60 Fabulous Writing Contests in December 2018 - No entry fees!

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December is a great month for writing contests. This month there are no fewer that 60 contests, and none charge entry fees. Prizes range from $40,000 to envy. (If you win a Pushcart, envy is quite enough.) As always, read the restrictions to make sure you qualify.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Most of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline is past, you can prepare for next year.

You have nothing to lose, so have at it!
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Washington State Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Washington State writers. Genre: Published book, all genres. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2018. 

Flo Gault Student Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Full-time undergraduate college students in Kentucky. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

Owl Canyon Press Short Story Hackathon #2. Genre: Short story consisting of 50 paragraphs. The contest provides the 1st and 25th paragraphs, and the short story writer composes the rest. Prize: First prize is $3000, 2nd prize is $2000, and 3rd prize is $1000 with the winning short stories published in a short story anthology, as well as an invitation to give a public reading at Inkberry Books in Niwot, CO. Deadline: December 1, 2018. 

Headway Quarterly Writing Contest. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Theme is mutants and mutation. Prize: $100. Deadline: December 1, 2018. 

The Real Be Yourself Blog. Genre: A fiction or non-fiction story or non-fiction article directly or closely related to pets, animals, wildlife or livestock. Length: Submission must be at least 250 words and no more than 1000 words. Prize: Publication on the RealBeYourself Blog, $25 Amazon gift card and free gifts. Deadline: December 1, 2018. (Deadline appears to be flexible.)

Better Than Starbucks. Genre: Metrical poetry. Your sonnet can be shakespearean, petrarchan, spenserian, rhymed, or slant-rhymed. Blank verse is fine, as long as the sonnet form is clearly identifiable. They'll consider tetrameter, hexameter, etc. as well as pentameter. Prize: $100.  Deadline: December 1, 2018. Previously published work accepted.

The David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction is offered annually to the best book in American historical fiction that is both excellent fiction and excellent history. Prize: $1.000.  Deadline: December 1, 2018.

The Schneider Family Book Award is sponsored by the American Library Association. The award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Prize: Three annual awards each consisting of $5000 and a framed plaque, will be given annually in each of the following categories: birth through grade school (age 0-10), middle school (age 11-13) and teens (age 13-18). (Age groupings are approximations). Genre: May be fiction, biography, or other form of nonfiction. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry. Restrictions: Open to African poets who have not yet published a collection of poetry. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

Poetry Center at Smith College Prize. Restrictions: Open to sophomore or junior high school girls in New England. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing. Restrictions: Open to published writers who are writing from the region. Genres: All. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

The W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. It recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction. Genre: Military fiction. Prize: $5000. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

The Pushcart Prize honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in small presses and literary magazines. Magazine and small press editors may nominate up to six works. Pushcart Press publishes yearly anthologies of the winning submissions. Prize: Publication.  Deadline: December 1, 2018.

New York Encounter Poetry Contest. Genre: Poetry on the theme "Something to Start From." Prize:  Cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 will be awarded to first, second and third place poems.  Deadline: December 2, 2018.

Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award. Restrictions: Open to an LGBTQ writer who has shown exceptional talent and the potential for continued literary success and significance in the future. The nominee must have published at least one but no more than two books, written in the discipline of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Works must be in the English language. Prize: $1,500. Deadline: December 4, 2018.

Literature Matters. Restrictions: UK residents. Genre: "Awards will be given to individual writers or other literary creators, recognising their past achievements and providing them with financial support to undertake a proposed new piece of writing or literary project. Launched as part of the RSL’s new Literature Matters programme, priority will be given to proposals which (a) will help connect with audiences or topics outside the usual reach of literature, and/or (b) will help generate public discussion about why literature matters." Award: £20,000. Deadline: December 5, 2018.

Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) provides direct support to individual Bronx artists who create literary, media, visual, and performing works of art. Prize: 25 BRIO grants of $3,000 each are awarded to Bronx artists. BRIO award winners complete a one-time public service activity. Deadline: December 10, 2018.

