Hello Writers!
There’s still plenty of summer left to enjoy, so if you’ve been putting off that first submission until “things calm down,” here’s your nudge. This week, the opportunities I’m sharing are all free to enter. There are no entry fees and no financial barrier between you and the prize. Just bring your best work.
This week: 19 free-to-enter opportunities | Prizes up to £15,000
Free-to-enter opportunities are rarer than paid ones, so you might spot a few familiar events below alongside new finds. I always hunt for fresh opportunities first, but when it comes to no-fee competitions specifically, there’s simply a smaller pool to draw from.
Deadlines run from the last days of August 2026 through to next April 2027. So, there’s no need to rush anything out the door. Take your time, explore the details, and bookmark the opportunities that stand out to you. And don’t miss the Rejection Competition tucked in near the end. It’s a year-long, tongue-in-cheek dare that turns the sting of a “no” into something worth celebrating.
Creative writing quote(s) of the week:
I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.
– Sylvia Plath
Deadline: 21 August 2026
The John Glassco Translation Prize has been awarded annually since 1982 by the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada (LTAC/ATTLC), honouring an emerging literary translator’s first book-length translation. The 2026 edition marks its 42nd year. Eligible entries are first book-length translations into French or English, published by a recognised press between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. The original text may be in any language. The prize is open only to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Self-published or digital-only titles are not eligible.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: CAD $1,500 and a one-year LTAC membership
Find out more: https://www.attlc-ltac.org/en/john-glassco-prize/
Deadline: 21 August 2026
Organised by the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival in County Donegal, Ireland, this year’s poetry competition takes “New World” as its theme, open to interpretation as entrants wish. Entrants must be aged 18 or over and either from the island of Ireland or currently resident in Ireland. Up to two poems may be submitted in a single entry, each no longer than 30 lines excluding the title, in English or in Irish with an English translation. Five shortlisted poets will read at the festival on 17 October, when the winner is announced.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: €150
Find out more: https://lkcqlitfest.weebly.com/
Deadline: 22 August 2026
Run by the non-profit World History Encyclopedia and sponsored by Oxford University Press, the Ink of Ages Fiction Prize seeks original short fiction that engages with history or mythology. Stories must be under 2,000 words and set no more recently than 50 years ago. Historical entries may explore alternative history but not time travel. Mythological entries must draw on a genuine mythic figure or tradition. The competition is open to writers worldwide, with separate adult (18+) and youth (13–17) categories.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $500 cash, custom artwork from the in-house cartographer, translation into multiple languages, promotion to over 7 million monthly readers, and a lifetime World History Encyclopedia membership
Find out more: https://fictionprize.worldhistory.org/
Deadline: 1 September 2026 (12 noon)
Shakespeare’s Globe, in partnership with Climate Spring and Fern Culture, is running this playwriting contest to uncover new full-length plays that engage meaningfully with the climate crisis. Submissions must be at least 70 minutes long, previously unproduced, and written by playwrights based in the UK who already have some professional experience in script-based mediums such as theatre, radio, or screen. Work for children and musicals are not eligible.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: £15,000, dramaturgical support developing the play to rehearsal draft, and industry exposure
Find out more: https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/jobs-and-opportunities/climate-playwriting-prize-2026/
Deadline: 1 September 2026
The inaugural Democracy School Essay Competition is hosted by Teen World of Arts in partnership with the European Democracy Institute at Bard College Berlin. Entrants choose from four prompts exploring how the arts intersect with democracy, politics, and society. Essays must be 500–1,000 words, written in English. The competition is open to high school students in years 11 and 12 and to undergraduates, judged in separate junior and senior categories.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: €200, written jury feedback, an individual feedback session with faculty, a certificate, and publication
Find out more: https://teenworldarts.com/competition
Deadline: 1 September 2026
