51 Writing Contests in October 2026 - No entry fees!

This October there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $60,500 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: Public Domain Pictures]

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The Lindenwood Review Undergraduate Flash Nonfiction Contest. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate students. Genre: Flash Nonfiction. Prize: Publication. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

Hektoen International Grand Prix Essay Competition. Genre: Original essay that relates medicine to the humanities. Topics might include art, history, literature, education, etc. as they relate to medicine.1,500 words max. See theme. Prize: $5,000 for the winner and $2,500 for the runner-up. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

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 $1,000. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

John Lewis Writing Grants. Restrictions: Open to Black and African American writers who have resided in Georgia for at least one year. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or screen/playwriting. Prize: $500. Deadline: October 1, 2026.

2027 IHLR Long Story: Nonfiction and Fiction. Genre: Long fiction or CNF. Length: 20 to 40 pages. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Note: They will accept 25 free submissions on October 1, 2026.

2027 Iron Horse Long Story: NaPoMo Contest. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Note: They will accept 25 free submissions on October 1, 2026.

Horror Writers Association Diversity Grants. Restrictions: Open to underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers. Genre: Horror. Prize: $500 grant. Deadline: October 2, 2065.

PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative. Restrictions: Applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. Prize: Grant, amount not specified. Deadline: October 5, 2026.

North Carolina State Fiction Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents of North Carolina with no published fiction books. Genre: Short stories. Prize: $500 for fiction (up to 5,000 words) and $250 for shorter fiction (up to 1,200 words). Deadline: October 5, 2026.

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 $2,400. Deadline: October 5, 2026.

The Solstice Prize. Restrictions: Open to 7 - 25 year olds. Genre: Short stories, blog posts, and poems. Nature writing. Prize: Publication and cash prizes for winners in three age groups: 7-11, 12-14, and 15-17. Deadline: October 10, 2026.

Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction. Restrictions: Open to both published and unpublished writers based in the UK. Genre: Short story. See theme. Prize: £500. Deadline: October 11, 2026.

DC Reid Poets’ Grant. Restrictions: Open to poets of "modest means." Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, living in Canada, who have published at least two books of poetry with a traditional publishing house. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $5000. Deadline: October 13, 2026.

Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to fiction writers aged 21+ who have not yet published a book and have never been enrolled in an MFA program. Writer must not have a book under contract with an agent and/or publisher at time of application, and writer cannot have been published by One Story (or have a forthcoming publication with One Story). Genre: Short fiction that "speaks to issues and experiences related to inhabiting bodies of difference." Prize: Free tuition for all of One Story's online classes and programming, a travel stipend of $2,000 and tuition to attend week-long summer writers' conference in Brooklyn, and a full manuscript review/consultation of a story collection or novel in progress with an executive editor. Deadline: October 13, 2026.

Neal Peirce Foundation Journalism Travel Grants. Genre: Journalism. "Grants are intended to support journalists in covering undertold stories about ways to make cities and their metro regions work better for all their people. Grants will cover travel expenses necessary for on-the-ground reporting. Full-time freelancers as well as journalists currently employed by a news organization are eligible to apply. The grants are for journalists to travel to cities within the U.S. to produce one or more stories for publication." Prize: Up to $1500. Deadline: October 13, 2026.

Latino Voices in Children’s Literature Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to Latino authors who are at least 18 years of age or older and residing anywhere in the United States. Genre: Children’s stories written by and about Latino people. Must be original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–800 words). Prize: $1,000 cash prize. Deadline: October 14, 2026.

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: $60,500 for a year of travel and study abroad. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

Voice.club. Genre: Flash fiction, 350 words max. See theme. Prize: $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Note: You have to join in order to enter. 

Charles Potts Poetry Award. Genre: First book of poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: October 15, 2026. (Sponsor confirmed that the date is correct, even though the date on the submissions page shows 2025.)

Prose Poetry Contest. Genre: Prose poem. Length: 150 words max. Prize: First place: £100 plus publication; Second place: £50 plus publication; Third place: £25 plus publication; Honorable mention: £10 plus publication. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Pay-if-you-can format for submissions.

The Fresh Voices Fellowship supports one emerging Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or other writer of color who does not have an MFA in creative writing nor an advanced English degree (MA, PhD), and is not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program. Prize: $2000. Deadline: October 15, 2026.

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 fiction, poetry. memoir, autobiography, and nonfiction. Prize: $30,000. Deadline: October 16, 2026.

Zocalo Book Prize. Genre: US-published nonfiction book that best enhances our understanding of community and the forces that strengthen or undermine human connectedness and social cohesion. 
Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 16, 2026.

Mindfood. Restrictions: Open to Australian and New Zealand residents only. Genre: Short story 2000 words in length and previously unpublished. Prize: U$1000 for the Australian winner and one (1) prize money of NZ$1000 for the New Zealand winner. Deadline: October 17, 2026.

