetry Contest - February 2010

*See all of our writing contests

Purpose: Have fun, enjoy the competition, and become a better poet by participating in our peer critique process for this contest.

Who Can Enter: This contest is open to all poets.

All submissions must be posted and assigned critiques completed by February 28, 2010.

Poems must be 50 lines or fewer. You may post additional poems to this site for critique, but only one poem will be eligible for this contest.

Subject Matter: Open, you choose. The poem should adhere to our content policy.

Prizes: The winner of this contest will receive $100.

2010 NEW NOVELS COMPETITION
£18 ENTRY FEE
Deadline February 28, 2010

Winners to be announced end May 2010. 1st Prize £200; 2nd Prize £100, plus guaranteed publishing contract offers for both (and for all entries that we deem to be of high enough standard). Your book must never have been published in any form and you must own all rights to the work. The competition is open to anyone of any age worldwide. Manuscripts must be a minimum of 40,000 words and a maximum of 150,000 words, on any subject as long as they are in keeping with the described aims of the Rose & Crown Books imprint: Christian Inspirational Romance.

The Magnolia Quarterly Winter Contest
(GCWA Members only)
Deadline: March 1st

Inamorata Romance Books (an imprint of Stony Meadow Publishing) is sponsoring its

First Romantic Short Story Contest

Contest Deadlines: The 1st of every month for the following month's contest. (The first contest ends March 1, 2010 and is our February contest since January is half over.)

The contest is open to all writers, whether published or unpublished, and we are looking forward to reading some great short stories!

Monthly Winner: $20 and e-publication as the winning entry in the current month's contest. (Monthly winners may also be considered for eventual inclusion in an upcoming Anthology of Romance Short Stories Collection.)

Ahsahta Press sponsors the 2010 Sawtooth Poetry Prize

Judged by poet Terrance Hayes. $1500 to a manuscript of poems received between

March 1, 2010

plus publication in January 2011. Previous winners include Julie Carr (100 Notes on Violence), Rusty Morrison (the true keeps calm biding its story), and Graham Foust (Leave the Room to Itself).

Carteret Writers 19th Annual Writing Contest

Deadline: March 9, 2010

Categories include flash fiction, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children's. Awards: $100, $50, $25 in each category. Entry fees: $5 (members); $10 (non-members). Winning entries will be published in the 2010 edition of the literary journal Shoal. Info: or send stamped, self-addressed envelope to Carteret Writers, PO Box 2284, Morehead City NC 28557

2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Deadline: March 10, 2010

for independently published books; 60 categories. Awards: $1,500, $750, , $500, $250, $100 plus trophies and medals. Entry fee: $75. Next Generation Indie Book Awards, 511 Wilkinson St., Chelsea MI 48118

2010 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARDS - First Call for Entries
Deadline: March 10, 2010

14th Annual Awards, accepting entries for all 2009 and early 2010 releases

67 Categories, 20 Regions, 12 Outstanding Books of the Year

Great Awards ceremony & publicity event during BookExpo America

Calling all independent authors and publishers!

Annual Writers-Editors International Writing Competition

Deadline: March 15, 2010

Nonfiction (Previously Published and Unpublished); Fiction (Short Story and Novel Chapter); Children's Literature; Poetry. Awards: $100, $75, $50. Entry fee: $3–$20

Prairie Schooner Book Prizes

 in Poetry and Short Fiction: $3,000 and Publication

Postmark Deadline: March 15, 2010 (don't enter before January 15)

Thin Threads Contest

Deadline: March 28, 2010

KIWI is looking for true, inspirational stories; 1200 words or less, that will make readers laugh, cry, or sigh. Stories should be positive, universal, and non-controversial. The "point" or "message" should be evident without preaching. No essays, commentaries, tributes, philosophical or biographical pieces will be accepted. Each story must contain the following elements:

1.  Be real – non-fiction

2.  Capture the essence of a thin thread event

DAVID BURLAND POETRY PRIZE

Deadline: March 31, 2010

£5 ENTRY FEE

Entries will be accepted from writers of any nationality and from any country provided that they are written in the English or French Language. A maximum of 3 poems per author may be accepted. May be on any subject and written in free style or rhyme. 1st prize: £150, 2nd prize: £50, 3rd prize: £30. All entries must be accompanied with a booking form and payment.

