Join the stampede to 2024 writing contests

 Nothing enforces New Year's resolutions like competition. And time crunches. For some incentives to get those writing muscles back in shape -- or keep them strong -- check out this list of 2024 contests and their deadlines. 

Now - January 15: Modern Muse for Writers First Five Pages Contest seeks entries from all literary genres. Free. Submit your first five pages (up to 1,500 words). Winners receive developmental critiques and line edits of their first chapter, up to 15 pages. See the site for details.

Now - January 15: Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition seeks stories of not more than 1,500 words. This is an extended deadline -- for this contest only, ignore the deadline posted on the site. Winners receive cash prizes and publication. Fee: $30 for first entry, $25 for each additional entry. See the site for details.

Now - January 28: AutoCrit's "Start Strong Challenge" opens, using prompts from its community of writers. Finalist entries will be read live on YouTube, with the audience determining the winner. Word limit: 1,000. There's no fee for the contest, but you have to pay to play by joining the AutoCrit community. Luckily, it's offering discounted subscriptions! See the site for details and those all-important prompts.

Now - February 1: The First Line magazine's contest requires contestants to open their work with the provided first line, currently: "Mr. Morton needed a new pair of shoes," although non-fiction essay entries may deal instead with writers' favorite opening lines from literary works. Free. The contest repeats quarterly with new opening lines. Winners receive publication and cash awards. See site for details.

Now - February 29: The Crime Writers' Association offers two contests for newbie writers: The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition and The CWA Debut Dagger. Entry fee is £18 for the Margery Allingham contest, £42 for the Debut Dagger. See the site for details. 

Now - March 1: Speak Your Truth contest (site). This one's just for Dallas, Texas, residents/students ages 15-20. Apply to become the Youth Poet Laureate of Dallas for 2024-2025. Winner receives a $1,000 scholarship. See the site for youth poet duties. Email libyouthservices@dallascityhall.com for more information.

Image by Brigitte Werner for Pixabay

Nowish - mid-March: ArmadilloCon, Texas' feisty sci-fi/fantasy/horror convention returns with a flash fiction contest. No fee but contests must be the convention's writing students from 2017-2024. (Hint: if you're thinking of joining for the full convention in August, now's the time!) This year, contests will be able to provide input for themes. This information just hit my inbox, with the 2024 website not yet online. Contact writersworkshop@armadillcon.org for information. I'll also update this site as soon as possible.

Now - May 1: ThrillerFest's Best First Sentence contest is looking for the to-die-for opening of your work of mystery or suspense. This is also pay to play -- entrants must be members of the ITW (International Thriller Writers) or registered for ThrillerFest XIX 2024. See the Best First Sentence site for details.

Now - June 30: One of my favorite goofy writing contests is the annual Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest, commemorating the 19th century novelist infamous for the opening line: "It was a dark and stormy night. . ." Each entry must consist of a single, unpublished sentence of any length, although the authorities recommend (i.e. plead) for it not to exceed 50-60 words. The winner will receive a certificate and bragging rights. Free. See the site for details and hilarious previous winning entries.

Now - October 1: If every story must have a first line, it must also have a last one. Check out The Last Line magazine (sister journal to The First Line) for a contest with an ending prompt. For 2024, that prompt is, "I didn't want to admit it, but Lee was usually right." See site for details. Winners receive cash and publication.

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Want more contests? Of course, you do! See the likes of Poets & Writers, Reedsy, Erica Verrillo's month's lists, New Pages, The Submissions Grinder, and Writers of the Future for inspirations!

Kick the COVID slump – winter writing contests abound

(Updated January 14 to show dates of Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Contest, possible updates to WRiTE CLUB contest)

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I did a lot of posting in 2020 about writing contests that go marching on despite pandemic quarantines. If 2021 looks like a lot of the same, the good news is still that contests aren’t dependent on masks, social distancing, or vaccines. A click of a keyboard can still send them on distant journeys without fear of contagion. Read on for some ways to stretch our writing skills!

Now - April 30: Writers League of Texas Manuscript Contest is now open. Writers don't need to live in Texas to enter in multiple fiction and nonfiction genres. We don't even need a completed manuscript -- only the first 10 pages and a synopsis that describes the rest of the planned book. Winners receive free registration to the conference (now scheduled for September 17-19) in Austin, Texas, plus one-on-one critiques (in person or by phone call) from a top literary agent in each category. Fee: $55 for WLT members, $65 for nonmembers (includes written critique) or $25 for WLT members, $35 for nonmembers who prefer not to receive a critique. See the site for details.

January 15 -29: #10Queries, not exactly a writing contest but a chance to find out if our queries and first five pages have what it takes to hook an editor’s/agent’s/reader’s attention. Writers submit their names in a random drawing via Rafflecopter. If selected, their query and first pages will be randomly assigned to an editor who will tweet comments using the Twitter hashtag #10Queries. Writers must have a compete query letter and first five pages of their manuscript to enter but will not submit these unless their name is drawn. Free. See the Revise & Resub site for details.

Now – January 31: The Masters Review Winter Short Story Award for New Writers contest for fiction up to 6,000 words. $20 entry fee, celebrity judge, cash prizes and potential for publication and agency reviews. See the site The Masters Review | Submissions for details.

Now – January 31: The early pricing deadline ($25) for Book Pipeline’s Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest.  Cash prizes and distribution to selected agents and publishers for unpublished manuscripts in nonfiction and multiple fiction genres. 

Now – February 26: Crime Writers’ Association competition for unpublished writers. No completed novel needed to enter, but writers must be able to send their first 3,000 words and a 1,500-word synopsis. Cash prize for winner. Entry fee: £36, payable through PayPal, which will be happy to convert your currency. See site  for details for this and the following:

Now – February 26: Also from CWA, the Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition. Submissions limited to 3,600 words and must pay homage to the Golden Age author’s definition of a mystery, “The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.” Cash prize plus perks for winner. Fee: £12. See the site for details.

Now – April 1: Early bird deadline for entry in Writer’s Digest 2021 Self-Published Book Awards. $99 for first entry, $85 for each additional entry.  See the Writer’s Digest WD Competitions - Writer's Digest site for details.

Now – May 7: Early bird pricing deadline for entry in Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition. $20 for first poetry entry, $15 for each additional poetry entry. $30 for first prose entry, $25 for each additional prose entry in multiple categories. See the Writer’s Digest site  (WD Competitions - Writer's Digest for details.  

Although DL Hammons has said his WRiTE CLUB readers’ choice contest is still on for 2021, he hasn’t announced dates yet. This may be due to the contest’s association with the DFW Writers Workshop conference. I learned at the January 13 evening meeting of the DFWWW that the conference is now schedule for October 22-24 as an in-person event. I'm waiting to hear back from Hammons about how this affects the dates of his contest. 

In the meantime, of course we still want more contests! Check out the listings on Ralan.com, Kotobee, Erica Verrillo’s Publishing. . . and Other Forms of Insanity blog , and Reedsy.