48 Writing Contests in March 2016 - No entry fees

Jonathan Wolstenholme

There are many free writing contests in March. (Quite a few have deadlines on March 31st.)

While book-length works garner the most substantial prizes, short stories, essays, and poems are also well worth entering into contests. Cash prizes often are accompanied by publication, and it's always nice to include an award on your resume.

Some of these contests have age and regional restrictions, so make sure to read the contest rules carefully.


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Talking Stick. Restrictions: Writers must be from Minnesota or have some connection to this area. Genres: Poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction. Prize: $250 for first place and $100 for second place in each of the three categories. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Carriage House Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry about trees. Prize: $300 and publication in Tiferet. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Balticon Poetry Contest. Sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Genre: Speculative poetry. Prize: 1st prize: $100; 2nd prize: $75; 3rd prize: $50. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Lewis Galantière Award is bestowed biennially in even-numbered years. Genre: Book-length literary translation translated from any language, except German, into English and published in the United States between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2015. Prize: $1,000, a certificate of recognition, and up to $500 toward expenses for attending the ATA 57th Annual Conference in San Francisco, California, November 2-5, 2016. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Madeline P. Plonsker Emerging Writer's Residency Prize. Restrictions: Open to an emerging writer under forty years old—with no major book publication. Genre: Novel in progress. Prize: Stipend of $10,000 with a housing suite and campus meals provided by the College, and three weeks in residence on the Lake Forest College campus during the Spring 2017 term. Possible publication. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award is sponsored by Broadside Lotus Press. Restrictions: This competition is open to African American poets only. If you have already had a book published by Lotus Press, you are ineligible. However, inclusion in a Lotus Press anthology does not disqualify you. Genres: Poetry collections of approximately 60-90 pages. Prize: $500 in cash and publication by Broadside Lotus Press within the first three months of 2017 as well as free copies and discounts. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The John Gardner Fiction Award is sponsored by the Binghamton Center for Writers-State University of New York with support from the Office of the Dean of Binghamton University's Harpur College of the Arts & Sciences. Genre: Novel or collection of fiction published in 2015. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $200 and publication in Icon. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry is an annual regional prize, presented in partnership by Milkweed Editions and the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation. Restrictions: Open to residents of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $10,000 as well as a contract for publication to the author of the winning manuscript. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award is sponsored by the Binghamton Center for Writers-State University of New York with support from the Office of the Dean of Binghamton University's Harpur College of the Arts & Sciences. Genre: Poetry book in English published in 2015. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

North Carolina Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents of North Carolina (including students). Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: March 1, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Irish Post's Creative Writing Competition. Restrictions: Open to residents of UK. Genre: Poetry, fiction on an Irish theme. 1000 words max. Prizes: €500, publication in the Irish Post, and a trip to the Listowel Writers’ Week in Co. Kerry, June 1-5. Deadline: March 3, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Premises: CHANGES. One or more character(s) have to deal with some kind of significant change. It can be any kind of change you like, and on any scale, from a change affecting only one person (or one place, or one thing) to something affecting everyone/everything everywhere, or anything between those extremes. Genre: Short story. Length: Between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Prize: Between US$60 and US$220, and publication. Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern US time, Friday, March 4, 2016.

"It's All Write!" Teen Short Story Contest. Restrictions: Open to Grades 6-12. Genre: Short story, unpublished. Prize: 1st Place $250, 2nd Place $150, 3rd Place $100. Deadline: March 6, 2016. How to enter: Read guidelines HERE.

The Mogford Prize for Food And Drink Writing. Genre: Short story which specifically includes the subjects of food and/or drink within the plot. 2500 words. Prize:£7,500 to be awarded during the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival in April 2016. Deadline: March 6, 2016. How to enter: Read additional guidelines HERE.

Thresholds International Feature Writing Competition. Genre: Nonfiction feature in one of two categories: Author Profile: exploring the life, writings and influence of a single short story writer. We Recommend: personal recommendations of a collection, anthology, group of short stories or a single short story. Prize: 1st prize of £500, runner-up prize of £100 Deadline: March 6, 2016. How to enter: Read additional guidelines HERE.