Meridian Writing Spring Short Story Competition

Deadline: March 31, 2010

Maximum 3,000 words, any theme/genre. Awards: £100, £50 & £25 plus firstwriter.com vouchers. Entry fee: £5 per story; extra for basic critique. Entries accepted online and via post.

Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest

Deadline: March 31, 2010

no restrictions on content, style, genre or length. Awards: grand prize of $1,000; second place wins $100; plus three honorable mentions. All five finalists will be published in the May or June 2010 issue. Entry fee: $4. Info: Contest, Gemini Magazine, PO Box 1485, Onset MA 02558

Writing Contest: How I Changed My Mindset Not My Man

Deadline: March 31, 2010

Must be true. Length: Between 750 and 1500 words. Awards: $100, $75, $50. No entry fee stated. Info: sally@sallywatkins.net; Sally Watkins, Contest, PO Box 1417, Orangevale CA 95662.

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

– No Fee –

Submit one humor poem by April 1 deadline.
Ninth annual free contest. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $3,600. Top prize $1,500. New simplified online entry process. No entry fee. Winning entries published online. Final judge: Jendi Reiter. Sponsored by Winning Writers, one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2005-2009).

Visit online for guidelines and online submission.

Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest

Deadline: April 1, 2010

Now in its ninth year. We seek today's best humor poems. Total cash prizes have been increased to $3,600, with a top prize of $1,500. This contest is free to enter.

How to Submit Your Entry: New simplified procedure! Just click here to submit your entry online. There is no fee to submit to the Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest. Poets of all nations may enter. Your poem must be in English (inspired gibberish also accepted). Please submit only one poem per year. Your poem may be of any length. Both published and unpublished work are welcome.

First Prize of $1,500 and publication on WinningWriters.com

Second Prize of $800 and publication on WinningWriters.com

Third Prize of $400 and publication on WinningWriters.com

Twelve honorable mentions will receive $75 each and publication on WinningWriters.com

Dark Moon Anthologies Presents: MONSTERS!

Short Story Contest

April 10, 2010 contest end date

1st Prize: $100 and publication as the winning entry in Dark Moon Anthology: Monsters!

2nd Prize: $50 and publication in Dark Moon Anthology: Monsters!

3rd Prize: $25 and publication in Dark Moon Anthology: Monsters!

Special Prize for most original, new monster: $50.00

Treasure Box Tales Spring 2010 contest

Deadline: April 13, 2010

for short stories up to 1300 words describing your treasure and experience. Open to all ages. Awards: $500, $100, plus online publication. All entries will be considered for future print publication. Entry fee: $10

The Alabama Writers' Conclave (AWC) is now accepting submissions for its

Annual Writing Contest

Deadline postmark April 20.

Categories include fiction, short fiction, juvenile fiction, nonfiction, humor, traditional poem, free verse poem, and first chapter novel. Prizes of $100, $75, $50, $25, and four honorable mentions will be awarded in July. For more information, contact Marian Lewis, Contest Chair, at bo325sky@earthlink.net

Novel Beginnings 1st Chapter Contest

Deadline: April 30, 2010

First chapter of a novel only. Limit 6,000 words or fewer. Free critique available upon request. Awards: $100, $50, $25. Entry fee: $10 per entry, limit 3 entries. Winner profiled, winning entry posted on Web site

The Christmas Spirit book project

Deadline: May 1, 2010

(St. Martin's Press) seeks true stories that emphasize the significance of the Christmas season. Stories may run from 900 to 1,300 words. You may send an original or a reprint. Writers retain rights and those accepted will receive a $50 honorarium plus a copy of the book.

28th annual writing contest sponsored by Southwest Writers

Postmark Deadline: May 1, 2010

(New Mexico) for original, unpublished manuscripts. Editors and agents select the top three entries in 14 categories including fiction and nonfiction books, articles, essays and poetry. Awards: Cash prizes of $150, $100, $50 in each category; plus a $1,000 storyteller award. Entry fees: $10-$20 Poetry; $20-$35 Other; additional for critiques.

Leapfrog 2010 Fiction Contest

Deadline: May 1, 2010

Adult fiction: literary novels, novellas, short story collections - minimum 22,000 words; Children's fiction: middle-grade and YA novels - minimum 20,000 words. No picture books. Award: A publication contract with advance for one book in each category. Finalists receive $150 plus a manuscript critique. Contest opens January 15, 2010. Entry fee: $30 for adult fiction; $20 for children's fiction.

