My work means that I like to keep an eye on upcoming competitions and opportunities for writers, particularly in the UK and Ireland. As I am frequently sharing these, I thought it might be prudent to compile a list of the competitions and opportunities that I found. I will continue to update this list as and when I hear of new oppertunities.

Entering competitions is a fantastic way of building up a portfolio of publications, getting used to the submission process and training yourself to meet deadlines. It’s also an excellent way of maintaining your creativity, as it can challenge you to try different forms or explore new themes.

While I aim to only share competitions and opportunities from reputable and trust-worthy sources, all writers who enter any of the competitions listed below do so at their own discretion, and on the understanding that I have no affiliation with any of the competitions hosts, and claim no responsibility for them. All due diligence should be taken whenever you are submitting your work anyway. Make sure that you read the terms & conditions and entry requirements of each individual competition and understand them fully before submitting.

Information listed on this page may be out of date or incorrect, with regards to entry requirements or prizes. The title of each competition includes a hyperlink to the competition submission page or website for convenience.

MYSLEXIA CHILDREN’S & YA NOVEL
Entry Requirements: 20,000+ words, for children or young adults, any genre, entrant must identify as a woman.
Judges: Cressida Cowell, Chloe Seager and Imogen Russell
Entry fee: £26
Prize: £5,000 + agent & editor introductions // Finalists x 3 – Manuscript assessment + agent introductions.
Deadline: 21st of September

MYSLEXIA SHORT STORY
Entry Requirements: 3,000 Words max, any genre, unpublished work, entrant must identify as a woman.
Judge: Diana Evans
Entry fee: £12
Prize: £3,000 + anthology publication // Finalists x 3 – £100 + anthology publication // Runners-Up x 8 – anthology publication
Deadline: 21st of September

MYSLEXIA FLASH FICTION
Entry Requirements: 300 words max, any genre or theme, entrant must identify as a woman.
Judge: Audrey Niven
Entry fee: £6
Prizes: £500 + anthology publication // Finalists x 3 – £50 + anthology publication // Runners-Up x 8 – anthology publication
Deadline: 21st of September

ARYAMATI POETRY PRIZE
Entry Requirements: Poetry Pamphlets 30 pages max, Theme: Social Change & Peace
Entry Fee: £7 (£4 for students + Subsidies available)
Prize: Publication Contract with Fly on the Wall Press + More (See website)
Deadline: 25th of September

HAMMOND HOUSE INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY PRIZE
Entry Requirements: Unpublished work, 1000-5000 words long, Theme: Changes
Entry Fee: £10, £5 for Members, Multiple entries allowed.
Prizes: £1000, £100, £50 + Publication for all winning and shortlisted submissions.
Deadline: 30th of September

HAMMOND HOUSE INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE
Entry Requirements: Unpublished work, 40 Lines Max, Theme: Changes
Entry Fee: £10, £5 for Members, Multiple entries allowed.
Prizes: £100, £50, £25 + Publication for all winning & shortlisted submissions.
Deadline: 30th of September

HAMMOND HOUSE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY PRIZE
Entry Requirements: One Sketch (4 Sides of A4 for Industry Format, 2 sides of A4 for Script) Theme: Changes
Entry Fee: £10, £5 for Members, Multiple entries allowed.
Prizes: Winning submissions will be performed at the 2023 International Literary Festival
Deadline: 30th of September

HAMMOND HOUSE INTERNATIONAL SCRIPT WRITING PRIZE
Entry Requirements: Unpublished work, a Short Film, Theatre, Radio or Television Script, Theme: Changes
Entry Fee: £10, £5 for Members, Multiple entries allowed.
Prize: £250
Deadline: 30th of September

HAMMOND HOUSE INTERNATIONAL SONG PRIZE
Entry Requirements: Previously unpublished, Theme: Changes
Categories: Song Lyrics & Performed Song
Entry Fee: £10, £5 for Members, Multiple entries allowed.
Prizes: £100. Winner of each category, plus 3 short-listed pieces from each will be published in the 2023 Hammond Book of Poetry & Song (Song Lyric Category) OR be released worldwide by the Hammond House Record Label (Performed Song Category)
Deadline: 30th of September

