The Contest Correspondent‘I can never find a writing contest to enter!’
Let our Contest Correspondent do the legwork for you.
Now all you have to do is write a winning entry. by Grace TierneyGreetings Writers! As the days start to lengthen around here I always try to use those extra long evenings to work on contest entries. Have a read of this week’s issue and you will find some contests to tempt the writer in you, too. I’ve found 15 for you from four different countries and although some have residency requirements, most are open for all entrants. Don’t even think about them taking too much time, one contest only requires ten lines! Whichever competition you decide on always visit the contest’s Web site for complete details. If you know of any other contests please e-mail them to grace.tierney@ireland.com. All competitions are open to international authors unless otherwise noted. Happy writing and good luck! Papermite Spring Short Story Contest
The theme for the story is “open-minded.” Think about non-traditional relationships, expanding gender roles, and breaking social norms. Look at alternative lifestyles and make them more acceptable to the masses with a killer short story. Papermite is an independent short story ezine dedicated to helping new voices of today get exposure.
Web Site: http://www.papermite.com/writing_contest_guidelines.html
How to Submit: submit online via their Web site
Type of Contest: short story
Length: 1,000 word maximum
Deadline: February 1, 2004
Fee: free
Prize: first prize is 50 US dollars plus a review in Papermite’s spring issue, second-fifth place finalists win publication within Papermite’s spring issue.
Frequency and location of contest: quarterly, USA Sacramento Poetry Center Winter Poetry Contest
Judge for this contest is Dennis Schmitz.
Web Site: http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org/
How to Submit: snail mail your poems without any personal information on them to Sacramento Ballet Company Building, 1631 K St., Sacramento, California 95814, USA. Include a cover page with your name, address, and e-mail address. On the cover page list the name of each poem submitted with the first line of the poem beneath its respective title. You can enter as many poems as you like.
Type of Contest: poetry
Length: no restriction
Deadline: February 1, 2004
Fee: three US dollars per poem. Make checks or money orders out to Sacramento Poetry Center. If possible, please indicate 2004 Winter Contest in the memo line of the check.
Prize: First prize is 100 US dollars, second is 50, and third gets 25
Frequency and location of contest: quarterly, USA ‘Gulf Stream’ Firsts Fiction and Poetry Contests
{entrants must be previously unpublished writers of fiction and poetry}
The fiction judge of this contest is April Smith, the author of ‘North of Montana’, ‘Be the One’, and ‘Good Morning Killer.’ The poetry judge is Nick Carbó.
Web Site: http://w3.fiu.edu/gulfstrm/Contest.htm
How to Submit: Please include cover page and short bio. Your name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Snail mail to Firsts Contest, ‘Gulf Stream’Magazine, English Department, FIU Biscayne Bay Campus, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, Florida 33181-3000, USA
Type of Contest: poetry and fiction
Length: 5,000 words maximum
Deadline: February 1, 2004
Fee: ten US dollars for first fiction entry and five for each additional entry. Ten US dollars for three poems and five for each additional poem. Entry includes a one year subscription to ‘Gulf Stream’. Please make your checks payable to ‘Gulf Stream’ Magazine
Prize: Fiction first place gets 500 US dollars and publication in ‘Gulf Stream’, second and third places get notation. Poetry first place gets 250 US dollars and publication in ‘Gulf Stream’, second and third places get notation.
Frequency and location of contest: unique, USA The Raymond Carver Short Story Award
Previous winning entries are listed on the site. This year’s judge is Mary Hood.
Web Site: http://www.carvezine.com/contest.htm
How to Submit: Entries may be e-mailed or snail-mailed using the guidelines and links available on their Web site.
Type of Contest: short story
Length: 8,500 word maximum
Deadline: February 1, 2004
Fee: 15 US dollars for one entry, 25 for two, 30 for three. Please do not submit more than three entries. International entrants may pay by check in their local currency. Payments may be made via their Web site.
Prize: First prize is 2,000 US dollars, second is 1,000, and third is 300. All submissions are considered for publication.
Frequency and location of contest: annual, USA American Gem Short Script Contest
This contest is seeking a script which may be in any genre and must be possible to produce on a low budget. Full rules and details and past winners are available on their Web site and the contest sponsors include FilmMakers Magazine, Final Draft, Action/Cut and Scr(i)pt Magazine
Web Site: http://www.filmmakers.com/contests/short/index.htm
How to Submit: submit your entry online at http://www.filmmakers.com/forms/contest.htm
Type of Contest: short film script (narrative)
Length: 5-45 pages
Deadline: February 2, 2004
Fee: 35 US dollars or 18 for students
Prize: FilmMakers.com will produce the winning script. FOX will read the top 25 scripts. The grand prize is 500 US dollars plus 5% of gross, certificate to an Action/Cut seminar. A year’s subscription to Scr(i)pt Mag is given to the top five scripts. Second and third prizes are digital camcorders and cash. Fourth and fifth prizes are cash, and sixth-tenth get Syd Field videos.
