Fantasy Writing Contests

by Grace Tierney

“Let us help you to find the perfect writing contest to enter and leave you free to do what you’re good at, writing your entry.”

What was the first story you ever read? Was it a fairy story by any chance? Yes, I thought so. Fortunately there is a genre which allows us to continue in that vein of magical adventures and escapism when we’re grown up and it’s called Fantasy. Despite the disdain sometimes poured on fantasy writing it is clear that winning contest entries in this field require terrific writing skills matched with a clear grasp of history and mythology along with a hyper-active imagination. The blend of derring-do, good triumphing over evil, and magic might make a beginner think that they can throw anything together and call it fantasy but readers expect their magic to be believeable. Fans and writers alike bring their passions to regular gaming sessions and conventions and those can be a revelatory starting point for any writer.

Following the huge influence of Tolkien in this genre some writers will spend years creating languages, back histories, and maps of their fictional lands. Others delve into the realms of legend for inspiration and if you fall into this group then try is Myths and Legends (http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/myth.html) for more information on Robin Hood, Arthur, Greek and Roman legends, Nordic sagas, celtic myths than I could possibly imagine. The resources are sorted by region and country and comprehensive is the only word for this site.

Humor writers could consider branching out into humor/fantasy in the footsteps of Terry Pratchett and the late-great Douglas Adams as the market appears to be there judging by their top-ten sales.

Two other places you could get started are Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site (http://www.sfwa.org) and The New Zealand based Pen and Sword (http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~pip/). Pen and Sword has plenty of ideas from links to celtic and photographic inspiration through to great short tips on technique and motivation and a useful section on how to survive your first CON (a.k.a. fantasy convention) and where to find publishers for your work when you have it written. The friendly tone of the site’s creator should put any writer at their ease.

So this week, after looking at sci-fi contests in my last edition, I’ve been checking out fantasy contests. It’s a hugely popular area with readers and writers worldwide and there’s a interpretations of Fantasy from Tepper to Tolkien and Gemell to Pratchett and I’ve included them all from flash fantasy right up to novel-length and fantasy for younger readers. Now get your imagination fired up and grab your pen, or your sword!

You’ll also find my regular round-up of contest deadlines for the month at the bottom of this page.

Happy Writing and Good Luck!

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All contests are annual unless otherwise noted and all are
open to international writers

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DreamVault
novels, stories, novellas, or works of art including fantasy
http://www.dreampassage.com/contest.html
monthly

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Dark Tales Short Story Competition
Short dark fantasy
http://www.darktales.co.uk
quarterly and they’ve just launched a flash fiction contest of the same style, deadline September 1

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Quantum Barbarian of the Year Writing Contest
short fantasy fiction up to 5,000 words
http://www.quantumbarbarian.com/contest1.html
January 31

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SpecficWorld Writing Contest
Fantasy up to 10,000 words
http://www.specficworld.com/contest.html
March 15

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PlaneTree Fantasy Contest
Short fantasy
http://www.planetreecompetitions.co.uk/index.html
March 31

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Abilene Writers Guild Contest
Fantasy novel
http://www.abilenewritersguild.org/#contest
August 2

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SciFi Writers of Earth Fantasy Short Story Contest
fantasy short fiction
http://home.flash.net/~sfwoe/
October 30

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The Foster City International Writer's Contest
Adult and children’s short fantasy fiction
http://www.geocities.com/fostercity_writers/categoriesinfo.html
December 31

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Coming Soon to the Writing Contest Department:

Forthcoming features will focus on contests for poetry collections, horror, contests for young writers, personal essays, plays, screenplays, haiku, quirky contests, non-fiction writing, no-fee contests, humor writing, short story contests, travel writing, writing for children, speculative fiction, and even contests with unusual prizes.

I’m always looking for new contest types to research, so if you’re looking for one, just drop me a line. I’d also love to hear from you if you win a contest you read about here or if you have a contest to suggest for inclusion. Please note that I will only include contests which are open to writers anywhere in the world, as our readers are geographically dispersed.

Contest Deadlines from 11 September to 10 October

September 14
Poetry and Short Speculative Fiction
Dr. Maximilian Tundra Memorial Poetry and Short Speculative Fiction Contest
http://www.emilychesley.com/contest

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September 15
Poetry
Caketrain Chapbook Competition
http://www.caketrain.org/

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September 15
flash fiction
Small Press Review's Super Short Writing Contest
http://www.smallpressreview.com/happenings.htm

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September 15
short fiction
Rrofihe Trophy
http://www.opencity.org/rrofihe

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September 15
short fiction
Saturday Writers Short Story Contest
http://www.saturdaywriters.org/contest.htm

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September 21
short fiction
Hemingway Short Story Contest
http://www.lostgeneration.com/contestrules.htm

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September 24
poetry – haiku
The Creating Reality Haiku Competition
http://www.creatingreality.co.uk/haiku.html

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September 30
poetry collection
Pudding House Publications Give 'em Shelter Poetry Chapbook Competition
http://www.puddinghouse.com/

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September 30
speculative fiction travel grant application
Speculative Literature Travel Grant
http://www.speculativeliterature.org/Awards/SLFTravelGrant.php
(This is not strictly speaking a contest, but it was too good to ignore!)

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September 30
personal essay
The Society of Southwestern Authors Writing Contest
http://www.azstarnet.com/nonprofit/ssa/contest.html

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September 30
Non-fiction stories
Preservation Foundation Competition for Unpublished Writers
http://www.storyhouse.org/contest.html

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September 30
literary non-fiction
Rogers Communication Literary Non-fiction Contest
http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests/index.htm

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September 30
short fiction
Canadian Writer's Journal Short Fiction Contest
http://www.cwj.ca

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September 30
Poetry
Anthology Magazine Poetry Contest
http://www.anthology.org/Contests.html

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September 30
Short fiction and Non-Fiction and Poetry
Inland Empire California Writers Club Short Story, Non-fiction, and Poetry Contest
http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/iecwc/contest.html

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September 30
Poetry
The Aldrich Poetry Competition
http://www.aldrichart.org/performingartspoetry.html

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September 30
poetry collection
New Criterion Poetry Contest
http://www.newcriterion.com/constant/poetrycontest.htm

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September 30
short fiction and poetry
Washington Square Review
http://cwp.fas.nyu.edu/page/wsr

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September 30
Unpublished Novel
The Fish Unpublished Novel Award
http://www.fishpublishing.com

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September 30
poetry - tanka format
Tanka Splendor Contest
http://www.ahapoetry.com/TScontes.htm

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October 1
poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction
Thin Air Poetry and Prose Contest
http://www.nau.edu/english/thinair/contests.htm

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October 1
Play
Tallahassee Writers Stagelight Playwriting Contest http://www.twaonline.org/contests.htm

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October 1
Poetry
The Loella Cady Lamphier Prize for Poetry
http://millerspondpoetry.com/Contests.html

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Grace Tierney is a freelance writer who lives in Ireland. When she’s not researching writing contests, she enjoys gluttony, reading, gardening, and travel. Her short stories have been published in the US and UK, and her non-fiction has been published in Ireland, the UK, America, and Australia. She is a staff writer with Writer Online and Netsurfer Digest. Grace may be contacted via www.gracetierney.com