Twelve Nonfiction Writing Contests To Prepare For Now!
Entering contests can provide you with credibility, they can help you network with other professionals, and they can train you to be a more disciplined writer. I decided this week that I would provide you with twelve contests soon to start or currently running. Almost every contest listed offers a cash prize. Who doesn’t love winning money? Some of these have small entry fees but with a nice cash prize, publication, and just feeling accomplished I would say it’s well worth it.
- FanStory.com is offering a $100 cash prize for their contest that is now open. They are looking for memoirs, personal essays, and works of literary nonfiction on any topic. The recommended word count is 2 – 3000 words with a minimum of 500 and a maximum 7,000. The deadline for this contest is September 4, 2011.
- Black Warrior Review is now holding its annual contest that offers a $1,000 prize. They are accepting submissions for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The deadline for entry is September 1, 2011.
- Other Voices is still holding their poetry and literary nonfiction contest; the deadline for fiction was in April. The deadline for the poetry contest is October 1, 2011 and the deadline for the literary nonfiction is September 1, 2011. $250 goes to the winning entry.
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- Hunger Mountain is holding their annual contest for creative nonfiction. There’s a $1,000 prize for the winner and the postmark deadline is September 10, 2011.
- Alligator Juniper is holding their annual contest for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. This contest also has a $1,000 prize for the winner and the deadline is October 1, 2011.
- So to Speak is taking submissions for their spring 2012 contest. Submissions cannot exceed 4,500 words and the deadline is October 15, 2011. The prize is $500 and there are also contests in poetry and short fiction.
- The Briar Cliff Review is currently holding their fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction contest. There is a $1,000 prize for each category and the deadline for submissions is November 1, 2011.
- The Malahat Review is holding their Open Seasons Awards contest. This contest accepts poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions. There is a $1,000 prize and the deadline is November 1, 2011.
- PRISM International has contests for poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction. The nonfiction prize is $1,500. This is an annual contest so if you miss this year you can make early submissions for the next contest. The deadline for the nonfiction contest is November 30, 2011.
- Prairie Fire has a contest open for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions. Winning submissions are published in Prairie Fire magazine. The winners are also paid for their submissions but I didn’t see where it says how much. The deadline is November 30, 2011.
- The Litchfield Review is seeking poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions for their contest. The deadlines for submissions are June 30th and December 31st yearly. Winners receive publication and a cash prize.
Last but not least the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts November 1st and ends November 30th every year. This contest is not about winning money. This contest is about setting a big goal and really applying yourself to follow through. The prize is feeling accomplished because you do. Writing 50,000 words in one month is a lot and if you can complete that then you should be very proud of yourself for sure!
If you enter any of these contests I would love to know how you did! Now get writing and most of all, have fun!
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10 Responses to “Twelve Nonfiction Writing Contests To Prepare For Now!”
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Twitter: sandijohnson1
says:
Great post Crystal! I may have to check out a few of these myself.
I did NaNoWriMo last year for the first time and had a blast. There are all sorts of local writing events for those participating, so it really is an experience to remember.
Twitter: CrystalJCase
says:
I remember you doing the NaNoWriMo! That one scares me the most lol.
I need to enter some of these strictly for the disciplinary reasons!
Twitter: janis_bennett
says:
Great list of writing contests! I’m curious, are there fees to enter these, or are they free? I have never entered a contest before but I’m thinking of maybe trying a few out!
Twitter: CrystalJCase
says:
Janis,
I’ve never entered a writing contest but I’ve entered a couple of lyric/songwriting competitions before. I received a ribbon for one, basically just for participating, but it was nice to get that little recognition.
Most of these have fees but they are small. The NaNoWriMo has no fee and I also did not see a fee listed for The Litchfield Review. I believe the fee for the first on the list was only $10. The others range from $15 to $35 but there may be one that is a little more.
Good luck if you enter one! Let us know how it goes!
Twitter: CrystalJCase
says:
I just read my comment…”I’ve never entered a writing contest but I’ve entered a couple of lyric writing contests before” lol. Writing is writing “write?”
Twitter: GeorgeAngus
says:
Crystal,
Thanks for this list. Inspiring, it is. Some of the best books I’ve read recently were narrative non-fiction. (Unbroken, specifically)When I worked at the library I put together a Reader’s Advisory for narrative non-fiction. It was a lot of fun to write!
If I enter and win any of these contests I’ll let you (and the whole world) know!
george
Twitter: CrystalJCase
says:
I’ve read your stuff George and I think you have a very good chance at putting $1,000 in your pocket.I am hoping you’ll put some of it in mine! lol
Definitely keep us updated!
Attention All Writers,
There is a great nonfiction contest going on right now at Memoirs Ink and it’s the perfect contest to enter for all of you who are interested in personal essay.
Memoirs Ink is looking for original, well-written personal essays, memoirs, or stories that are based on autobiographical experiences. The narrative must be in first person, other than that, the contest is open to any type, genre or style of story. Stories can be funny or sad, serious, artsy or fragmented. We are interested in pushing the boundaries of memoir and also in just regular memoir that doesn’t try too hard–so long as it moves us. This contest is open to any writer, any age, writing in English–that means Canadians, Brits, Australians, Ugandans and anyone else anywhere can enter.
Check out more information here: http://memoirsink.com/writingcontestguidelines/
Best of luck to you writers. Cheers!
Deadline: February 15, 2012 (postmark)
Late Deadline: March 1, 2012 (postmark)
Entry Fee: $15
First Prize: $1000 Second Prize: $500 Third Prize: $250
Twitter: CrystalJCase
says:
Thank you, Jill!