Hello Writers!
There’s something about August deadlines that feels just right — the height of summer, a little breathing room before autumn schedules kick back in, and plenty of long evenings to get a draft into shape. Whether you’re chasing a cash prize, a publication credit, or simply the satisfaction of finally hitting “submit” on something you’ve been sitting on, this week’s roundup has a home for it.
This week: 20 opportunities | August 2026 deadlines | Prizes up to $2,500
From flash fiction and full-length poetry manuscripts to memoir, chapbooks, and even a contest for young writers, there’s a genuinely wide spread here — something for writers just starting out and others with a stack of finished manuscripts ready to go. So, settle in, and see which opportunity speaks to you. Your next submission could be just around the corner!
Creative writing quote of the week:
There are significant moments in everyone’s day that can make literature. That’s what you ought to write about.
– Raymond Carver
Deadline: 1 August 2026
The Prairie Schooner Summer Creative Nonfiction Contest is organised by Prairie Schooner, the long-running literary journal of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The competition welcomes original, previously unpublished creative nonfiction essays in English on any subject. Essays must be no longer than 5,000 words. Previously published work (including online publication) is not eligible. Multiple entries are welcome, although each requires a separate entry fee.
Entry fee: $20
Prize: $1,000 and publication in the Spring 2027 issue of Prairie Schooner
Find out more: https://prairieschooner.unl.edu/submit/creative-nonfiction-summer-essay-contest/
Deadline: 1 August 2026
The Fifth Corner runs two recurring prizes each issue cycle: one for short fiction, one for poetry, with selected work published in The Fifth Corner alongside commissioned artwork. The Dark Fiction Prize invites atmospheric, dark, and literary short fiction up to 4,000 words that unsettles quietly and resists easy resolution. The Coda Poet Prize selects a single poem for publication as the closing “coda” of the issue, with the winning poet also featured in an in-depth interview.
Entry fee: CAD $29 for the TFC Dark Fiction Prize and CAD $14 for the Coda Poet Prize
Prize: $1,500 CAD and publication in The Fifth Corner (Dark Fiction); $500 CAD and publication in The Fifth Corner, plus a feature interview (Coda Poet)
Find out more: https://thefifthcorner.ca/prizes/
Deadline: 4 August 2026
Pocketbook Press is an independent publishing house dedicated to reviving the charm and accessibility of classic pocket-sized books. The organizers are seeking emotionally resonant, unpublished short fiction for their inaugural anthology — stories that evoke the spirit of winter or the holiday season, exploring themes of connection, memory, loss, celebration, or transformation. Any genre is welcome.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Prize: Publication by Pocketbook Press
Find out more: https://www.pocketbookpress.com/submissions
Deadline: 10 August 2026
Spyder Outreach invites 8–16-year-olds to write a story on “the perfect summer day” within 600 words. Entrants can find inspiration in past winning entries — perhaps a day filled with ice cream, a trip to the park, or a holiday somewhere new.
Entry fee: £2.50
Prize: £50, publication on the Spyder Outreach blog, an interview with the Lead Editor, and discounts on English Literature masterclasses
Find out more: https://spyder55ooutreach.wordpress.com/
Deadline: 15 August 2026
The Independent Author Network presents its 12th annual Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors across 75 fiction and non-fiction categories. A Category Winner is named in each category, with Finalists also recognised.
Entry fee: $59
Prize: $2,500 Grand Prize, a digital award seal, membership benefits, and recognition
Find out more: https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/book-of-the-year.html
Deadline: 21 August 2026
The Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival Poetry Competition is open for entries on this year’s theme, New World. Entrants must be over 18 and from the island of Ireland, or resident in Ireland. Writers may submit two poems, each up to 30 lines excluding the title. Five shortlisted poets will read at the Festival on Saturday 17 October, when the winner is announced.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Prize: €150
Find out more: https://lkcqlitfest.weebly.com/
Deadline: 22 August 2026
The Clevedon LitFest Flash Fiction Award invites original short stories of no more than 500 words. The award is open to anyone resident in the UK aged 16 or older, and winners will be announced in November 2026.
Entry fee: £6
Prize: £300 and publication
Find out more: https://www.clevedonlitfest.org.uk/flash-fiction-award-2026.php
Deadline: 22 August 2026
The Clevedon Lit Fest Poetry Award invites UK residents aged 16 or older to submit original poetry of up to 40 lines. Entrants may submit as many entries as they wish, each paid for separately.
Entry fee: £6
Prize: £300 and publication
Find out more: https://www.clevedonlitfest.org.uk/poetry-award-2026.php
Deadline: 22 August 2026
The Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is an annual international contest run by the non-profit World History Encyclopedia and sponsored by Oxford University Press, celebrating short fiction that engages with cultural heritage and the interconnected human past. Writers may submit original stories in English across two categories — Historical Fiction and Mythological Fiction — up to 2,000 words.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Prize: $500 cash, global publication, and promotion
Find out more: https://fictionprize.worldhistory.org/
Deadline: 25 August 2026
Book Pipeline runs a major contest to discover unagented, unpublished manuscripts across ten categories, connecting winning authors with literary agents, publishers, and the film/TV industry. Accepts various genres including Literary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Nonfiction/Memoir. Finalists and winning submissions are reviewed directly by major publishers, agents, and entertainment executives.
