Writing Competitions - Almond Press

26/04/2025

📌 New writing competition
★2026 Next Generation Short Story Awards ★
📆Deadline: February 26, 2026 12:00 am - 11:59 pm The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories (5,000 words or less per story) in English. Brought to you by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBA) and Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG), the 2026 Next Generation Short Story Awards offers 30 categories, and is open to all authors, even first-time authors, in the U.S., Canada or internationally.

The top short stories will be considered for a cash prize, gold medal, complimentary invitation to attend the annual NGIBA awards gala where you will be recognized if your story is a Grand Prize Winner, literary exposure, inclusion in an annual anthology, and recognition as one of the top short stories written this year!

The Next Generation Short Story Awards will honor and award 1 Winner and 3 Finalists in each of the 30 categories and 3 Grand Prize Winners from all entries submitted this year. Winners and Finalists will receive the following:

Grand Prize Winners : $500 cash prize for 1st plus a trophy; $300 cash prize for 2nd; $200 cash prize for 3rd. Plus all Grand Prize Winners will receive a gold medal, complimentary invitation to attend the NGIBA awards gala, story and author bio published in the Anthology of Winners along with a complimentary copy of the Anthology of Winners.

Winners in each of 30 Categories: $75 cash prize, gold medal, story and author bio published in the Anthology of Winners along with a complimentary copy of the Anthology of Winners.

Finalists : Story title and author name mentioned in the Anthology of Winners along with the Anthology of Winners available to purchase at half price. Beginning with the 2026 awards year, Finalists will be able to order medals.

Other Benefits : Exposure for a full year as a Winner or Finalist on the Next Generation Short Story Awards website, social media coverage, complimentary Winner or Finalist gold award sticker image to display on writers’ social media, potential literary acknowledgements and accolades.

The entry deadline date for the 2026 awards program is Thursday, February 26, 2026.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid . They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free .

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/call-for-entries-2026-next-generation-short-story-awards/

The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories (5,000

26/04/2025

📌 New writing competition
★2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards ★
📆Deadline: February 12, 2026 12:00 am - 11:59 pm The Next Generation Indie Book Awards , currently in its nineteenth year, is the largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. The Indie Book Awards is now accepting entries from independent publishers and authors worldwide who have a book written in English and released in 2024, 2025, 2026 or with 2024, 2025, or 2026 copyright date. For the 2026 awards program, the Indie Book Awards offers 80 categories. The entry fee is $80 for the first category and $65 for every additional category entered for the same title. The entry deadline for the 2026 year is Thursday, February 12, 2026.

Winners and Finalists will be announced in mid-May. Winners in each of the 80 categories are given $100 cash prizes, gold medals, complimentary stickers, social media coverage, possible representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top independently published books of the year. Three Grand Prize Winners will be selected from all entries received and will be awarded cash prizes of $1500, $750 and $500 based on their order of win. All Winners and Finalists are invited to attend the Indie Book Awards gala ceremony.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid . They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free .

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/call-for-entries-2026-next-generation-indie-book-awards/

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards, currently in its nineteenth year, is the largest international awards program for indie authors

26/04/2025

This May there are more than six dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, e...

26/04/2025

📌 New writing competition
★2025 Wells Festival of Literature International Competitions ★
📆Deadline: June 30, 2025 12:14 am - 12:14 am These competitions are an integral part of the Wells Festival of Literature . The competitions are open to everyone. All entries must be in English.

There are four categories:

Open Poetry Competition – Poems on any subject not exceedig 35 lines. First prize: £1000.

Short Story Competition – Stories on any subject not exceeding 2,000 words. First prize: £750.

Book for Children Competition – Writing for children, age 7 and up, including writing for young adults. Submit up to three chapters or the first thirty pages. First prize: £750.

Young Poets Competition – For writers aged between 16 and 22. Poems on any subject not exceedingd 35 lines of text in length. First prize: £200.