Frequency and location of contest: annual, USA Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award
{entrants must be a citizen of, or normally resident in, the island of Ireland}
This award will be presented by the James Joyce Centre in association with The Irish Times and is a major new literary award for the 2004 Bloomsday Centenary. Davy Byrnes is a pub which was used by Joyce as part of the setting of the most famous Irish novel of the 20th century.
Web Site: www.jamesjoyce.ie
How to Submit: Entry forms for the competition are available from the James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1, Ireland. For further information contact Declan Meade, the competition administrator, at davybyrnes@jamesjoyce.ie or Declan Meade, James Joyce Centre35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Type of Contest:short fiction
Length: no restriction listed
Deadline: February 2, 2004
Fee: none listed
Prize: first prize is 20,000 Euros. The eight most promising emerging writers will be offered the opportunity to attend a residential, week-long series of master classes at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, Co. Monaghan, Ireland
Frequency and location of contest: annual, Ireland PJ O’Connor Awards
{entrants must be Irish or resident in Ireland}
This award was established 21 years ago by Ireland’s national television and radio broadcaster to encourage new writers of radio drama. Full guidelines are downloadable from the Web site in pdf format.
Web Site: www.rte.ie/radio1/events/pjawards/
How to Submit: Download the entry form from the Web site and then snail mail your entry to PJ O’Connor Awards, RTE Radio Centre, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Type of Contest: radio play
Length: 30 minutes duration
Deadline: February 6, 2004
Fee: free
Prize: Professional production of the winning plays. 3,000 Euros for the winner, 2,000 for second place, and 1,000 for third place. A writers’ workshop will also be provided for writers showing promise.
Frequency and location of contest: annual, Ireland Written Word MidWest ScreenWriter and Playwright Contest
Unrestricted subject matter. Open to all genres.
Web Site: http://www.creativeon-line.com/wwscreenwriters.html
How to Submit: Anonymous submissions; Pseudonym only on script. Actual author name and contact information should be placed in a separate sealed envelope attached to the script. SASE necessary for return. Snail mail your entry to The Written Word, 11220 West Florissant, Ave., #233, Florissant, Missouri 63033, USA.
Type of Contest: script
Length: no restriction given
Deadline: February 9, 2004
Fee: 25 US dollars. Make Checks Payable to Sister Circle Publishing House.
Prize: 1,000 US dollars is the first prize
Frequency and location of contest: unique, USA The “On-in-Ten” Comic Poetry Competition
{entrants must be resident in the USA}
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Virginia Festival of the Book and honor this witty and light-hearted genre, the festival organizers and the online anthology Poetry Daily are sponsoring a contest that begs a question: Can you be “on” in ten? They are searching for humorous poems of ten or fewer lines. Your entries can include limericks, quatrains, clerihews, free verse epigrams, or a groaner of your own. The poems must meet two strict requirements: they have to be short and they have to be funny.
Web Site: http://www.vabook.org/contest/
How to Submit: snail mail to Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, On-in-Ten Competition,
145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA
Type of Contest: comic poetry
Length: 10 lines maximum
Deadline: February 10, 2004
Fee: Five US dollars
Prize: Ten winners will be selected to appear in the “On-in-Ten” chapbook: a limited edition letterpress collection, hand-set and printed at the Virginia Arts of the Book Center. Each finalist will receive ten copies of the chapbook and be eligible for the grand prize of 100 US dollars.
Frequency and location of contest: unique, USA The What is a Frog-Dog Contest
FrogDog Communications is sponsoring a contest to find the best story, essay, poem, drawing, painting, photograph, or sculpture describing a FrogDog. Because they know what a FrogDog is to them, but what is it to you?
Web Site: http://www.frog-dog.com/
How to Submit: Submissions should be e-mailed to FrogDog with the entrant’s full name and contact information. If submitting text, please copy your text into the body of your e-mail. If submitting artwork, please submit a link through which they can view the work. If you cannot submit a link, attach low-resolution files to your e-mail. Please note carefully that all entries become the property of FrogDog Communications.
Type of Contest: story, essay, poem, drawing, painting, photograph, or sculpture
Length: no restriction
Deadline: February 10, 2004
Fee: free
Prize: The winner, to be determined democratically by the FrogDog staff, will receive 100 US dollars. The winner will be contacted on or before March 15, 2004, and the winning entry will be displayed on the FrogDog Web site on or before March 31, 2004.