Friends of American Writers. Restrictions: The author must be a resident (or previously have been a resident for approximately five years) of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin; or the locale of the book must be in a region identified above. The author must not have published more than three books under his/her own pen name. Genres: Books can be fiction or creative non-fiction and published in 2017. Self-published and e-Books are not eligible. Prize: $4000. Deadline: December 10, 2018.

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. Genre: Uncompleted work of nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern. Prize: $30,000 fellowship. Deadline: December 10, 2018.

Unified Caring Association Student Essay Contest. Restrictions: Open to US High School Juniors and Seniors. Genre: Essay on topic: "If you were the 'Caring Ambassador' at your school, what would you do to inspire other students to be more caring?" Word count: 500 - 550 words. Prize: 10 first prizes of $333 scholarship; 10 second place essays will each receive a $100 scholarship. Deadline: December 10, 2018.

Weird Christmas Flash Contest. Genre: Weird flash fiction. 350 words max. Prize: $50 first prize, $25 second prize. Deadline: December 10, 2018.

Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Restrictions: The Prize is open to poets who were born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African. It is for ten poems exactly in order to encourage serious poets. These poems may, however, have already been published. Only poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published are eligible. Poets who have self-published poetry books or had chapbooks and pamphlets published are allowed to submit for this prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: £3000. Deadline: December 12, 2018.

Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest. Restrictions: Registered undergraduate full-time Juniors or Seniors at accredited four-year colleges or universities in the United States during the Fall 2015 Semester. Genre: Essay Topic: Articulate with clarity an ethical issue that you have encountered and analyze what it has taught you about ethics and yourself. 3,000 to 4,000 words. Prize: First Prize $5,000, 2nd Prize $2,500, 3rd Prize $1,500, two Honorable Mentions $500 each. Deadline: December 14, 2018. Read details here.

Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to residents of California.  Genre: Book of poetry, fiction or nonfiction. Prize: Gold medal. Deadline: December 15, 2018.

Ezra Jack Keats Children's Book Award. Genre: Published or self-published picture books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: December 15, 2018.

Rider University Annual High School Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to high school students. Genres: Essays, poetry, fiction. Prizes: 1st-$100, 2nd-$50, 3rd-$25. Deadline: December 15, 2018.

Magical Mail Writing Contest. Genre: Letter. Prize: One First Place winner will receive $500, one Second Place winner will receive $250, and one Third Place winner will receive $100. Deadline: December 15, 2018.

Spark Award: Held by SCBWI , open to members of SCBWI who are self-published. Genres: Fiction and nonfiction. Prize: Envy. The SCBWI is our most prestigious national organization (US) for children's book and YA writers. Deadline: December 15, 2018.

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award.  Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter. Genre: Poetry, unpublished and published. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter. Genre: Poetry, unpublished and published. Lyric poem that addresses a philosophical or epistemological concern. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter. Genre: Poetry, unpublished and published. Original poem in any form on a humanitarian theme. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

Lyric Poetry Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter. Genre: A lyric poem on any subject. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter for free. Genre: A poem inspired by Dickinson though not necessarily in her style. Prize: $250. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

George Bogin Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter for free. Other must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: Poetry that takes a stand against oppression. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter for free. There is a charge of $15 for non-members. Open to mid-career poets who have not had substantial recognition, and is over forty, and who have published no more than one book. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $2,500. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

The Four Quartets Prize. Genre: unified and complete sequence of poems published in America in a print or online journal, chapbook, or book in 2018. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were published in 2018 and that brought together, they form a complete sequence. Prize: Three finalists will receive $1,000 each. The winner will receive an additional $20,000. Deadline: December 22, 2018.