AE Micro. Genre: Science fiction, flash fiction. 200 words, max on the subject of "Change." "We will select five entries for publication in the microzine: three Canadian stories and two international." Prize: $.07 CAD per word for each of the five selected stories, with a minimum of $10 for any one story. Deadline: March 7, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Genre: Short fiction. Restrictions: Candidates must be: A Canadian citizen or permanent resident; Under the age of 35 as of March 7, 2016; Previously published in an independently edited magazine or anthology; Unpublished in book form and without a book contract. Prizes: Winner: $5,000; Finalists: $1,000. Deadline: March 7, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

NEA Literature Fellowships are sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Prize: $25,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry to published creative writers that enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. Deadline: March 9, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Awards. Restrictions: Open to all adult and high school age Chicago area poets. There is also an elementary and middle school category open to Evanston elementary and middle school students. Genre: Poetry. Prize: First Place: $100; Second Place: $50; Third Place: $25. Deadline: March 9, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Nantucket Directory Poetry Contest.  Genre: poem about Nantucket Island. Prize: $250 and publication in the print and online editions of the 2016-2017 Nantucket Directory. Deadline: March 10, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize is awarded to the author of the best first novel published in the previous calendar year. Restrictions: Only American authors publishing in English are eligible. Non-eligible books include short story collections, flash fiction, memoirs, biographies and books published solely in electronic format. Prize: $500. Deadline: March 11, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

BBC National Short Story Award 2016. Restrictions: Open to UK residents or nationals, aged 18 or over, who have a history of publication in creative writing. Genre: Short fiction. Prize: £15,000 to the winner, £3,000 for the runner-up and £500 for three further shortlisted writers. Deadline: March 11, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Critical Junior Poet’s Award. Restrictions: Open to students between the ages of 13 and 18. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $100. Deadline: March 15, 2016.

Governor General's Literary Awards. Restrictions: Books must have been written or translated by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. They do not need to be residing in Canada. Genre: The Governor General’s Literary Awards are given annually to the best English-language and the best French-language book in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Young People’s Literature (Text), Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books) and Translation (from French to English). Prize: $25,000. Deadline: March 15, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

Iris N. Spencer Undergraduate Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Poetry composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme and received forms. Prize: First prize $1,500, and a runner-up prize $500. Deadline: March 15, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

Myong Cha Son Haiku Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Haiku. Prize: First prize $1,500, and a runner-up prize $500. Deadline: March 15, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

Rhina P. Espaillat Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Original poems written in Spanish and translations of English poems to Spanish. Prize: First prize $1,500, and a runner-up prize $500. Deadline: March 15, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

Lynn DeCaro Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to Connecticut Student Poets in Grades 9-12. Genre: Poetry. Prize: 1st $75, 2nd $50, 3rd $25. Deadline: March 15, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

The Binnacle Ultra-Short Competition. Genre: Prose works of 150 words or fewer as well as poetry of sixteen lines or fewer and 150 words or fewer.  All works should have a narrative element to them. Prize: A minimum of $300 in cash prizes will be awarded, with a minimum prize of $50. At least one of the prizes will go to a UMM student. Deadline: March 15, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Jane Martin Poetry Prize (UK). Restrictions: Open to  UK residents between 18 and 30 years of age. Genre: Poetry. Prize: £700, second prize, £300. Deadline: March 18, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Pandeism Collegiate Writing Competition. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate and graduate collegiate students of philosophy, theology, religious studies, social sciences, arts, literature, applied sciences, or comparable disciplines. Genre: Article presenting original thought in exploring implications of the modern theological theory of Pandeism (pantheistic Deism, belief in a Creator wholly becoming our Universe, proposed to be discernible by application of logic and reason). Papers written for course credit are acceptable. Submissions do not need to take a position in favor of or opposed to Pandeism as a theory, but must present original thought about its relative possibility, relation to other areas of theology, or implications for areas such as epistemology, ethics and morality, or science. Submissions must be a minimum of 3,000 words and a maximum of 6,000 words. Only one (1) article may be submitted by each student. Prize: $250 Amazon gift card and publication. Deadline: March 18, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

The Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award seeks to elevate the written arts in Indiana. Restrictions: Any living published writer who was born in Indiana or has lived in Indiana for at least five years will be eligible. Authors who have published works of fiction, prose, poetry and/or non-fiction are eligible; reference works, scholarly monographs and books of photography will not be considered. Self-published authors are considered. Prize: National Author: $10,000 cash prize and $2,500 grant for his or her hometown Indiana public library. Regional Author: $7,500 cash prize and $2,500 grant for his or her hometown Indiana public library. Emerging Author: $5,000 cash prize and $2,500 grant for his or her hometown Indiana public library. Deadline: March 18, 2016. How to enter: Read submission guidelines HERE.

Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition for High School Students. Restrictions: Open to students in Grades 7-12. Genre: Haiku. Prizes: $50. Deadline: March 25, 2016. Read submission guidelines HERE.

Southern Pacific Review Short Story Contest 2016. Located in Chile. Genre: They are not sure what they want, but they'll know it when they see it. Length: 1600 words max. Prizes: $100 USD and publication in Southern Pacific Review. Deadline: March 30, 2016.

Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Competition. Genre: Essay. Length: 1600 words max. Prizes: Military Prize—on a medical topic related to wars and veterans, $1500. General Prize—Physicians of Note, and Famous Hospitals, $1500. Deadline: March 31, 2016.

Operation Thriller. Sponsored by Reedsy. Reedsy is a self-publishing startup that offers its users access to skilled freelance book-production professionals. Genre: Book-length thriller. Prize: $750 cash plus free developmental edit by a Reedsy editor and free cover design by a Reedsy designer. Deadline: March 31, 2016.

Archibald Lamp­man Award. Restrictions: Open to residents of Canada's National Capital region (Ottawa). Genre: Book of any genre published by a recognized publisher. Prize: $1500. Deadline: March 31, 2016.

Foley Poetry Contest. Genre: One unpublished poem on any topic. The poem should be 30 lines or fewer and not under consideration elsewhere. Prize: $1000. Deadline: March 31, 2016.

The Gover Story Prize. Genre: Short Fiction & Creative Nonfiction. Works of short prose must be less than 10,000 words, previously unpublished, or published with a circulation of less than 500. Prize: $250.00. Deadline: March 31, 2016. No reprints or simultaneous submissions.

The Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction. Genre: Novel published in 2015 (50,000 words minimum). Book has to be set in one of the original eleven states in the Confederacy. (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.) Prize: $2,500.00, and an expense paid trip to New York City. (The winner must come to NY to receive the award, attend a luncheon with the contest judges and a reception in his/her honor.) Deadline: March 31, 2016.

Florida Keys Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Flash fiction (500 words max). Prize: Three-week Key West residency at the Studios of Key West between July 5 and July 31, 2016. Deadline: March 31, 2016.

Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards for Excellence in Published Haiku, Translation, and Criticism. Genre: Published book. Books must have been published in 2015 and must clearly contain a printed 2015 copyright. A member, author, or publisher may submit or nominate more than one title. At least 50 percent of the book must be haiku, senryu, or haibun, or prose about these subjects (books mostly of tanka, for example, are not eligible). Deadline: March 31, 2016.

Speculative Literature Foundation Older Writers Grant. Restrictions: Open to writers who are fifty years of age or older at the time of grant application. Genre: Speculative fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: March 31, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest. Restrictions: open only to those who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Genres: Science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy up to 17,000 words. Prizes: Three cash prizes in each quarter: a First Prize of $1,000, a Second Prize of $750, and a Third Prize of $500, in US dollars. In addition, at the end of the year the winners will have their entries rejudged, and a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $5,000. Deadline: March 31, 2016. Read contest rules HERE.

Jack L. Chalker Young Writers' Contests. Restrictions: Open to writers between 14 and 18 years of age as of May 29 in the contest year who reside in, or attend school in Maryland. Genre: Science fiction or fantasy, 2,500 words max. Prizes: $150, $100 and $75. Deadline: March 31, 2016. Read contest rules HERE.

Gary Fincke Creative Writing Prize. Restrictions: Open to undergraduates. Genre: Poetry and prose. Prize: $100. Deadline: March 31, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.

Spank the Carp - Ekphrasis! Genre: Poetry. Ekphrastic poems draw inspiration from a work of art, and the piece for this contest is by Elizabeth Darrow. Prize: A coffee mug! (And publication). Deadline: March 31, 2016. Read guidelines HERE.