Favourite Writing Competitions for 2023

Several years ago I used to produce a monthly update of writing competitions but it became cumbersome and unwieldy and I decided to stop doing it. I’m rethinking that decision as I know that many of the people who follow me are interested in the Hysteria Writing Competition, therefore I assume you’re interested in writing comps in general.

I thought I might ease myself in gently with a list of my favourite writing competitions for 2023. Although they are based in the UK, they all welcome international submissions. So have a look and see what you think, I’m sure there will be at least one that appeals to you.

1. Hysteria Writing Competition

It goes without saying that Hysteria is my all-time favourite; not only because it’s the one I happen to organise each year, but because of the community who support it. I regularly see the same people entering year after year. And many of the volunteer readers come back a second, even a third time because of the insight they get into how people write and put together competition entries.

Cost: £3 per entry
Categories: Poetry (12 lines), Flash Fiction (250 words), Short Story (1,000) words
Prize: £300 per category winner
Anthology: Yes
Rules / Guidelines

2. Writers Online

These competitions come from the lovely bods at Writing Magazine. Some are open to anyone and others to magazine subscribers only. There are monthly as well as annual competitions available.

Cost: Depends on the competition and if you subscribe or not
Categories: Short Story, Poetry, Flash Fiction – word counts vary throughout the year.
Prizes: Variable
Anthology: No
Rules / Guidelines

3. To Hull and Back biennial writing competition

Run by author Christopher Fielden, the competition now runs biannually. I love it because it’s so quirky; one of the prizes is your face printed on the anthology and the book itself being strapped to the front of a motorcycle and driven To Hull and Back.

Cost: £13.00 per entry before 31st March / £15 after 31st March
Categories: Short Story (2,500 words)
Prizes: £1,200 1st prize, various other prizes
Anthology: Yes
Rules / Guidelines

4. Writers and Artists Yearbook competitions

The Writers and Artists Yearbook is an essential reference book for anyone who wants to get their words published in some form. But did you know the publishers also run their own writing competitions?

Cost: Free to enter
Categories: Various at different times of the year
Prize: Depends on the competition
Anthology: No
Rules / Guidelines: Depends on the competition

5. Bridport Prize

The Bridport Prize is one of two major writing competitions that is close to where I live. It makes it into my top picks because I also go to the Bridport Literary Festival in October each year as it’s just a few miles along the coast road.

Cost: Varies depending on the competition
Categories: Short Story, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Novel
Prize: Depends on the competition
Anthology: Yes
Rules / Guidelines

6. Writers Forum competitions

Writers Forum is another UK writing magazine dedicated to helping you make the most of your words. It runs regular monthly competitions featuring prizes and publication in an issue of the magazine.

Cost: Varies depending on the competition and whether you subscribe to the magazine
Categories: Short Story, Flash Fiction, Poetry
Prizes: Depend on the competition
Anthology: No
Rules / Guidelines: Dependent on the category

7. Yeovil Literary Prize

The Yeovil Literary Prize is organised by the Yeovil Community Arts Association and is another prestigious UK competition that happens to be very close to where I live in West Dorset. It’s associated with the Yeovil Literary Festival too and has the widest variety of categories of all the competitions I’ve chosen this year.

Cost: Varies depending on the competition
Categories: Short Story, Poetry, Novel, Writing Without Restrictions, Best Local Writer
Prizes: Various
Anthology: No
Rules / Guidelines

(Image by Лариса Мозговая from Pixabay)