PATRICIA ESCHEN PRIZE FOR POETRY
Entry Requirements: One poem per person, max 40 lines.
Entry Fee: FREE
Prizes: £1000, £500, £300
Deadline: 30th of September

NOSY CROW OPEN CALL FOR GRAPHIC NOVELS
Entry Requirements: Unpublished, complete graphic novels for 5-12 year olds. Minimum 5 page Script for writers OR 3 Double-Page spreads for Illustrators. 3 Submissions per person permitted.
Entry Fee: FREE
Prizes: Publication Contract with Nosy Crow Publishing House
Deadline: 30th of September

BRIDPORT PRIZE MEMOIRE AWARD
Entry Requirements: Works in progress accepted, must be entrant’s sole original work, 5000-8000 words from the opening chapter(s) + 300 word overview.
Entry Fee: £24
Prizes: £1500 + mentoring from the Literary Consultancy & consultation with AM Heath Literary Agency + more. // Runner Up: £750 + more // Highly Commended x 3: £150 + more. See website for details.
Deadline: 30th of September

GRINDSTONE INTERNATION NOVEL PRIZE:
Entry Requirements: Unagented, underrepresented writers, YA or Adult novels, Any genre.
Entry Fee: £20
Prizes: 1st: £1,000, 2nd: £500, Runner-Ups x 4: £125. All prize winners and long-listers will have their manuscripts forward to affiliated agents, including Curtis Brown Books, Conville and Walsh, Janklow & Nesbitt, the Paper Literary Agency, the Good Literary Agency, etc.
Deadline: 1st of October

COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT SHORT STORY PRIZE
Entry requirements: Published & Unpublished stories welcome but for pre-published stories, you must be able offer non-exclusive worldwide permission. 5,000-15,000 words complete story + 100 word synopsis, entrant must identify as a woman.
Entry Fee: FREE
Prize: £1,100, Short-listed Entrees – £100. All short-listed + winner will be included in an anthology to be published by Farrago.
Deadline: 14th of October

NATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION 2022
Entry Requirements: Unpublished poem, max 40 lines, multiple submissions allowed
Judges: Greta Stoddart, Jason Allen-Paisant & Michael Symmons Roberts
Entry fee: £7, then £5 for subsequent entrees.
Prize: £5,000, £2,000, £1,000, £200 x 7 + Mentorship for leading poet
Deadline: 31st of October

THE OBSERVER / BURGISS PRIZE FOR ARTS JOURNALISM
Entry requirements: A previously unpublished review of 800 words max on new works in the Arts. Multiple entries allowed.
Entry Fee: £10 (Subsidy scheme for low-income entrants)
Prize: £3,000 + Publication in the Observer Newspaper, £500 x 2 for runner-ups.
Deadline: 30th of November

THE BATH CHILDREN’S NOVEL AWARD
Entry requirements: For Unpublished authors, self-published novels accepted. 5000 words max from the beginning of a completed manuscript + 1 page Synopsis.
Categories: Picture books (0-6), Chapter Books (7-9), Middle Grade (10-12), Teen & Young Adult (13-18)
Entry Fee: £29 (Subsidy scheme for low-income entrants)
Prize: £3,000, + all shortlisted entrants have the opportunity to be introduced to a list of literary agents best suited to their work.
Deadline: 30th of November

THE 2023 BETTY TRASK PRIZE
Entry Requirements Complete Novel, written in a romantic or traditional nature from new writers under the age of 35.
Entry Fee: FREE
Prize: £10,000
Deadline: 30th of November

BBC WRITERS ROOM: CALL FOR SCRIPTS
Entry Requirements: 30 Page Minimum, Genre: Drama & Comedy
Entry Fee: FREE
Prize: This is an opportunity for the BBC to find new writers
Deadline: 7th of December, 2022