64 Writing Contests in December 2020 - No entry fees

This December there are more than five dozen writing contests calling for every genre and form, from poetry, to creative nonfiction, to completed novels. Prizes range from $45,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.

Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

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.

Good luck! 

(Photo credit: Pixabay)

________________________

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, 2020. 

Louise Beech. Genre: Short story of no more than 2050 words. Prize: £50. Deadline: December 1, 2020. 

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, 2020.

Patrick Henry Writing Fellowship. Genre: Nonfiction book in progress. The project should address the history and/or legacy – broadly defined – of the American Revolution and the nation’s founding ideas. It might focus on the founding era itself, or on the myriad ways the questions that preoccupied the nation’s founders have shaped America’s later history. Fellowship amount: $45,000 stipend, health benefits, faculty privileges, a book allowance, and a nine-month residency (during the academic year 2018-2019) in historic Chestertown, MD. Deadline: December 1, 2020.

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, 2020.

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, 2020.

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, 2020.

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, 2020.

Law & Technology International Writing Competition. Restrictions: Open to all college and university students around the world. Genre: Essay. (See topics.) Prize: £1,500. Deadline: December 1, 2020.

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, 2020.

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, 2020.

Polar Expressions Publications Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Genre: Short Story. Prize: $300, $200, $100. Deadline: December 4, 2020.

The Sunday Times Audible Story Award. Restrictions: Open to any author who has been published in the UK or Ireland. Genre: Short stories of 6000 words or less. Prize: £30,000. Deadline: December 4, 2020.

Grub Street: Writing Black Joy: True Stories From Real People. Restrictions: Open to any resident over the age of 18 in New England (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) and New York state. Genre: True stories between 500 and 1000 words. Submissions can be in any genre: prose, poetry, or cross-genre. "During a time when the news is mostly dispiriting, we want to read true stories about joy – specifically Black joy: moments, scenes, memories, that celebrate Black families, relationships, culture, and history. We are looking for a vivid story that is transporting and meaningful – maybe funny, maybe poignant, but always with joy at its center." Prize: The winner will receive $1000, 2nd place $750, and 3rd place $500. Deadline: December 6, 2020. (Deadline extended)

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." See prompts. Deadline: December 6, 2020.

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 7, 2020.

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. Genre: Nonfiction book. Applicants for the award must already have a contract with a U.S.-based publisher to write a nonfiction book. Award: $25,000.  Deadline: December 9, 2020.

Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize is sponsored by the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival. Genre: Non-fiction essay between 4 to 10 pages, set in Brooklyn about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. (Up to 2500 words). Prize: $500. Deadline: December 10, 2020.

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 2020. Self-published and e-Books are not eligible. Prize: $500 - $2000. Deadline: December 10, 2020.

Flo Gault Student Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Full-time undergraduate college students in Kentucky. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 11, 2020. 

Sana: 10th Muse Interactive Fiction Writing Contest. Genre: Short story on theme Happily Ever After… Or Not? Prize: 1st 500€, 2nd 200€, 3rd 100€. Deadline: December 11, 2020.

The Levis Reading Prize is sponsored by the Department of English and its MFA in Creative Writing program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Restrictions: The prize is given annually for the best first or second book of poetry published in the previous calendar year. Genre: Poetry.  Prize: $5000. Deadline: December 15, 2020.

Zone 3 Press Broadside Competition. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $100. Deadline: December 15, 2020.

Roswell Award for Short Science Fiction. Genre: Science fiction, 1500 words max. Prize: $500. Finalists have their stories read by celebrities in Hollywood. Deadline: December 15, 2020.

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: Novel or collection of short stories published within the last three years. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 15, 2020.

TapRead. Genre: Long-form fiction. Prize: Up to $1000. Deadline: December 16, 2020.

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 19, 2020.

New York Encounter Poetry Contest. Genre: Poetry on the theme "When Reality Hits." Prize:  Cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 will be awarded to first, second and third place poems.  Deadline: December 19, 2020.

Beatrice Medicine Award for Scholarship in American Indian Studies. Genre: Essay and/or book about Native American studies published in 2020. Prize: $250. Deadline: December 20, 2020.

