Contests

Submissions are now open for the 2021 Crystal Lake Publishing Speculative Poetry Contest. First place will receive $200 and publication on Crystal Lake’s website, in Cepheus Rising magazine, and in HWA Poetry Showcase. Additionally, the first place poem will be translated into Italian and published in Molotov Magazine. Second place will receive $80, and third place $40. The judges are Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti. Deadline for submissions ...Read More

The QueerSciFi.com Flash Fiction Contest is open now through April 30, 2021, with the theme this year of “Ink”.

Tell us about ink (and the stain it leaves) on your characters, the culture, and the world, for better or worse.

We’ll be accepting works from across the queer spectrum, and would love to see more entries including lesbian, trans, bi, intersex and ace protagonists, as well as gay men. We ...Read More

Washington STEAM Multilingual Academy (WSMA) in Pasadena CA announced a new science fiction writing contest named in honor of alumnus Octavia E. Butler. Last year, the school renamed its library after Butler as well. Librarian Natalie Daily said,

It’s the idea of [Butler] representing a very, unique way of integrating science and the arts, and bringing that to the world and her award-winning writing. And we want to inspire our ...Read More

Submissions are now open for the Imagine 2200 short story contest. The theme is “Climate fiction for future ancestors.”

The contest is run by Fix, Grist‘s “solutions lab,” and will be judged by authors Adrienne Maree Brown, Morgan Jerkins, and Kiese Laymon. They are seeking entries between 3,000 and 5,000 words “that envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress.”

First prize is $3,000, second prize $2,000, and third ...Read More

The 2020 Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago (ISFiC) short fiction contest for unpublished writers of science fiction and fantasy has extended its deadline for submissions to November 27, 2020. First prize includes $300, publication in the Windycon 47 program book and on the ISFiC website, and membership and accommodations for Windycon 47, to be held at the Westin in Lombard, Illinois on November 12-14, 2021, COVID-permitting, featuring all of the ...Read More

The 2020 Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago (ISFiC) short fiction contest for unpublished writers of science fiction and fantasy is open to submissions through November 13, 2020. First prize includes $300, publication in the Windycon 47 program book and on the ISFiC website, and membership and accommodations for Windycon 47. Up to two honorable mentions will each receive an “American 1 oz. Silver Coin.”

The contest is open to applicants ...Read More

The Dream Foundry short story contest “for beginning professionals” is open to submissions from August 10 – October 11, 2020. The contest is open to writers who have published, in total, fewer than 4,000 words, earned less than $320, and have never been nominated for a major award.

Contest coordinators will select ten finalists, and judges will select first, second, and third-place winners from those finalists. First prize is $1,000, ...Read More

Baen Books has announced the ten finalists for the 2020 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award:

The Grand Prize winner ...Read More

Winners of the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) SF/F short story contest were announced at Boskone 57, held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston MA, February 14-16, 2020. Prizes included certificates of achievement, books from NESFA Press, and free membership to a future Boskone convention.

The 2020 Poul Anderson Creative Writing Contest is open to Orinda CA high school students now through April 10, 2020. The contest is sponsored by the Friends of the Orinda Library, who will reward cash prizes in the categories of Science Fiction/Fantasy, Essay/Memoir/Biography, Poetry, and Short Story. For more information, see the contest website.

Continuum 16 is running a short story competition with the theme “Coming of age in other ...Read More

The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College is open to submissions for its 2020 Literary Arts Awards now until December 31, 2019. Results will be announced in spring 2020, with $5,000 awarded to each winner in playwriting, established author, and debut author categories. The playwriting prompt is, “What does it mean to be a human in a computerized world?”

For more information, see the Neukom Institute website.

While ...Read More

Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced the finalists for its inaugural writing contest which “was open to anyone with a completed short story who had not yet been professionally paid for their work”:

Winners of the 2019 Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) Amateur Writing Contest were announced on October 19, 2019 during Capclave, held at the Rockville Hilton in Rockville MD.