35 Writing Contests in October 2019 - No entry fees

Flickr - Clinton Steeds

There are nearly three dozen writing contests in October for short stories, poetry, essays, scripts, and books in every genre. None charge entry fees. Prizes range from $100 to $54,000. 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 has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck!

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The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, sponsored by the African Poetry Book Fund and in partnership with the literary journal, Prairie Schooner, is the only one of its kind in the world and was established to promote African poetry written in English or in translation and to recognize a significant book published each year by an African poet. A standard edition is 48 pages or more in length. Genre: Open to any book of original poetry, in English, published during 2015 in a standard edition by a full-length collection of poetry. Restrictions: African nationals, African residents, or poet of African parentage with roots from any country, living anywhere in the world. Prize: USD $5,000. Deadline: October 1, 2019.

Young Poets Prize. Restrictions: Open to all poets ages eighteen and under. Genre: Poetry. Prize: First, second & third place prizes will be awarded to three poems in the amount of $300, $200 and $100, respectively. Deadline: October 1, 2019.

Stories Out of School. Genre: Flash fiction. Prize: First-prize winners receive $1000; second-prize winners, $500. Both will be published online by Electric Literature in The Commuter. Deadline: October 1, 2019.

Perito Prize. Genre: Fiction about accessibility. Prize: £250 and the story will be uploaded to the Perito Prize section of the Perito Ltd website. Deadline: October 1, 2019.

Houston Poetry Fest 2018 Youth Poet Competition and the Mary Villarreal Memorial Award. Restrictions: Poets aged 16 or younger by October 12, 2018. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $100. Deadline: October 1, 2019.

Royal Institute of Philosophy Essay Prize. Topic: Philosophy and International Relations. Prize:  £2,500 top prize. Deadline: October 1, 2019.

The Word Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing on the theme “light in our darkness.” Prize: £100, £50 and £25. Deadline: October 3, 2019.

Man Booker International Prize. The Man Booker International Prize for fiction translated into English is awarded annually by the Booker Prize Foundation to the author of the best (in the opinion of the judges) eligible novel or collection of short stories. Prize: £50,000 divided equally between the author and the translator. There will be a prize of £2,000 each of the shortlisted titles divided equally between the author and the translator. Deadline: October 4, 2019.

American Antiquarian Society Fellowships for Creative Writers is calling for applications for visiting fellowships for historical research by creative and performing artists, writers, film makers, journalists, and other persons whose goals are to produce imaginative, non-formulaic works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history. Successful applicants are those whose work is for the general public rather than for academic or educational audiences. The Society's goal in sponsoring this program is to multiply and improve the ways in which an understanding of history is communicated to the American people. Prize: A stipend of $1,150 to $1,350 and on-campus housing is provided; fellows residing off-campus receive $1,850. Deadline: October 5, 2019.

RBC Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction. Restrictions: Open to published Canadian authors. Genre: Nonfiction book. Prize: CAN$25,000.00. Deadline: October 7, 2019 for books published between August 24 and September 30, 2019.

2020 Embracing Our Differences International Art Exhibit Celebrating Diversity. Genre: Quotes, 20 words max. "These quotations provide the writers a chance to voice their thoughts, feelings and ideas reflecting our theme of “enriching lives through diversity and inclusion.” Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 8, 2019.

Fairytalez: Best New Phenomenon Fairy Tale. Genre: Original fairy tale or folktale that explains a how and why behind a natural phenomena – from the stars to the appearance of animals. Prize: $200 gift certificate to Amazon.com. Deadline: October 9, 2019.

NUHA Blogging Prize. Genre: Article on specific topic. (See website) Prize: $150 - $2400.    Deadline: October 12, 2019.

Bath Flash Fiction Award. Genre: Flash fiction (300 words max). Prize: £1000 prize for the winner, £300 second and £100 third. Two commendations £30 each. Deadline: October 13, 2019.

Kathy Fish Fellowship for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: All writers previously unpublished in SmokeLong Quarterly and who do not have a published chapbook or book-length work in any genre (or are not under contract for such) are eligible to apply. Genre: Flash fiction (1000 words max). Prize: $500. Deadline: October 15, 2019. (The application fee is $8. For writers who cannot afford an application fee, there is a free submission option in Submittable.)

