48 Writing Contests in July 2026 - No entry fees!

This July there are four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $100,000 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. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck! 

[Image: Wikimedia]

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2084 Literary Competition. Genre: Poem. The theme: Write something that pertains to a bigger, brighter future. Prize: $100. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Embracing Our Differences Exhibition. Genre: Thought-provoking quotations. Entries can be no longer than 20 words. Prize: $6000 total prizes. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

ALCS Award for Educational Writers. Genre: The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) Educational Writers’ Award is awarded to an outstanding example of traditionally published non-fiction that stimulates and enhances learning. The total prize money is £2,000, shared between author and illustrator. The ALCS Educational Writers’ Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors, “to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity, encourages students to read widely and builds up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications. Prize: £2,000.00. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Utah Division of Arts and Museums Original Writing Competition. Restrictions: Open to Utah writers. Genres: Poetry and prose. Prize: $1,500 top prizes for book-length manuscripts of novels, creative nonfiction & history, collection of poetry or short stories, and juvenile book. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Emmy Awards - Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award. Restrictions: Non-US citizens under the age of 30 only. Prize: $2,500, a trip to New York City, and an invitation to the International Emmy® Awards Gala in November. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Embracing Our Differences Quotation Contest. Genre: An original quotation to accompany a piece of artwork. Length: 20 words max. Prize: $2000. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Richard J. Margolis Award. Genre: Journalism. Prize is awarded annually to a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humor, wisdom and concern with social justice. Prize: $5,000 and one month of residency at Blue Mountain Center. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Boardman Tasker Prize. Restrictions: The prize will be awarded for a work first published or distributed in the United Kingdom between July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2026. Genre: Books with a mountain, not necessarily mountaineering, theme whether fiction, non-fiction, drama or poetry, written in the English language. Prize: £3,000.00. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Forum Prize. Genre: Essay on the subject of: “Science and the arts.” We are looking for bold, visionary and persuasive essays that use academic research to pursue innovative questions. The winning essay will be that judged by the panel to have best addressed the topic with flair, ambition and resonance.The topic may be addressed from the perspective of any of the literatures (including literary linguistics, translation and comparative literature approaches) normally covered by the journal: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish." Prize: £500 and publication. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Sponsored by Claremont Graduate University. Restrictions: Poets must be citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States. Genre: Poetry. Book must be author's first full-length book of poetry, published between between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Self-published books are accepted. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Sponsored by Claremont Graduate University. Restrictions: Poets must be citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States. Genre: Poetry. The work submitted must be a first book of poetry published between between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Manuscripts, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted. Prize: $100,000. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest (BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize and BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean). Restrictions: All entrants must be of Caribbean heritage/of Caribbean descent or writers who were born/raised and holding nationality in the Caribbean. Genre: Unpublished short fiction (3000 words max). Prize: US$1750 for each contest. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. Genre: Poetry. "The awards contest is an annual series of awards to encourage poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit." Prize: $200. Deadline: July 1, 2026. Free entry for poets age 12 and under.

On The Premises. Genre: For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story in which one or more characters are trying to make something–anything–smaller in some way. Trying to change their behaviors (“I will ____ less”) or their weight counts, and so does inventing a way to make something faster (“this process will take less time”). Stories must be between 1,000 and 3,000 words long. Prize: $250 for first place, $200 for second, $150 for third, and $75 for honorable mention. Deadline: July 3, 2026.

Hubert Butler Essay Prize. Restrictions: Open to European Union and UK citizens aged 18+. Genre: Essay on theme ‘With narratives of conflict currently distorted by misinformation and the substitution of memory for history, what are the chances of reconciliation?’ 3,000 words max. Prize: First prize of €2,500. Deadline: July 3, 2026.

RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction. Restrictions: The writer must be a resident of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or have been a resident in the UK or ROI for the past three years. Genre: Nonfiction book. Prize: Two awards – one of £10,000, one of £5,000 – are offered to support writers to complete their first commissioned works of non-fiction. Deadline: July 6, 2026.

FSG Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers from an underrepresented community. US resident or citizen. Genre: Debut work  of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. Submit work samples as part of the application: 8-12 pages for poetry, and 40-50 pages for prose. Work samples can include previously published work and need not be from a single selection of the work. Prize: Stipend of $15,000 and mentorship. Note: Farrar, Straus & Giroux is part of Macmillan. Deadline: July 6, 2026.

Only Poems Poem of the Month. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Prize: $40. Deadline: July 7, 2026.

HG Wells Short Story Competition. Genre: Short story on theme. See site. Length: 1,500 to 5,000 words. Prize: £1,000 and publication in the annual HG Wells Short Story Competition Anthology.  Deadline: July 7, 2026. No fee for writers under the age of 21. Those over 21 can enter for a fee.

Young Scots Writer of the Year Award. Restrictions: You must be aged 11–18 to enter as an individual. Genre: Stories, poems, spoken word pieces, comics, videos or other pieces of writing. "We want to see it all, as long as it's in Scots and under 2500 words or up to ten minutes." Prize: £100 book token. Deadline: July 8, 2026. 

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $100 Amazi gift card. Deadline: July 10, 2026.

The Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism. Restrictions: Open to women and nonbinary journalists. Genre: Narrative Journalism. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: July 12, 2026.