At the time of entry, the work submitted must not have been entered into any other competition and must not have been published in any format or location.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid . They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free .

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/2025-wells-festival-of-literature-international-competitions/

These competitions are an integral part of the Wells Festival of Literature. The competitions are open to everyone. All entries

25/04/2025

Our 16th 5 day writing challenge is coming up…

Here’s the good news! We’re back with the Writers Ink Free 5 day writing challenge, starting on 5th May 2025.

We’ll tell you what publishers, literary agents and readers really want from a story and help you get it finished. Our highly successful mentoring process and five day challenge - with a lesson a day to guide you, tools to keep you on track and daily check-ins with us - will help you craft the bones of a compelling story in just 5 days.

In our Writers Ink community, we’ve taken complete beginners through to publishing contracts with major publishers. In fact, we have a whole bunch of published success stories.

Who are we?

Bestselling author Sam Blake’s latest book The Killing Sense was an instant top ten bestseller in January. She has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times and her latest YA Something’s About to Blow Up just won the International Education Services Teen & YA Novel Of The Year 2024 at the An Post Irish Book Awards.

The founder of Writing.ie, The Inkwell Group and the Murder One International Crime Writing Festival, she is also Chair of the Board of the Society of Authors and a board member of Maria McHale | Journalist & Mentorrs Association.

Maria McHale () is a journalist, communications consultant and mindset NLP coach who works with clients who want to get noticed and tell their story - from entrepreneurs to emerging authors. An award winning blogger, she has written regularly for the Irish Times and most of the leading UK newspapers and magazines too.

An experienced mentor and coach, she is expert at identifying and removing limiting beliefs and behaviour patterns which keep writers stuck.

Sign up for the challenge - comment CHALLENGE and we will send you the link.

See you on the inside.

Maria and Sam

25/04/2025

Five days left to send us your poetry! Check out our guidelines and submit your poems at blackbird.submittable.com/submit.

25/04/2025

Only one week left to submit! Send us your work by April 30th 💌

First prize is $1,000 for each genre, print and web publication, and bragging rights! Every U.S. entrant receives a free, one-year print subscription per submission.

Full guidelines on our website + link in bio ✨

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23/04/2025

📌 New writing competition
★Ajuda Foundation Creative Writing Competition ★
📆Deadline: August 31, 2025 9:06 pm - 9:06 pm All entries must explore the theme of Mental Health and Wellbeing . This theme can be interpreted in any way, via fiction (short stories), autobiographical memoirs, or poetry.

The competition is open to anyone.

Entry Categories:

Short Stories : Maximum of 2,000 words.

Autobiographical Memoirs : Maximum of 2,000 words.

Poetry : Maximum of 75 lines.

All entries will be judged based on how well they engage with the theme of mental health and wellbeing.

Prizes :

1st Prize: £100

2nd Prize: £50

3rd Prize: £25

Winners will be announced on 10th October at the Mental Health and Wellbeing Wales Awards 2025 at the Mercure Hotel, Cardiff.

The judges are Paul Jenkins and Ruth Morgan.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid . They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free .

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/ajuda-foundation-creative-writing-competition/

All entries must explore the theme of Mental Health and Wellbeing. This theme can be interpreted in any way, via

23/04/2025

It's almost the end of April. Crazy how time flies!
Here is our list of writing competitions and opportunities to win prizes and get published with deadlines in May 2025.

22/04/2025

Southword Creative Non-Fiction Award 2025

Competition deadline: 30th June 2025

'We are looking for compelling writing, as memoir or as innovative essays or as a mixture of both' - Munster Literature Centre

Read more:
https://www.writing.ie/writing-comps/southword-creative-non-fiction-award-2025/

21/04/2025

40 days left to submit your novel extract, poetry, short story or flash fiction to our creative writing competition. That's 40 fresh opportunities to transform a blank page into one where your words sing!

All entry info at bridportprize.org.uk

Deadline day 31 May. ✍️