53-word Story Contest Closing date: 21st of each month. Prizes: Publication; books. Looking for: Stories of exactly 53 words, to a different prompt each month. Free entry. Website: www.press53.com Cranked Anvil Media Quarterly Short Story Competition Closing dates: 30th April; 31st July; 31st October. Prizes: Prizes 1st – £150; 2nd – £75; 3rd – £30. Entry fee: £5 for the first; £3 for the second; £2 for the third. Looking for: Your story must be a maximum of 1,500 words (not including the title). Further info: You may enter up to three stories in each quarterly competition. The three placed stories from each quarter will be published on the website. Website: https://crankedanvil.co.uk/shortstory/ Cranked Anvil Quarterly 500 Word Flash Fiction Competition Closing dates: 28th (or 29th) February; 31st May; 31st August; 30th November. Prizes: 1st prize £100; 2nd prize £25. The two winning entries will be published on the website. Entry fee: £3 for 1 entry, or £5 for 2 entries. Looking for: Open. Max word count 500, (not including the title) Website:https://crankedanvil.co.uk/flashcomp/ Cultured Vultures' Poem of the Week Competition Closing date: Every Friday weekly. Prizes: Publication. Entry fee: Free. Further info: See website. Website: culturedvultures.com/poem-week/ Dark Tales Short Story Competition Closing date: Monthly, last day of each month. Prizes: £100 for each monthly winner plus publication in Dark Tales. Entry fee: £4, £8 with critique, £20 with edit and critique. Further details: Ongoing monthly comp for horror and sci-fi short stories, up to 5,000 words. Email: sean@darktales.co.uk Website: http://www.darktales.co.uk Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest Closing dates: (Semi-annual) July 31st and December 31st, each year. Prizes: Writing Contest First Prize is $500. Second Prize: $250. Third Prize: $100. Poetry Contest First Prize is $250. Second Prize: $125. Third Prize: $50. Entry fees: $5(USD) per poem, $10(USD) per short story. Guidelines: The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest is open to anyone who loves expressing innermost thoughts and feelings into the beautiful art of poetry or writing a short story that is worth telling everyone! And to all who have the ability to dream. Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject, style, or form, typed or neatly hand printed. And/or write a short story, five pages maximum length, on any subject or theme, creative writing fiction or non-fiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting). Also, must be typed or neatly hand printed. Multiple poetry and short story entries are accepted. For more info: dreamquestone.com Envoi International Open Poetry Competitions Deadline for submissions - 20th February, 20th June and 20th October each year. Prizes: 1st prize £150, 2nd prize £100, 3rd prize £50. Each winner and three runners up win a complimentary copy with their poem. The three runners up are also awarded an annual subscription worth £15. Entry fee: £3 per poem or five poems for £12. Poems can be in any style, on any theme up to 40 lines. More details on website. Cinnamonpress.com/ Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition Closing dates: 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. Looking for: This quarterly open-themed competition is for fiction up to 500 words. Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories. Prizes: £300, £200 and £100. Email: info@flash500.com Website: www.flash500.com Furious fiction 500-word short stories, written in 55 hours. Prizes: Aus$500. Free entry. Closing date: First Sunday of each month Website: www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/ Henshaw Short Story Competition Closing date: Quarterly, 30th April, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. Entry fee: £6. Prizes: £200, £75, £25. Quarterly competition for short stories up to 2,000 words. Email: editor@henshawpress.co.uk Website: www.henshawpress.co.uk  The Monkey Collection Closing date: Rolling deadlines - see the website for details. Prizes: Publication in The Monkey Collective's short story collection.  All entries receive a percentage of the sales. Entry fee: Free. Further info: Entries need to be between 1000 and 5000 words, no specific genre.  Everyone who enters can become part of The Monkey Collective, a collaborative writing group.  