The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: Open to unpublished Australian residents aged 18 years or older. Genre: Fiction and narrative non-fiction, the first three chapters plus synopsis (max 20,000 words). Prize: $10,000 and a year’s mentorship with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers. The Guardian Australia will publish an extract of the first chapter of the winning work on its website. Deadline: July 13, 2026.

Donn Goodwin and Joseph Gahagen Poetry Prizes: Milwaukee Irish Fest. Genre: Poetry. Entries should have a culture/literary relation to either Ireland, Irish-America, or to Irish poetry. Prize: $100. Deadline: July 14, 2026.

Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Only undergraduates enrolled full time in United States and Canadian universities and colleges are eligible. Genre: Fiction of no more than 7,500 words. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: July 14, 2026.

Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest. Genre: Poetry. Categories: #1 Traditional Sonnet – Shakespearean or Petrarchan; #2 Modern Sonnet. Prize: $50, 2nd Prize $30, 3rd Prize $20, three Honorable Mentions, three Special Recognitions. Deadline: July 15, 2026.

Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genre: Fiction. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: July 15, 2026. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.) 

Roscommon New Writing Award. Restrictions: All entrants must have a connection with the county of Roscommon (born in, living in, currently working in, went to school in, etc). Genre: Short story, poem. Poetry collection. Prize: €500.00 for fiction or poetry. €600.00 for poetry collection. Deadline: July 16, 2026.

Nakata Brophy Short Fiction Prize for Young Indigenous Writers. Restrictions: The prize is open to Indigenous Australian writers who are 35 years or younger at the closing date of the competition. Genre: Short fiction. Prize: First prize includes $5000, an optional writing residency at Trinity College, and publication of the successful piece in Overland. Deadline: July 17, 2026.

The Burlington Contemporary Art Writing Prize. Restrictions: Entrants must have published no more than six pieces of writing in print or online prior to their submission. Genre: Review of a contemporary art exhibition. Prize: £1,000. Deadline: July 20, 2026. 

Peter Blazey Fellowship.  Restrictions: Applicants must either be an Australian citizen or have Australian residency. Genre: Non-fiction in the fields of autobiography, biography or life writing. Prize: $20,000, and a one-month writer-in-residency at The Australia Centre. Deadline: July 27, 2026.

Write the World Competitions. Restrictions: Young writers ages 13-19.5. Genre: Fantasy. Prize: Best Entry: $100; Runner up: $50. Deadline: July 27, 2026. (Note: This is a monthly contest.)

Landfall Essay Competition. Restrictions: Open to New Zealand writers. Genre: Essay about New Zealand. Prize: The winner will receive $3000 and a year’s subscription to Landfall. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize. Restrictions: Open to published writers. Genre: Short story collection, or two or more novellas. “Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 pages.” They also accept translated manuscripts. Prize: $25,000 and publication. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Journey’s End Fantasy Novel Contest. Restrictions: Open to unagented US writers who have never had a book traditionally published. Self-published authors are OK! Genre: Fantasy novel with a word count of 40,000 to 100,000. Prize: $500 and a publishing contract. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

SLF Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants. Restrictions: Open to writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. -- those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process. Genres: Book-length works (novels, collections of short stories) of speculative fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Polar Expressions Publications Short Story and Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Canadian citizens or residents of all ages. Genre: Short story, poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Hachette UK: The Future Bookshelf – The Robinson New Voices Award. Restrictions: Open to unpublished psychology writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and multiple ethnic backgrounds, as well as those who are disabled, gender diverse, part of the LGBTQIA+ community or from cultural or religious minorities. Genre: Works of commercial non-fiction, aimed at general readers, on any topic within any branch of psychology. Prize: £5000 advance. Deadline: July 31, 2026. 

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. Restrictions: Open to young poets age 11 - 17. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Publication. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Restrictions: Open to U.S. military service members and veterans and their immediate families. Genre: Prose and poetry. Prize: $250, $150, and $100. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

The Protopian Fiction Prize. Genre: Fiction. "The Protopian Fiction Prize invites you to share your vision of people working toward liberatory futures, meeting obstacles, and making real change. A “protopia” is an optimistic but achievable future. It's neither flawless nor catastrophic, but instead workably better than today. And it's one we've gotten to through steady progress rather than revolutionary leaps." See themes. Prize: 2 prizes, $5000 each. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Pride Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers. Genre: An unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words. Prize: $2,000. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Biopage. Genre: "Inspiring, uplifting, and heartwarming stories." Prizes: Up to $300. Deadline: July 31, 2026. Registration required.

The Stephen Spender Prize. Restrictions: Open to UK or Irish citizens, or pupils at a British School overseas. Genre: Translated poetry from Portuguese to English. Prize: £50-£100. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

What’s Your Story? Restrictions: Open to Victorian residents. (Australia) Genre: Poetry, short stories, CNF. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Northwind Writing Award. Genre: Prose Poetry, Poetry, Short Fiction, and Non-fiction/Essay/Memoir. Prize: $100 and publication. Deadline: July 31, 2026.

Apex Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Speculative fiction, 1000 words max. Prize: 8 cents/word or $10, which ever is greater. Deadline: July 31, 2026. Note: Apex Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest is open from the 7th until the final day of each month. The contest is themed.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: July 31, 2026. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.