Writing Competitions to Enter in August

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Aesthetica Creative Writing, Cinnamon Pencil Mentoring Competition, Costa Short Story Award, Earlyworks Press Flash Fiction, Edinburgh International Flash Fiction Competition, Exeter Flash Competition, Exeter Story Prize, HISSAC Annual Open Short Story Sean O'Faolain Short Story, Hysteria Writing Competition, Impress Prize for New Writers, Jane Austen, NAWG Open Competitions, Norwich Writers' Circle Olga Sinclair Open Short Story Competition Jane Austen, Retreat West Novel Prize Earlyworks Press Flash Fiction

You may not be able to sit at the same bureau as Jane Austen – seen here at the Chawton Cottage – but don’t let that stop you entering one of the August competitions which are detailed below.

The Costa Short Story Award is for stories up to 4,000 words by writers resident in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Prizes are: £3,5000 £1,000, £500, with FREE entry. Closing date is 5pm on Monday 2nd August. Details: http://www.costabookawards.co

The Retreat West Novel Prize for unpublished novels. Prizes: Retreat West publishing contract and £500 advance. MS critique and editorial report. Entry fee: £15. Closing date 10 August. Details: http://www.retreatwest.co.uk

Earlyworks Press Flash Fiction, for flash fiction up to 100 words. Prizes: £100; cash and books. Entry fee: £5, £20 for up to 6. Deadline: 30 August. Details: http://www.earlyworkspress.co.uk

Aesthetica Creative Writing for short stories up to 2,000 w

ords, poetry up to 40 lines. Any theme, form or style. Prizes: £2,500 in each category, publication, books, plus editorial consultation for fiction winner and membership of The Poetry Society for the poetry winner. Entry fee: £12 poetry; £18 short fiction. Deadline 31 August. Details: http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/creative-writing-award

Cinnamon Pencil Monitoring Competition for 10 poems, 2 short stories or the first 10,000 words of a novel. Prizes: Cinnamon mentoring. Entry fee: £12. Closing date: 31 August. Details: http://www.cinnamonpress.com

Edinburgh International Flash Fiction Competition. Stories up to 250 words. Prizes: £1,000, £300, £150; £300 for a Scottish writer. Entry fee: £7. Closing date: 31 August. Details: http://www.storyawards.org

Exeter Flash Competition for fiction up to 750 words. Prizes: £200, £100, £50. Entry fee: £6. Closing date: 31 August. Details: http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk (Please double check as, although the flash fiction appears to have been cancelled, they are still asking for stories of “up to 750 words”, in addition to the Exeter Story Prize, detailed below)

Exeter Story Prize for short stories up to 5,000 words. Prizes: £500, £150, £100. Entry fee: £12. Closing date: 31 August. Details: http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk

Hysteria Writing Competition for short stories up to 600 words, poetry up to 12 lines, flash fiction of 100 words. Prizes: £25 in each category, publication. Entry fee: £1 per entry (That is NOT a typo). Details: http://www.indaph.me

NAWG Open Competitions. Poems up to 40 lines; stories 500-2,000 words. Prizes: £25o, £150, £50, publication. Entry fee: £5 each (£10 for three poems). Closing date: 31 August. Details: http://www.nawg.co.uk

Impress Prize for New Writers, for full-length debuts from unpublished fiction and non-fiction writers. Submit book proposal and sample chapter which totals no more than 6,000 words. Prizes: £500, publication by Impress Books. Entry fee: £25. Closing date: 31 August. Details: http://www.impress-books.co.uk

We live in changing times, so please take care to double-check all details before entering a competition, to avoid possible disappointment. Things can be changed or cancelled at short notice.

Good luck, and may the spirit of Miss Austen be with you…

Writing Competitions to Enter in July

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Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition, HG Wells Short Story Competition 2021, HISSAC Short Story Competition, Moths to a Flame Poetry Competition, Short Fiction, submission window, The Novel London 2021 Competition

If you persevere with your writing, maybe one day you might feature in a book like this one – discovered in a local Hospice charity shop. To that end, here are a few of the competitions available during July.

Moths to a Flame Poetry Competition invites original unpublished poems of any length on the theme of moths and/or energy. Poems must be able to be read or performed for a maximum of two minutes. The winner will be decided at a Zoom poetry slam and will receive £250. Ten shortlisted poets will receive a Moth Kit, which is part of the Moths to a Flame project, plus three copies of the resulting published book. Entry is FREE. Each writer may submit one poem. Closing date 2 July. Details: http://www.mothstoaflame.art

The HG Wells Short Story Competition 2021 is open for short fiction on the theme of ‘Mask’. There are two entry categories. The Junior (writers 21 and under) has a £1,000 prize and the Senior (writers over 22) category has a £500 prize. Enter original unpublished fiction between 1,500 and 5,000 words. Winning and shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology. Entry in the Junior category is FREE. The Senior entry fee is £10, or £5 for writers with studen ID. Deadline 12 July. Details: https://hgwellscompetition.com/

The Novel London 2021 Literary Competition is an international contest that invites the first chapter and a synopsis. The entry must be part of a complete work of fiction, which may be unpublihsed, self-published or newly published. The winner will receive £500 plus six months of mentoring from Nadine Matheson. The second prize is £300 and an assessment of the first three chapters and synopsis. The third prize is £100 and two coaching sessions. Submit the opening chapter (up to 3,000 words), a short synopsis and a one-page biography. Entry fee: £11. Closing date 31 July. Details: http://www.novellondon.co.uk

The Highlands and Islands Short Story Competition is open for stories up to 2,000 words, and flash, maximum 500. Prizes in both categories are £200, £75 and £50, with the possibility of several Highly Commended places. The competition is open only to amateur writers, defined as not earning a living from writing or having been ‘professionally published in any major capacity’. “We actively like the odd and the strange”. Entry is £5, £12 for three, £18 for five. Deadline 31 July. Details: http://www.hissac.co.uk/CompetitionDetails

The Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition is inviting entries of a maximum of 5,000 words of the first chapter. If the chapter is longer, send it in full but clearly mark the 5,000 word point. As well as a first prize of £500, the winning entry will be read by Joanna Swainson of Hardman & Swainson Agency. All shortlisted entrants will receive a free appraisal. Entry fee: £18. Deadline 31 July. Details: https://fiction-factory.biz/

Finally, not a competition, but visual and literary journal Short Fiction has a submission window for writers for whom this would be their first published piece. Submit original, unpublished fiction between 500 and 5,000 words. Payment is 2p per word, with a minimum of £30 and a maximum of £100. Closing date: 31 July. Details: http://www.shortfictionjournal.co.uk/subs

As ever, let me remind you to double-check all details before entering. Good luck!