A Public Space Emerging Writer Fellowships. Restrictions: Open to writers who have not yet contracted to publish a book. Prize: $1000 and six months of editorial support from A Public Space editors to prepare a piece of prose for publication in the magazine. Deadline: October 15, 2019.

Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship. Restrictions: Poet must be born in the United States. Genre: Poetry. The sample must not exceed either (1) 40 typed pages or (2) one printed volume plus no more than 20 typed pages of your most recent work. There is no minimum page requirement. Prize: $54,000 for a year of travel and study abroad. Deadline: October 15, 2019.

Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction. Restrictions: Open to residents of UK. Genre: Short stories between 2000-6000 words on the theme "Artificial Intelligence." Prize: £500 and 10 shortlisted authors will be published in an ebook anthology. Deadline: October 25, 2019.

50 Word Horror Story Halloween Contest. Genre: Horror: 50 words max. Prize: $500. Deadline: October 25, 2019.

The Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is given annually by the Arts Club of Washington to nonfiction books about the arts written for a broad audience. Genre: Non-fiction book. Self-published books not accepted. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 29, 2019.

The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest is sponsored by Hollins University. Restrictions: Open to young women who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Up to $5,000 renewable annual Creative Talent Scholarship in creative writing if winner enrolls at Hollins. Free tuition and housing for the university’s Hollins summer creative writing program. $200 cash prize. Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ award-winning student literary magazine. Ten copies of Cargoes. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is the most prestigious literary award in the US. Restrictions: Authors must be living American citizens. Self-published works not accepted. Genres: Novels, novellas, and collections of short stories. Prize: $15,000. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize. Restrictions: Entrants must be aged 18-25 years and living in the UK. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. Each year a question or quote exploring Franklin’s relevance in our time is open for interpretation in 1000-1500 words. Prize: First prize of £750, second prize of £500. Winning entries will be posted on the website and also published online by The Telegraph. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

The Eric Gregory Awards. Restrictions: Applicants must be under 30 and a British subject by birth and must ordinarily be resident in the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland. Genre: Poetry collection. Previously published work accepted. Prize: £4,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

The Young Walter Scott Prize. Restrictions: Open to UK authors aged 11-19. Genre: Historical fiction between 800 and 2000 words. Prizes: £500 travel and research grant to further explore historical places in the UK, and an invitation to the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland. Two runners-up in each category receive a £100 book token, and all four winning stories are published in a special YWSP anthology book. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

McKitterick Prize. Restrictions: Open to authors over age 40 on December 31, 2019. Genre: First novel. The work must have been first published in the UK in the year in which the deadline falls (and not first published abroad), or be unpublished. Prize: £4,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

Tom-Gallon Trust Award. Restrictions: Open to citizens of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland with at least one short story published or accepted for publication. Genre: Short story, maximum 5,000 words. May be unpublished. Prize: £1,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

Lex:lead Essay Competition. Restrictions: Candidates must show citizenship in an eligible country and be enrolled in studies with at least one law class in an eligible country at the time of the award. Genre: Essay: How can access to justice reduce poverty and support economic development? Prize: $500 scholarship. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

Kraemer Intergenerational Story Contest. Genre: Short story, video, art, audio clip featuring more than one generation. Length: 500 words max. Prize: $500. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. Restrictions: The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction is open to novels and short story collections first published in the UK or Ireland in the calendar year 2019. Genre: Fiction that explores ideas and issues, political themes, dilemmas and injustices through imagined narratives. Prize: £3,000.00. Deadline: October 31, 2019. 

Frontier New Voices Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers traditionally under represented by mainstream magazines and presses, in order to make that “breaking in” a little easier. Prize: $500 grant meant to be used toward covering industry submission costs, multiple publications (original poetry and prose) in Frontier, participation in their editorial community, and introductions to agents and presses. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

Deborah Rogers Foundation Award. Restrictions: Applicants may not be under contract to any publisher for any work or title. Applications are only open to writers who have not previously published or self-published a full length book of their own prose writing (with the exception of a collection of poetry). Entrants must write in the English language and reside within the British Commonwealth and Eire. Genre: Excerpt: 20-30,000 words of a work in progress, fiction or non-fiction, which is not under option or contract. Prize: £10,000. Deadline: October 31, 2019.

The End of Our World 2.0. Genre: Stories about climate change. Prize: Up to $1000. Deadline: October 31, 2019.