December writing contests
ALICE MUNRO SHORT STORY COMPETITION FOR EMERGING WRITERS
Deadline: Winter 2023
Entry fee: $25 for adults or $10 for youth
Awards:
$1,500 prize for adults; two additional $250 prizes
$500 prize for youth; two additional $250 prizes
More info: Click here
BC and Yukon Book Prizes
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Entry fee: $40 per book
Awards: There are eight categories in which to apply. Winners of each will receive a prize of $3,000 and a certificate
More info: Click here
CREATIVE NONFICTION COLLECTIVE CONTEST
Deadline: Winter 2023
Entry fee: $20 ($15 for CNFC members)
Awards: $1,000 first prize; $300 second prize; $200 third prize
More info: Click here
Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2023
Deadline: December 10, 2023
Entry fee: $7 USD per poem
Awards: First prize of £2,000; second prize of £1,000; third prize of £500; plus 20 commendeds
More info: Click here
ARC POEM OF THE YEAR
Deadline: Winter 2023
Entry fee: $35
Awards: $5,000 grand prize; $500 honourable mention prize
More info: Click here
DO WHA(TS) WRITE
Deadline: Winter 2023
Entry fee: $3
Awards: $200
More info: Click here
Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Entry fee: None
Awards: First prize of £1,000; runner up prize of £500
More info: Click here
Briarpatch Magazine’s Writing in the Margins Contest
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Entry fee: $25
Awards: One winner from each of three categories will be selected to win first prize of $500 and publication in May/June 2019 issue Briarpatch Magazine; one winner from each of three categories will be selected to win runner-up prizes of $150 and online publication
More info: Click here
FREEFALL ANNUAL PROSE & POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: December 1, 2023 - April 30, 2024
Entry fee: $25
Awards: First prize $500; Second prize $250; Third prize $125
More info: Click here
The Joan Betty Stuchner —Oy Vey!— Funniest Children’s Book Award
Deadline: December 14, 2023
Entry fee: $30
Awards: Two prizes of $752.81 each
More info: Click here
The Fiddlehead 2023 Ralph Gustafson prize for best poem
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Entry fee: $35
Awards: $2,000 and publication in The Fiddlehead
More info: Click here
Unleash Press
Deadline: December 15, 2023
Entry fee: $35
Awards: $1,000 advance and an optional/standard contract from Unleash Press for one winning manuscript; finalists will be considered for publication
More info: Click here
The Sarah Maguire Poetry in Translation Prize 2023
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Awards: £1,500 is awarded to the winning poet and £1,500 to the winning translator (or shared if there is more than one translator)
More info: Click here
The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Awards: The winner receives USD $1000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion in Senegal
More info: Click here
Love Letters to London
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Entry fee: None
Awards: More than £4,000 of prizes available
More info: Click here
Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition 2023
Deadline: December 4, 2023
Entry fee: £10 for three poems
Awards:
1st: £2,000; 2nd: £500; 3rd: £250
Unpublished Poetry Prize for the best poem by a previously unpublished poet: £250
The four winners, plus sixteen additional finalists will have their poems published in the March 2024 issue of Mslexia
More info: Click here
Afritondo Short Story Prize 2024
Deadline: December 15, 2023
Awards: The winner will receive a cash prize of $1000. Four other shortlisted writers will get $100 each. The longlist will be published in an anthology in August 2024
More info: Click here
The Masters Review Chapbook Competition 2024
Deadline: December 17, 2023
Awards: The winner receives a $3,000 cash prize, along with manuscript publication and 75 contributor copies
More info: Click here
The 2023 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Awards: $2,000; Publication on the Society’s website and Journal
More info: Click here
2024 Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award
Deadline: December 31, 2023
More info: Click here
The Lyric College Poetry Contest 2023
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Awards:
First Prize $500
Second Prize $200
Third Prize $100
Honorable Mention - Year’s subscription and bragging rights
More info: Click here
The Writivism Literary Prizes 2023
Deadline: November 30, 2023
Awards: The winner of the prize will be awarded $1000 USD and each shortlisted writer will receive $50 USD and a copy of the resulting anthology comprising all the shortlisted work.
More info: Click here
The Tony Quagliano Poetry Award 2023
Deadline: December 1, 2023
Awards: $1000
More info: Click here
Harbor Editions' Laureate Prize 2024
Deadline: January 31, 2024
Awards: Harbor Editions will publish 1 book from the contest. Finalists may be considered or publication. The winner will receive $500 and 20 copies of their book
More info: Click here
Lilith Magazine Annual Fiction Contest 2023
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Awards: $300 and publication
More info: Click here
Kinsman Quarterly’s Iridescence Award 2023
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: None
Awards: Prizes include publication in the Iridescence anthology with cash awards up to $500 USD
More info: Click here
Defenestrationism's Lengthy Poem Contest 2024
Deadline: January 1, 2024
Entry fee: $40 per book
Awards: $300
More info: Click here
Gemini Magazine Poetry Prize 2024
Deadline: January 2, 2024
Entry fee: $9 (up to 3 poems)
Awards:
FIRST PRIZE: $1,000
Second Prize: $100
Four Honorable Mentions: $25
All Six Finalists Will Be Published Online in our March/April 2024 Issue
More info: Click here
The Nowhere Fall Travel Writing Prize 2021
Deadline: December 15, 2023
Entry fee: None
Awards: $1,000 and publication in Nowhere granted under First North American Serial Rights (FNASR); up to ten finalists also will be published
More info: Click here
2022 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada (SWCC) Book Awards
Deadline: December 16, 2023
Entry fee: $25
Awards: First prize of $1,000 in each of two categories; second prize of $500 to the winner of the Paradigm Prize
More info: Click here
The Australian Book Review Calibre Essay Prize
Deadline: December 30, 2023
Entry fee: $20 AU
Awards: First prize of $5,000; runner-up prize of $2,500
More info: Click here
Danahy Fiction Prize
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: $20 USD
Awards: $1,000 and publication in Tampa Review
More info: Click here
The 2022 KOBZAR Book Award
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: None
Awards: $25,000 ($20,000 is awarded to the author and $5,000 to the publisher of the winning title)
More info: Click here
Do Wha(TS) Write! Creative Writing Contest
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: $2
Awards: $200
More info: Click here
2022 Leacock Medal for Humour
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: $200
Awards: First prize of $25,000; two runner-up prizes of $4,000 each
More info: Click here
River Styx 2022 Microfiction Contest
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: $15 USD
Awards: First prize of $1,000; first, second and third place winners will be published
More info: Click here
Boulevard Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Entry fee: $16 USD
Awards: $1,500 USD and publication in Boulevard
More info: Click here