Run by The Lantern and the Pen, a small press dedicated to children’s fiction, this contest is designed specifically for teen writers taking their first steps in submitting work. Entrants write an original short story of up to 1,000 words on the theme of “Belonging”, for an upper Middle Grade or YA audience, in genres spanning contemporary, historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. The competition is open to writers worldwide.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $50 Amazon gift card, the Lantern Lighters 2026 Award, editorial feedback, and publication
Find out more: https://thelanternandthepen.com/2026-writing-contest
Deadline: 3 September 2026 (corrected — see note above)
Established in 2001, the Young Lions Fiction Award is presented annually by the New York Public Library to recognise early-career American fiction writers aged 35 or younger. Eligible works are novels, graphic novels, or short story collections for adults, published in the qualifying calendar year. Entries must be submitted by the author’s publisher.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $10,000
Find out more: https://www.nypl.org/about/awards/young-lions-fiction-award
Deadline: 6 September 2026 (or once 90 eligible applications are received, whichever comes first)
The Intrepid Voices Fund, run by Intrepid Imagination, supports writers early in their creative journey. This cycle’s theme is spooky speculative fiction, welcoming science fiction, fantasy, and horror (contemporary and historical fiction are not eligible), in one original short story of up to 2,000 words. The fund is open to applicants aged 18 and over who are current US residents.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $1,250
Find out more: https://www.intrepidimagination.com/writingfund2026
Deadline: 15 September 2026
Edge & Busby Press is seeking psychological horror for Witnessed: An Anthology of Literary Horror, its debut anthology, guest judged by screenwriter Carl Ellsworth. The press wants stories where the threat comes from people rather than premise, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson and Joyce Carol Oates. Sci-fi, fantasy, and supernatural elements are generally not a fit. Submissions should be 2,000–6,000 words. Sixteen stories will be selected for the anthology.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $500 and publication
Find out more: https://edgeandbusby.com/witnessed
Deadline: 30 September 2026
Run by author and storyteller Doug Weller, this contest invites writers aged 16 and over worldwide to tell a complete story, memoir, poem, or joke in exactly six words. Up to five entries are permitted per writer.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $100 and publication in a future Six Word Wonder book
Find out more: https://www.dougweller.net/contest/
Deadline: 1 October 2026
Briar Press NY is seeking previously unpublished short stories in the folk-horror tradition, set in any time, place, or culture, for its upcoming anthology These Rotted Things. The press wants atmospheric, nature-driven, ritual-and-folktale-infused storytelling in the vein of The Wicker Man and The Lottery, running 2,500–15,000 words.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: Publication in These Rotted Things (Spring 2027), with marketing support and three free author copies
Find out more: https://www.briarpressny.com/new-page-16
Deadline: 1 October 2026
Independence Literary Review‘s first themed folio seeks poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and art exploring healthcare, illness, and healing. Fiction and creative nonfiction submissions can run up to 7,500 words (or up to three flash pieces of 1,000 words or fewer). Poets may submit up to five poems in one document.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: Publication and payment of $50–$200 for prose depending on length ($50 for a poet’s first poem, $25 for each additional)
Find out more: https://www.independenceliteraryreview.org/submissions
Deadline: 14 October 2026
Hosted by Free Spirit Publishing and Con Todo Press, this contest seeks original picture book manuscripts featuring authentic, realistic Latino characters and culture, for readers aged 0–4 or 4–8. The contest is open to Latino writers aged 18 and over who reside in the United States. Entrants must not have previously published work for children.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $1,000, a swag package, and a meeting with Con Todo Press founder Naibe Reynoso
Find out more: https://go.teachercreatedmaterials.com/free-spirit/latino-voices-childrens-literature-writing-contest
Deadline: 31 October 2026
Now in its second year, this contest run by The Aluminium Crown Contest Collective in Melbourne asks writers to engage with a speculative premise: the city’s central business district enclosed in a giant protective structure. Entries of 500–4,000 words are open to writers aged 18 and over worldwide. Submitted works will be judged anonymously down to a shortlist of three.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: AUD $300 (minimum) and publication
Find out more: https://www.aluminiumcrown.com/about
Deadline: 31 December 2026
Every year, writer Reneé Bibby runs a light-hearted, ongoing competition to see who can rack up the most literary rejections in a calendar year, turning the usual sting of a rejection slip into something to celebrate by reframing rejections as “wins.” It counts rejections of poetry, essays, creative nonfiction, micro fiction, flash, and short stories (not novels, agent queries, residencies, or writing positions). It’s open to writers of all levels worldwide.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: Winners in each division are recognised on the organizer’s website and given a shout-out link