Entry fee: $60
Prize: $2,500 per category winner, plus industry circulation and development support
Find out more: https://bookpipeline.com/contest/unpublished-contest
Deadline: 30 August 2026
Pantheon Arts Community Storytelling‘s Ephemeral Aperture imprint is seeking poets for a community poetry collection exploring growth through hardship. Each poet may submit three poems, though only one will be selected for the book.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Prize: Publication
Find out more: https://www.pantheonarts.org/cpf-studio/ephemeral-aperture
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Throughout July and August, Tupelo Press holds an open submission period for book-length (48–90 pages) and chapbook-length (28–47 pages) poetry manuscripts. This is not a contest. All submissions are read for publication consideration.
Entry fee: $30
Prize: Publication by Tupelo Press, a $1,000 advance, a book launch, and national distribution
Find out more: https://tupelopress.org/the-summer-open-reading-period
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Chalk Circle invites circular flash fiction of exactly 360 words, drawing inspiration from the ancient symbol of Ouroboros. Any subject or genre is welcome, except children’s fiction. The stories should reflect cyclical narratives, such as self-reflection, recycling, or themes of creation and destruction.
Entry fee: £7
Prize: £50 and publication
Find out more: https://www.chalkcircle.org.uk/competitions/2026
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Chalk Circle‘s companion competition invites short fiction of up to 1,500 words on any subject or genre, except children’s fiction.
Entry fee: £10
Prize: £200 and publication.
Find out more: https://www.chalkcircle.org.uk/competitions/2026
Deadline: 31 August 2026
This is an annual international creative writing contest hosted by Anthology magazine. The event is open to original, unpublished memoirs in English by writers of any nationality, worldwide, up to 1,500 words. There are no constraints on themes or writing styles.
Entry fee: €15
Prize: €500 and publication in Anthology magazine.
Find out more: https://anthology-magazine.com/awards/memoir-competition/
Deadline: 31 August 2026
The Oxford Poetry Prize is an annual single-poem competition organised by Partus Press Ltd on behalf of Oxford Poetry magazine, judged this year by poet and critic Rowan Ricardo Phillips. Entrants may submit original poems in English, no more than 60 lines each. The competition is open to writers living anywhere in the world.
Entry fee: £10
Prize: £2,000 and publication in a print issue of Oxford Poetry.
Find out more: https://www.oxfordpoetry.com/prize.html
Deadline: 31 August 2026
This is a major international literary competition hosted by Aesthetica Magazine. It celebrates outstanding new writing talent through Poetry and Short Fiction categories. Poetry entries should run no more than 40 lines; fiction entries no more than 2,000 words. There is no restriction on theme.
Entry fee: £12 (poetry), £18 (fiction)
Prize: £2,500 per category winner, plus publication and a range of writing-development prizes.
Find out more: https://aestheticamagazine.com/creative-writing-award/
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Nine Syllables Press, a student-involved small press affiliated with Smith College, runs this annual contest for original, unpublished poetry chapbook manuscripts of 20–40 pages. Eligibility is open to trans and nonbinary poets of all genders and to cis women poets.
Entry fee: $10
Prize: $500 and publication.
Find out more: https://www.ninesyllablespress.com/contest
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Cranked Anvil invites original, unpublished flash fiction of up to 500 words on any theme or genre, open internationally to writers aged 16 or over.
Entry fee: £5
Prize: £100, online publication, digital anthology inclusion, and a professional audio recording broadcast on UK radio and online worldwide
Find out more: https://crankedanvil.co.uk/flashcomp/
Deadline: 31 August 2026
The Val Wood Prize celebrates original short fiction inspired by the titles of Val Wood’s books. This year’s theme is Titles, inviting writers to craft stories shaped by the title they choose. Open to writers aged 16 and over worldwide, up to 1,500 words.
Entry fee: Free 🆓
Prize: £100, a signed copy of Val Wood’s The Hungry Tide, and publication
Find out more: https://www.valwood.co.uk/val-wood-prize
Take Off Your Pants! by Libbie Hawker
Are you a “pantser” who writes by the seat of your pants, only to get lost in the dreaded middle of your draft? Or are you a “plotter” who spends months building outlines that suck the joy out of the actual writing? This brilliantly titled guide offers a liberating middle ground. The authors introduces the “three-legged outline,” a fast, highly effective pacing framework that anchors your plot entirely to your protagonist’s internal character flaw. It’s a short, no-nonsense read that will help you structure satisfying stories, overcome writer’s block, and drastically increase your drafting speed.
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That’s a wrap on this week’s roundup! Twenty opportunities, one whole month of August deadlines, and hopefully at least one that’s made you want to open a blank document right now. Whether you’re polishing a chapbook manuscript that’s been waiting for its moment or dashing off a 360-word flash piece before the month is out, there’s still plenty of time to get your work in shape.
A few gentle reminders as you prepare your submissions:
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, and 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 might benefit from these opportunities, please do pass this along. We’re all in this together, cheering each other on.
Happy writing, and stay tuned for the next update!
Victoria
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