Waltham Forest Poetry Competition. Genre: Poem on theme: Weather. Prize: 1st £50, 2nd £30, 3rd £20. Deadline: October 19, 2026. No entry fee for writers aged 18 and under.

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry. “We are looking for poems that seek out stories from the archives, revisit forgotten aspects of local history and celebrate unsung social histories in Greater Manchester." Prize: First prize £200, with £50 for second place, and £25 for third place. There will also be 10 highly commended poems with no financial remuneration. Entrants can be of any or no faith. No previous experience of creative writing or poetry required. All are welcome." Deadline: October 21, 2026.

Dark Descent. Genre: Horror microfiction, 250–500 words. Prize: £25. Deadline: October 25, 2026. Note: This is a monthly contest.

Write the World. Restrictions: Open to writers ages 13-19. Genre: Op-ed, personal narrative and creative writing on theme: "Justice." Prize: "Cash prize." Deadline: October 26, 2026. 

Bronx Council on the Arts Community Engagement Grants. Restrictions: Open to residents of Bronx County. Genre: All art forms, including writing. Grant: $1000 - $5000. Deadline: October 30, 2026.

Varnish Prize for Fiction. Genre: Short fiction, up to 5,000 words. Prize: First Place: $350. Second Place: $100. Third Place: $50. Deadline: October 30, 2026. Closes when cap is reached.

Raleigh Review Flash Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Open to US residents. Genre: Flash fiction. Prize: $300. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Submission fee of $7 is optional.

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Restrictions: Emerging African American writers. Genres: Short story collection or novel published in the current year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Shady Grove Literary. Genre: Any style, genre, tone of flash fiction. Length: 300 words max. Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

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 31, 2026.

Storyhouse: Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $250 in any single year. First prize winners of previous contests, while ineligible for prizes in regular contests, can compete in this one. Genre: Travel Nonfiction. Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

New York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize. Genre: Nonfiction history or historical fiction for middle-grade readers that was published in the US in the current calendar year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to poets of color with US citizenship who have not previously published a book-length volume of poetry. Genre: Poetry chapbook. Prize: $500, publication by Northwestern University Press, fifteen copies of the book, and a featured reading at The Poetry Foundation.. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

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, 2026.

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 artificial intelligence (AI) be regulated to reduce poverty and support economic development? Prize: $500 scholarship. Deadline: Registration deadline October 31, 2026.

US Naval Institute Essay Prize. Genre: Essay. Length: 3,000 words max. Great power competition will require the Sea Services to rethink how to address national, strategic, and operational challenges and the way they will have to fight. Essays may address any topic. Prize: First Prize: $6000; Second Prize: $3000; Third Prize: $2000. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

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. $350 cash prize. Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ award-winning student literary magazine. Ten copies of Cargoes. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Betty Trask Prize. Restrictions: Author must be a Commonwealth citizen. Genre: First novels, published or unpublished, written by authors under the age of 35 in a "traditional or romantic, but not experimental, style." Prize: Top prize 10,000 pounds. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

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, 2026.

McKitterick Prize. Restrictions: Open to authors over age 40. 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, 2026.

Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize. Restrictions: Open to a UK or Irish writer, or a writer currently resident in those countries. Genre: A novel focusing on the experience of travel away from home. Inspired by Malcolm Lowry’s novel, Under the Volcano and in celebration of its author, the prize aims to inspire literary excellence and encourage writers to travel and to write from the resulting experience. Publishers must enter the work. Prize: The winner will receive £2,000 and the runner-up £750. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

The Queen’s Knickers Award. Genre: Children’s illustrated book for ages 0-7. "It will recognise books that strike a quirky, new note and grab the attention of a child, whether this be in the form of curiosity, amusement, horror or excitement." Prize: £5,000, as well as a golden Queen’s Knickers badge. The runner-up will receive £1,000 and a silver badge. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Somerset Maugham Awards. Restrictions: Open to UK writers under the age of 35. Genre: Published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Prize: 2,500 pounds apiece to four winners. Prize money must be used for travel. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Mikrokosmos Annual Fiction and Poetry Contest. Genre: Fiction and poetry. Prize: First Place Prize: $250; Second Place Prize: $150; Third Place Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026.

ADCI Literary Prize. Restrictions: Open to authors with a disability and/or chronic illness. Authors must be a British national OR resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for three years prior to the date of submission for the award, and writing in English and submissions must have been published or self-published in the UK. Genre: Novel which includes a disabled or chronically ill character or characters. Prize: Winner will receive £1,000 and two runners-up £500 each. Deadline: October 31, 2026. Biennial prize. 

Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge. Genre: Poem inspired by artwork. (See site for image.) Prize: $100. Deadline: October 31, 2026. This is a monthly contest.

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: October 31, 2026. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.