Find out more: https://reneebibby.com/rejectioncompetition
Deadline: 11 January 2027
Run by the National Youth Foundation, this year’s Amazing Women’s Edition invites young writers to create an illustrated book celebrating women who have made a positive impact on their communities, under the theme “Local Heroines”. Open to students in grades K through 8 living in the United States, working individually or in teams of up to 22. Entries are self-made illustrated books of 20–30 pages.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: Publication
Find out more: https://www.nationalyouthfoundation.org/amazing-womens-edition/
Deadline: 12 February 2027
Writers & Artists, publisher of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, invites entrants to submit an original, unpublished short story for adults on the theme of celebration. This year’s judge is Booker Prize-shortlisted author Daisy Johnson. The competition is open to all ages, professions, and nationalities.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: A place on an Arvon Residential Writing Week (worth £985), an annual Writers & Artists online listings subscription, a masterclass, a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2027, and publication
Find out more: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions/writers-artists-short-story-competition-2027
Deadline: 28 February 2027
The Chaucer Heritage Trust invites school-age students, including those who are home-educated, to write a poem or story inspired by the works of Geoffrey Chaucer on the theme of “Transformations”. Entries of up to 500 words are judged across three age categories: Junior (5–10), Intermediate (11–14), and Senior (15–18).
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: £300 for the winning entrant in each age category, plus £1,000 for the winning entrant’s school library
Find out more: https://chaucer.org.uk/canterbury-tales-writing-competition-2026-7-transformations/
Deadline: 1 April 2027 (corrected — see note above)
Now in its 26th year, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest is run by Winning Writers and seeks the best humour poems from writers of all ages. Submitted works are judged by Winning Writers vice president Jendi Reiter. Entrants are asked to submit one humour poem of up to 250 lines, in English. Both published and unpublished work is accepted.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Top prize: $2,000 and a two-year Duotrope gift certificate
Find out more: https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/wergle-flomp-humor-poetry-contest-free
Where to find more deadlines, writing competitions, and submission opportunities?
There are currently 80 upcoming deadlines listed in our online calendar. I recommend bookmarking it and checking regularly to find new opportunities. You can add the RSS feed to your favourite RSS app for direct updates.
If you’re on Facebook, consider joining our Writing Competitions group for regular updates from both publishers and your fellow creative writers.
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How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson
If you’ve ever finished a first chapter with no idea what happens next, this one’s for you. The author is theoretical physicist turned “the Snowflake Guy”, and he lays out his widely used ten-step method for growing a single sentence into a fully mapped-out novel, following a fictional aspiring writer as she works through the process herself. It’s one of my favourites - a genuinely practical antidote to the blank page.
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There’s something rather freeing about submission opportunities where cost never has to enter the equation. Whichever of these calls speaks to you, all that’s standing between you and a submission is time and a good story.
Read the guidelines carefully. Word counts, eligibility requirements, and formatting details all matter.
Give yourself plenty of time to polish your work before the deadline arrives.
Don’t let fear of rejection hold you back. Every submission is a step forward. Every published writer has a drawer full of “not this time” letters.
Always do your own research before entering. Carefully read the terms and conditions for each event.
If you know a fellow writer who’s been holding off because of an entry fee, this is the edition to send their way. And if you’ve spotted a free competition I can feature next time, drop it in the comments or send me message on Substack.
Happy writing!
Victoria
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🗓️ Know of any other interesting writing events?
Post a comment or send me a message via Substack. Let me know if there is anything you’d like to feature in the next edition of the newsletter.
🧠 Remember: Always do your own research and carefully read submission guidelines before sharing your work!
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