Emerging Poets Fellowship at Poets House. Restrictions: Applicants to the Emerging Poets Fellowship at Poets House must reside in one of the five boroughs of New York City. Students who are or will be enrolled in any degree granting program during Spring 2018 are ineligible. Deadline: December 29, 2018. There is no application fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Posen Society of Fellows Awards. Genre: Jewish-themed dissertation. Prize: $40,000 fellowship.  Deadline: December 30, 2018.

The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. Awards are given for both fiction and nonfiction. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, Griffin Poetry Prize. Restrictions: One prize goes to a living Canadian poet or translator, the other to a living poet or translator from any country, which may include Canada. Genre: Poetry. Books must have been published in English during the calendar year preceding the year of the award. Prize: C$200,000, is awarded annually in two categories – International and Canadian. Each prize is worth C$65,000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award in Literary Nonfiction (Kansas Book Award). Restrictions: Author must establish a connection to Kansas by birth, education, employment, residence or other significant claim. Genre: Book of literary nonfiction. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest. Genre: Speculative fiction prose, up to 17,000 words. Prize: $1,000 with $5,000 grand prize. Deadline: December 31, 2018. Read details HERE.

Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Card Contest. Genre: Poem. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2018. Read details HERE.

Best Translated Book Awards for Fiction. Genre: All original translations published between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 are eligible. Reprints and retranslation are ineligible. Prize: $5,000.00. Two awards of $5,000: one apiece for the author and translator of the winning book in fiction. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Best Translated Book Awards for Poetry. Genre: All original translations published between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 are eligible. Reprints and retranslation are ineligible. Prize: $5,000.00. Two awards of $5,000: one apiece for the author and translator of the winning book in fiction. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Black Caucus of the American Library Association. BCALA presents four awards to an African American writer published in the United States during the previous year: one for adult fiction, one for nonfiction, one for a first novelist and one for poetry. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora. Prize: Four $500.00 awards. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Brexit in Poetry Competition. Genre: Poem up to 50 lines about Brexit, by a poet age 18+. Prize: £200. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

FutureScapes Writing Contest. Genre: Short fiction on theme of “Cities of Promise.” "We’re seeking stories set in a near-future city where significant strides have been made toward addressing the complex intersection of homelessness, mental health, and drug and sex trafficking." Prize: Up to $2000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Lex:lead Essay Competition. Genre: Essay on topic: How can laws affecting the free movement of people reduce poverty and support economic development? Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2018. You must register by October 31.

Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. Sponsored by Rattle. Genre: Poetry. All published submissions during the year are considered for the prize. Follow their regular submission guidelines. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Society of Classical Poets, Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry. Three to five poems, each of which does not exceed 50 lines. The poems must be within the four themes used by the Society. Prize: First Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

The Lyric College Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

USNI Naval History Essay Contest. Genre: Essay.  Prize: First Prize: $6,000. Second Prize:$3,000. Third Prize: $2,000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Walter Muir Whitehill Prize in Early American History. Genre: Essay on early American history (up to 1825), not previously published, with preference being given to New England subjects. Prize: $2,500. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

William Carlos Williams Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to students enrolled in programs leading to the Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy degree. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

HQC Victorian SciFi Contest. Genre: Speculative fiction. "We are seeking stories set in the Hive, Queen, and Country (HQC) Universe – an alternate history Victorian Era setting with a hard science fiction flavor." Prize: Four $50 (USD) prizes will be awarded Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Viva la Novella. Restrictions: Open to Australian and New Zealand writers. Genre: Novella. Prize: $1,000 and publication in Seizure. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

Dapim: Studies on the Holocaust Article Prize Competition. Genre: Nonfiction of 7,000-10,000 words about the Holocaust. Prize: $1,000 top prize. Deadline: December 31, 2018.  Questions/submissions: dapim_h@univ.haifa.ac.il

Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry chapbook. Prize: $350. Deadline: December 31, 2018.

VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Genre: First novel published July–December 2018. No self-published books. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 31, 2018.