14 Recurring Writing Contests - No entry fees

Charles Dickens looking for some inspiration

Updated 8/13/23

Winning a writing contest is a huge boost to the ego. Nothing makes a writer feel more confident than having a group of judges (who are also writers) find your work to be worthy of a prize.

But contests can serve another purpose. They are one of the best ways to get us off our duffs and locked to a keyboard, especially flash fiction contests.

Unlike journalists, fiction writers compose in a vacuum. There we are, alone in a room, typing away for nobody but ourselves. Sometimes, it's hard to get up and running. My advice is to use contests as a writing prompt!

These contests are recurring, so you will have plenty of opportunity to fail before you succeed. (Each failure is a step toward success.) None of them charge entry fees. Good luck!

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Recurring Contests

Continual

Reader's Digest 100-Word-Story Competition wants true story about you, in 100 words. Prize: $100.

Monthly

Kit Sora Flash Fiction Photography Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents in the Atlantic Provinces. Genre: Flash fiction inspired by a Kit Sora photo, 250 words max. Prize: 10 cents/word. 

Write the World Competitions. Restrictions: Young writers ages 13-18. Genre: Essay. Prize: Best Entry: $100; Runner up: $50.

Eerie River Publishing. Genre: Horror. Prize: $7.00 (CAD). Submissions open: 1st - 25th of the Month.

Writing District. Genre: short stories up to 3,000 words. Open theme. Prize: $50.

53 Word Story Contest. Genre: Flash fiction of exactly 53 words based on monthly theme. Prize: Publication and a free book. Deadline for entry is the 21st day of each month. Stories sent after the 21st will not be considered.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. Prize: $500AUD. "On the first Friday of every month, a new set of story prompts will be revealed. You will have 55 hours to submit your best 500-word (or fewer) story."

Prose. Genre: Stories of at least 15 words (length varies) responding to prompts. Prize: $100. Registration required.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." The prize is $100 for the chosen story plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is one story that wins and receives the full payout. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Rattle holds a monthly ekphrastic challenge. Winner gets $100 and online publication.

Weekly

Poetry Nook offers a free weekly contest. Prize: $100, with $10 for honorable mentions. You must register to enter, but registration is free. (Thanks to John Reinhart for this tip.)

Ad Hoc Fiction is a weekly free flash fiction contest. Prize: Winning will give you free entry into the Bath Flash, a contest with a top award of 1,000 pounds.

Microcosms is a weekly, microfiction contest, the primary goals of which are to inspire creativity, get writers in the habit of writing, and entertain readers! Prize: They aren't sure yet!

Reedsy runs a weekly short story contest based on prompts. Prize: $50 and publication.