Writers’ Trust / McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Restrictions: Only works from writers who are Black Canadian citizens, whether living in Canada or abroad, or permanent residents of Canada are eligible. Genre: Short story or excerpt from a fiction work-in-progress first published by a Canadian magazine or annual anthology during 2019 and 2020. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: December 23, 2020.

VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Genre: First novel published in 2020. No self-published books. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 30, 2020.

Inaugural Poem Contest for Students. Restrictions: Open to US students 18 years or younger. Genre: Poems "reflecting on the country's challenges, strengths, and hope for its future" that may be read as part of the announcements program at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 30, 2020.

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 30, 2020.

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 31, 2020.

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, 2020.

International Young Theatre Playwriting Contest. Genre: Plays for young audiences (no plays for children or adult audiences, or musicals), written in any official European language Prize: €2,400 for Category A, €1,000 for Category B and other prizes. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

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, 2020.

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, 2020. Read details HERE.

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, 2020.

Make A Way Book Award. Restrictions: “American Editions invites progressive American authors to apply. Authors must have a strong, regular social media presence that is free of trolling or bias against marginalized groups.” Genre: Nonfiction book-length essay about changing the United States for the better. Prize: $700. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

The Caribbean Writer Prize. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora, written by a US or UK Virgin Islands resident accepted for publication by The Caribbean Writer during the deadline year. 2020 theme: "Diasporic Rhythms: Interrogating the Past, Imagining a Future.”  Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

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, 2020.

Center Field of Gravity Award. Genre: Science-fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories or long-form poems up to but not exceeding 17,000 words. Prize: $200. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

USNI General Prize Essay Contest. Restrictions: Authors must be USNI members or those eligible for membership. Genre: Essay "to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.” Prize: $6,000. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

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: $2,000.  Deadline: December 31, 2020.

The Four Quartets Prize. Genre: unified and complete sequence of poems published in America in a print or online journal, chapbook. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were brought together and they form a complete sequence. Prize: Three finalists will receive $1,000 each. The winner will receive an additional $20,000. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award.  Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter free of charge. Others must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: Poetry, unpublished and published. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter free of charge. Others must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: Poetry, unpublished and published. Lyric poem that addresses a philosophical or epistemological concern. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter free of charge. Others must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: Poetry, unpublished and published. Original poem in any form on a humanitarian theme. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Lyric Poetry Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter free of charge. Others must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: A lyric poem on any subject. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter for free. Others must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: A poem inspired by Dickinson though not necessarily in her style. Prize: $250. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

George Bogin Memorial Award. Restrictions: Only Poetry Society of America members may enter for free. Others must pay a $15 entry fee. Genre: Poetry that takes a stand against oppression. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

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 31, 2020.

Lilith Magazine Fiction Competition. Genre: Story of interest to Jewish women. Prize: $250.  Deadline: December 31, 2020.

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, 2020.

SLF Working Class Writers Grant is sponsored by the Speculative Literature Foundation. Genres: Speculative fiction, magical realism. Restrictions: Applicants must be working class (see guidelines page for definition) and demonstrate financial hardship. Available to international writers. Prize: $750. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Hooks Institute National Book Award. Genre: nonfiction book that best furthers understanding of the American Civil Rights Movement and its legacy. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Card Contest. Genre: Poem. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Lex:lead Essay Competition. Restrictions: Finalists must show citizenship in an eligible country and enrollment in studies with at least one law class in an eligible country to be confirmed for award.  Genre: Essay on topic: How can laws promoting gender and disability rights support economic development? Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2020. You must register by October 31.

Natan Notable Books Award. Genre: Recen­t­­ly pub­­lished or soon to be pub­lished nonfic­­tion book on Jew­ish themes. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Society of Classical Poets, Poetry Translation Competition. Genre: Metered translation of a poem from the Romantic period or earlier. Prize: $100. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

Rune Bear Quarterly. Genre: Drabble of exactly 100 words on theme of “Dead of Winter.” Prize: $10. Deadline: December 31, 2020.

BOA Editions — Blessing the Boats Selections. Genre: Poetry by Women of Color. Prize: $5,000 + Publication. Deadline: December 31, 2020.