See our website for further details. Website: themonkeycollective.com/join.html NAWG Open '100' Mini-tale Competition Rolling competition for flash fiction of exactly 100 words, will be judged when 100 entries have been received then start again Prizes: £75, £25 every 100 entries Entry fee: £3.00, £5.50 for two, £8.00 for three Closing date: Never! Website: https://www.nawg.co.uk/ Ó Bhéal International Five Words Poetry Competition At around noon each Tuesday (GMT), from mid-April until late January, five words are posted on the Ó Bhéal Five Words competition page. Entrants have one week to compose and submit poems that include all five words given for the week. The competition runs for 41 weeks, until the last week of January. A prize of 750 euros will be awarded to the winner, 500 euros for second place and 250 euros for third place and if available the three winners will be invited to read at Ó Bhéal's anniversary event on in April (an additional travel fee of 100 euro plus B&B accommodation will be provided for this). Follow the link for submission guidelines: http://www.obheal.ie/blog/five-words-poetry- competition/ The QueryLetter.com Writing Contest Closing date: 15th September, 2020 by noon (US Eastern time). Prizes: We will award one prize of $500 to the best blurb. Looking for: Write and submit a back cover blurb of 100 words or fewer that sets the stage for a novel, establishes the characters, and raises the stakes in a way that makes readers want to find out more. Entry fee: None stated. Website: https://www.queryletter.com/contest Reflex Fiction Flash Fiction Competition Closing dates: Last days of February, May, August, and November (midnight UK time). Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250 (or the equivalent in the winner's local currency). Entry Fee: £7, $9, €9. Further details: Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition. Website: http://www.reflexfiction.com/flash-fiction/ Retreat West Themed Flash Fiction Prize Closing date: Quarterly. See website. Prizes: £200, 2 x £100. Entry fee: £8. Looking for: Short fiction with the theme of Running Away. Further info: Word count: up to 500 max. Website: http://www.retreatwest.co.uk/ Retreat West Monthly Micro Fiction Competition Closing date: 9th of month. Prizes: 1st Prize: 50% of the entry fees received for the competition (you must have a PayPal account to receive this), one free entry to our annual Flash Fiction Prize (top prize £350) and your story published in our Flash Fiction area of the website. 2nd Prize:  One free entry to our annual Flash Fiction Prize and your story published in our Flash Fiction area of the website. Entry fee: £4. Looking for: 100 words exactly (title not included in that). Website: https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly- micro-fiction-competition/ Ron L Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest Prizes: every three months: $1,000, $750, $500 plus annual grand prize: $5,000! Here's an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. No entry fee is required and entrants retain all publication rights. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Website: Writersofthefuture.com/ Scribble Quarterly Competitions Ongoing quarterly competitions for short stories, up to 3,000 words Prizes: £75, £25, £15 in each issue. Entry fee: £3 (£5 with critique); free for annual subscribers. There is no closing date: successful stories are published in the next issue. Email: parkpub14@hotmail.com Website: http://www.parkpublications.co.uk Sentinel Short Story and Poetry Quarterly Competition Closing date: See website. Prizes: Prizes: £250 (1st), £100 (2nd), £50 (3rd), £30 x 3 (High Commendation), £15 x (Commendation), 3 x SLQ Paperback (Special Mentions). Looking for: Poems up to 50 lines. Entry fee: £5/1, £8/2, £10/3, £12/4, £14/5, £16/7, £22/10). Website: http://sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/poetry/index .htm  Website: sentinelquarterly.com Sixfold Short Story and Poetry Contest  Closing dates: 23rd Oct, 23rd Jan, 23rd Apr. Prizes:  $1,000 and publication, in each category. Looking for: Short stories, up to 20 pages, and poetry, up to 10 pages; quarterly. Entry fee: $5. Website: http:www.sixfold.org Story Planner Monthly Story Plan Competition Closing date: 15th of every month. Prizes: Writing books and courses. Entry fee: Free. Looking for: Story plans and outlines using the plans at StoryPlanner.com Further info: Judge: Joanne Bartley. Email: competitions@storyplanner.com Website: blog.storyplanner.com/story-planner-monthly- competitions/  Telegraph 'Just Back' Travel writing Competition Closing date: Weekly. Prize: £200 in your choice of currency. Entry Fee: None - free to enter. Looking for: If you are just back from somewhere a shade more interesting than the local park, the Telegraph Online would like the gripping details in up to 500 words.  