Sorry We're Prosed: May writing contests and other opportunities
A spate of novel competitions and more ideas for prose writers
Hello again,
Coming to you live from Canada this month, I have something of a special — though slightly shorter than usual — edition.
Given that there are a lot of novel contests with closing dates this month, I decided to break those out as a separate section. I’ll definitely be entering a couple myself. Let me know in the comments if you will be too.
For those of you working on something other than a novel, worry not. There are many other types of opportunity.
As usual, please pay attention to any entry fees. Most contests have a prize and some other opportunities pay, but others do not.
Closing soon – novel contests
Since May is a mammoth month for novel contests, I’m going to list all the ones I can find here, and unless stated otherwise please assume that the closing date is 31 May.
Let’s start with the Bridport Prize, one of the most well-known prizes in writing. Their novel award, officially called The Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award, is open to anyone living in Britain as well as British and Irish writers overseas. The novel does not need to be completed. It costs £24 and the top prize is £1,500 plus a manuscript consultation.
One that has no geographic restrictions is the Bath Novel Award. The manuscript should be complete for this one, as longlistees send their whole work for the final decision to be made. It costs £29.99 an entry and the winner gets £5,000. Details here.
The Yeovil Literary Prize is also open internationally. It costs £14.50 to enter and there is a £1,250 top prize. Details here.
Run by editing service The Literary Studio, The First Novel Prize costs £25 to enter and has a £1,000 grand prize. Unlike most other prizes, writers who already have an agent are allowed to enter this one. It has no geographical restrictions. Details here.
For children’s and YA writing, there is The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, which closes on 1 June. This costs £20 to enter and the winner gets a publishing deal with a £10,000 advance.
A slightly earlier deadline of 28 May for the I Am Writing competitions, which have seven genre categories including crime/thriller, YA, historical, romance, and sci-fi/fantasy. Each one costs £13 to enter, with a £250 prize on offer as well as a consultation with the category judge.
Closing soon – everything else
Since I’m in Canada at the moment, here’s a couple for my Canadian friends. Geist, a magazine of culture and ideas with a sense of humour, is looking for various bits including fiction, non-fiction and hybrid forms until 6 May. They pay!
Elsewhere in the literary world, Boston literary magazine Agni is reading submissions until the end of May.
Only open to underrepresented writers in the UK, the Creative Futures Award seeks writing generated by the prompt ‘Reveal’. It can be fiction or non-fiction. Prizes include cash, subscriptions and development opportunities.
Wild Hunt Books is seeking short novellas from writers living in the North of England who are also engaging in the North as setting. This closes on 21 May.
Open now
In case the end of May ends up being too tights for you, let’s mop up a few more upcoming novel contests with later deadlines, starting with Novel London. For a completed manuscript, this one costs £11 and is open until 30 June. The winner gets £500 and lunch with a literary agent.
Humour magazine Defenestration is currently open for submissions.
For the creative under-14s in your life, the Martha Mills Young Writers’ Prize is back for a second year. Open to children in the UK aged between 11 and 14, the theme this year is ‘A Secret’.
Submissions in a range of forms are currently open at Identity Theory.
The Griffith Review is currently open for writing for its next issue, which is on the theme ‘Status Anxiety'.
The annual Flash 500 novel competition is open now, with a deadline at the end of October. It costs £10 and has a £500 top winnings.
Meanwhile, next themed fiction showcase at Mslexia, the women writer’s magazine, will be on the topic ‘Red’. Send anything on that subject by 10 June.
Open all year round, Eucalyptus Lit is currently reading submissions for its fourth issue.
Opening soon
Another one just for Canadians, Blank Spaces will be open for free submissions in June.
The next Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction will open to entries in June. It costs £10 and top prize is £2,000.
That's it for this month as I'm finishing this from a clunky mobile browser in my hotel room.
Thanks as always to anyone who comments or replies to me about this newsletter — I may take a while to respond but it means everything to know people are reading it and finding it useful. Until next time!