Frequency and location of contest: unique, USA First Look Independent Productions Ltd.
They are looking for well written and original scripts for theatre, film, and radio. They do not care if your script is a multi-million dollar blockbuster action adventure film or a radio script set in a broom cupboard so long as it is the well written, fresh, and original. Their web site gives lots more information as well as formatting advice. Telephone +44 (0)20 7306 3301 Fax +44 (0)20 7581 4445 Postal address Studio 767, 2 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7 3DQ, England or e-mail competition questions to scripts@f-l-i-p.com.
Web Site: http://www.f-l-i-p.com/FAQ.htm#When%20are
How to Submit: Snail mail your script, together with a completed entry form and your cheque (made payable to FLIP) to their postal address.
Type of Contest: script for film, theatre or radio
Length: Film writing (feature film scripts only), theatre writing (full length stageplays only i.e. approximately 90+ minutes running time), and radio writing (scripts must not exceed 50 minutes running time).
Deadline: February 13, 2004
Fee: radio scripts – 25 UK sterling, theatre or Film scripts – 50. There is a discount for multiple entries. At present they only accept cheques/bankers orders in pounds sterling.
Prize: The winners in each category get a First Look deal with their production company. In addition the winners’ scripts will be showcased in FLIP’s professionally directed and acted readings in London. All scripts entered will receive at least two pages of industry-style ‘coverage’ from industry professionals.World-wide representation for the winning script in each of the three categories. Rewrite advice and general nurturing for all shortlisted scripts.The fee will be refunded for all shortlisted scripts.
Frequency and location of contest: quarterly, UK ‘A Room of One’s Own’ Fiction and Poetry Contest
Web Site: http://www.roommagazine.com/news.html
How to Submit: snail mail to Fiction and Poetry Contest, Room of One’s Own, P.O. Box 46160, Station D, Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 5G5, Canada. Follow formatting guidelines outlined on the Web site
Type of Contest: fiction and poetry
Length: Poetry category: maximum 3 poems or 150 lines. Fiction category: maximum 4,000 words
Deadline: February 15, 2004
Fee: 25 Canadian dollars or 28 US dollars. Each entry is entitled to a complimentary one-year subscription to Room of One’s Own.
Prize: Winners will be published in a 2003 issue of ‘Room of One’s Own’. Other manuscripts may be published. Prizes in each category will be 500 dollars for first place and 250 for second place.
Frequency and location of contest: annual, Canada The W.B. Yeats Society of New York Poetry Competition
This contest is open to members and non-members of any age, from any locality. Entries should be previously unpublished and can be on any subject.
Web Site: http://www.yeatssociety.org/contest.html
How to Submit: entries should be sent via e-mail. No entry form is necessary.
Type of Contest: poetry
Length: 60 lines maximum
Deadline: February 15, 2004
Fee: Eight US dollars
Prize: First prize is 250 US dollars, second prize is 100. Winners and honorable mentions receive one-year memberships in the Society and are honored at a literary tea in New York. Authors retain rights, but grant them the right to publish or broadcast the winning entries.
Frequency and location of contest: annual, USA David Robert Books Stanzas Poetry Competitions
David Robert Books seeks to recognize new and established poets, and celebrate the art of poetry. Poets should submit a full-length manuscript.
Web Site: http://www.davidrobertbooks.com/
How to Submit: snail mail to P.O. Box 541106, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45254-1106, USA. Manuscript should include a cover sheet with author’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. A separate cover sheet is not required. Manuscript should include a list of acknowledgments and a brief author biography. Do not include an SASE. You can register online to receive e-mail notification of contest results.
Type of Contest: poetry book
Length: minimum 48 pages
Deadline: February 15, 2004
Fee: 20 US dollars payable to David Robert Books.
Prize: The winner receives a cash award of 1,000 US dollars, and 25 copies of their book.
Frequency and location of contest: annual, USA The Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction
{entrants must be US citizens}
Web Site: http://www.sarabandebooks.org/contest/mary_mccarthy_prize.html
How to Submit: snail mail with entry form (details available on their Web site) to The Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, Sarabande Books, Inc., PO Box 4456, Louisville Kentucky 40204, USA
Type of Contest: collection of short stories, novellas, or a short novel
Length: 150-250 pages
Deadline: February 15, 2004
Fee: 20 US dollars
Prize: 2,000 US dollars, publication of a collection of short stories, novellas, or a short novel, and a standard royalty contract.
Frequency and location of contest: unique, USA 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. |
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