You can read previous winners on the website.  A 'voyage' across the Mersey is one of them - proving that you don't have to write about anywhere exotic to scoop the prize. Website: www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/just-back-travel- writing-competition/ Templar Poetry Quarterly Portfolio Awards Quarterly Award Closing date: Quarterly. Entry fee: £12 Prizes: Pamphlet publication Looking for: A portfolio of 10-12 pages of poetry. Email: submissions@templarpoetry.co.uk  Website: http://templarpoetry.com Themed Flash Fiction Competition Closing date: March, June, September, December. Prizes: £200; Runner-Up Prize x 2: £100. Entry fee: £8 for 1 entry. Looking for: Stories up to 500 words max. Website: http://www.retreatwest.co.uk/competitions/quarterly- themed-flash/ The Writing Quarter Competition Closing date: Last day of each month. Prizes: Aus $30. Free entry. Further info: Monthly; short stories, up to 3,000 words. open theme. Website: https://writingquarter.com.au/competition/ Weekly Poetry Competition 6th Ó Bhéal  International Five Words Poetry Competition.                     At around noon each Tuesday (GMT), from April 2018 to the end of January 2019, five words are posted on the Ó Bhéal Five Words competition page. Entrants have one week to compose and submit poems that include all five words given for the week. The competition runs for 41 weeks, until the last week of January and a prize of 500 euro is awarded to one winner, and if available, invited to read at Ó Bhéal's anniversary event in early April (an additional travel fee of 100 euro plus B&B accommodation will be provided for this). Follow the link for submission guidelines: http://www.obheal.ie/blog/five-words-poetry- competition/ WordHound Children's Writing Competition (aged 12 and under) Closing date: Every Sunday weekly. Prizes: Goodie bags of sweets and stationery, publication on the blog and social media. Looking for: Under 300 words of funny, weird or otherwise unique writing, based on the topic of the week. Entry fee: Free. Other info: Weekly writing suggestions posted on the website and social channels. Website: https://www.wordhound.co.uk/competitions/ Writers' Forum Short Story Competition Closing date: Monthly.  Entries arriving too late for one comp automatically go into the next. Prizes: £300, £150, £100. Entry Fee: £6, or £3 for subscribers to the magazine.  Critique - £5 (enclose sae if entering by post). Looking for: length of between 1,000 and 3,000 words. For full entry requirements see website: www.writers- forum.com/comps.html Writers Forum Poetry Contest Closing date: Monthly.  Entries arriving too late for one comp automatically go into the next. Prizes: Prize £100 and a Chambers dictionary. Entry fee: £4 per poem, or pay £6 and get a short critique. Looking for: Poem must be a maximum of 40 lines. Further details: Poems must be original and unpublished. For full entry requirements see website: www.writers- forum.com/poetrycomp.html Writers' HQ Flash Quarterly Contest Closing date: March, June, September, December. Prize: A year's membership with Writers' HQ, access to £1000+ of online writing courses and 3 one-day UK writing retreats. Entry fee: FREE (though donations to the WHQ 'sponsor a writer' bursary scheme are very welcome) Looking for: Flash fiction on any theme up to 500 words. NOTE: please enter stories via the submission form, not via email. Open internationally. Email: hello@writershq.co.uk Website: https://writershq.co.uk/whq-flash-quarterly/ Writing District Monthly Competitions Closing date: Last day of each month. Free entry. Looking for: Short stories, up to 3,000 words. Open theme. Prizes: $50. Website: https://thewritingdistrict.com/