March 2021: Competition Monthly
16 March 2021
A new assortment of writing competition to enter
There’s another good selection of competitions this month, including one to win a week’s free place at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School this August, which is worth in excess of £500. I can personally recommend Swanwick as a week of great talks and good company, with loads going on in the evenings, both literary and otherwise. Of course, this is as long as we are actually out of lockdown by then, but I dare say the prize would be carried over until the following year should things change.
There’s an unusual competition to write a play on a topic affecting the LGBTQ+ community, which is free to enter, and you can even write it in Italian, if you so wish. (Though I speak a little, it certainly wouldn’t be good enough to attempt this!)
Happy writing, and I wish you all success in your comping endeavours.
Click February 21 for posts detailing further competitions closing in April.
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Closing soon
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Theme: Open, 500 words max
Prizes: £300 / £200 / £100
Closing date: 31 March 2021 (and quarterly thereafter)
Entry: £5 (£8 for 2)
April Competitions
Swanwick Writers’ Summer School Short Story Competition
Theme: ‘Second Chances’, 1,000 words max
Prizes: Fully inclusive stay at Swanwick Writers’ School between 7th and 13th August 2021
Closing date: 30 April 2021
Entry: £6
Carlo Annoni Prize
Theme: A play on topics affecting the LGBTQ+ community and promotion of diversity in love, society, politics and culture. Can be in either English or Italian.
Prizes: €1,000 prize for a play in each language
Closing date: 30 April 2021
Entry: Free
May Competitions
Curt Johnson Prose Awards
Theme: Open, 8,000 words max, fiction and non-fiction
Prizes: US$1,500 / $500
Closing date: 1 May 2021
Entry: $20
Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction
Theme: Open, 3,500 words max. Entrants much not have had a fiction book published
Prizes: CAN$1,000
Closing date: 1 May 2021
Entry: $25
Shooter Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, 5,000 words max
Prizes: £400 / £100
Closing date: 9 May 2021
Entry: £7
The Times / Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition
Theme: Suitable for children and young people aged somewhere between 7 and 18. 30,000 to 80,000 words
Prizes: Publishing contract, advance of £10,000
Closing date: 14 May 2021
Entry: £18
Writing Magazine Spirit Short Story Competition
Theme: ‘Spirit’, 1,500 – 1,700 words
Prizes: £200 plus publication in Writing Magazine / £50 plus publication online
Closing date: 15 May 2021
Entry: £7.50 / £5 for subscribers
Writing Magazine Writers’ Weekend Short Fiction Competition
Theme: Open, 1,500 – 3,000 words
Prizes: £250 plus publication in Writing Magazine and 1 year’s subscription to the mag
Closing date: 28 May 2021
Entry: £10 / £8 for subscribers
Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award
Theme: Open. Opening chapters up to 5,000 words, plus 300 word synopsis and a covering letter
Prizes: £1,000 plus agent introduction / Manuscript review plus agent intro / agent intro
Closing date: 31 May 2021
Entry: £20
Bridport Novel Prize
Theme: Open. Send 8,000 words max (5,000 min), from opening chapters, plus 300 words synopsis
Prizes: £1,500 / £750 / £3 x £150
Closing date: 31 May 2021
Entry: £20
Bridport Short Story Prize
Theme: Open (not children’s), 5,000 words max
Prizes: £5,000 / £1,000 / £500 / 10 x £100
Closing date: 31 May 2021
Entry: £12
Bridport Flash Fiction Prize
Theme: Open, 250 words max
Prizes: £1,000 / £500 / £250 / 3 x £100
Closing date: 31 May 2021
Entry: £9
Frome Festival Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, 1,000 to 2,200 words
Prizes: £400 / £200 / £100
Closing date: 31 May 2021
Entry: £8
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Francesca Capaldi Burgess has been placed or shortlisted in a dozen competitions including Winchester Writers’ Conference, Retreat West, Meridian Writing, Wells Festival Book for Children, Writing Magazine and The People’s Friend serial competition. She’s had stories published in magazines worldwide and her four DC Thomson pocket novels. She’s currently writing the third episode of her World War 1 Valleys series, set in Wales. Apart from the RNA, she’s also a member of the Society for Women Writers and Journalists. Francesca runs a writing blog with RNA member Elaine Roberts called Write Minds.