$2,000 Awaits Winners of the

Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition

The final deadline: May 15, 2010;

Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, created to enthusiastically support the efforts and talent of emerging writers of short fiction whose voices have yet to be heard.

Writers will compete for a $1,000 first-place prize, $500 second-place prize, and $500 third-place prize in this internationally-acclaimed competition. Several honorable mentions are also awarded each year. As an added prize, beginning in 2009, The Saturday Evening Post will publish our first-place winner. Payment by The Saturday Evening Post for publication of the winning story will be in addition to our $1000 first-place prize.

Stories in all genres of fiction are welcome. Maximum length is 3,000 words, and writers retain all rights to their work. Winners will be announced at the end of July.

For complete guidelines, please visit, e-mail shortstorykw@gmail.com, or send an SASE to the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, P.O. Box 993, Key West, FL  33041.

HOW JOURNAL SHORT STORY CONTEST
Deadline May 15, 2010

$20 ENTRY FEE
The contest is open to all writers and all themes. The word limit is 12,000. Considers unpublished novel excerpts if they feel like complete stories. It's fine to submit more than one story.

1st Place - $1,000 and publication in H.O.W. Journal
2nd Place - $300 and publication in H.O.W. Journal
3rd Place - $100 and publication in H.O.W. Journal

Ninth annual Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize

Deadline: Postmark May 31, 2010

Award: Publication plus $300. Entry Fee: $15 per entry (3 poems, 6 pages total). Info: CALYX Inc., Lois Cranston Poetry Prize, PO Box B, Corvallis OR 97339.

Dark Moon Books (an imprint of Stony Meadow Publishing) is sponsoring its first annual

"Scary Poetry" Contest

Contest Deadline: July 1, 2010

1st Prize: $50 and publication as the winning entry in Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night!

2nd Prize: $25 and publication in the Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night!

3rd Prize: $10 and publication in the Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night!

All other poems selected will appear in Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night! with author credit. (All entries will receive a PDF copy of the finished anthology. No other remuneration will be provided, but copies of the book will be available from the publisher at 35% off the retail price.) We expect to include at least 100 poems in the collection.

THE "SCARE THE DICKENS OUT OF US" SHORT STORY CONTEST 2010

Deadline October 1, 2010.
$20 ENTRY FEE
First prize, $1,000 and a trophy.
Second prize, $500 and a ribbon.
Third prize, $250 and a ribbon.
Junior contest prize $250 and a trophy.

The contest is a Friends of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library fundraiser and is privately funded. All entry fees go to the Friends and are used for library projects. The contest is open to published and unpublished writers alike. The ghost story must be 5,000 words or less, in English, and typed double-spaced.

Inamorata Romance Books (an imprint of Stony Meadow Publishing) is sponsoring its

First Romantic Short Story Contest

Contest Deadlines: The 1st of every month for the following month's contest. (The first contest ends March 1, 2010 and is our February contest since January is half over.)

The contest is open to all writers, whether published or unpublished, and we are looking forward to reading some great short stories!

Monthly Winner: $20 and e-publication as the winning entry in the current month's contest. (Monthly winners may also be considered for eventual inclusion in an upcoming Anthology of Romance Short Stories Collection.)

Whim's Place Flash Fiction Contest

Deadline: QUARTERLY *  Entry Fee: $5

Prize: $250 plus publication

A quarterly flash fiction contest. Deadlines for each quarter are March 30, June 30, September 30, December 30. Submit flash fiction of 500 words or less. Submit by regular post or e-mail. Full contest rules and regulations available on website.

LORIAN HEMINGWAY SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS

"Life for Change"

seeks stories for a new type of contest. People write their story, others vote for it, and the author of the story with the most votes wins a payout.

 Right now payouts are $100 US, but the site aims to award over $12,000 per month.
Take a look and let me know what you think!  http://www.lifeforchange.com/life

Writer's Digest - Contests

sponsors several writing contests annually. If you'd like to receive contest news via email,

subscribe to the Writer's Digest Competition Update.

Funds For Writers

Great lists of contests, grants, and markets for free-lance writers

Click below for more links --  

Conferences & Workshops    Contests    Places to Publish

 Writers Groups    Miscellaneous Links    GCWA Member Websites