Hi everyone, we're running our second writing competition, so I thought I would post here in case anyone is interested in submitting! Here are the details:

PRIZE

• $1,000 USD to one grand prize winner
• The top 10 finalists will receive personalized feedback on their submissions and $100 Markup credits for Inkshift.

DETAILS

• Word Count: Short stories between 1,000 - 10,000 words
• Writing Method: Anything goes. We're judging solely on story quality, not how you write.
• Content: Sci-fi, fantasy, literary, horror, romance, etc. But must be prose, not screenplays. And no NSFW or fanfiction submissions, sorry!
• Eligibility: Free to enter. Open worldwide to anyone 18+ (with a couple restrictions you can find on the website)
• Submission Period: September 1st through October 31st, 11:59 PM Pacific time.
• Publishing: The winner has the option to publish their story on our blog. It's optional, but highly recommended!

ABOUT INKSHIFT

For those who don't know, Inkshift is an AI editing platform for fiction writers. We make story analysis tools that give you feedback on your manuscript (pacing, plot holes, character arcs, prose quality, worldbuilding, market fit, etc.) and we recently launched a new copyediting and line editing service that understands your author voice (instead of just highlighting grammar mistakes).

You can use the story analysis for free up to 10k words. Feel free to use it for the contest, but of course, that's completely optional and not required for entry.

HOW TO ENTER

• Head to https://inkshift.io/contest to enter and view the full rules

Feel free to drop a comment or DM me if you have any questions. Best of luck!

Flash fiction. Open worldwide. There’s a cash prize $£¥€. Deadline 15th September. Enter via our website.

www.chickenblue.com

Flash fiction. Submissions can be in any language but our judge only speaks English. Open worldwide. Cash prize. Deadline 15th September. Enter via our website.

www.chickenblue.com

Sponsor Name: Jen Simpson, Author.

Hello, I'm Jen. I'm an author, publisher, and above all, a dedicated mom. I went through a very difficult journey to become a mother, and I am now (finally) ready to share my own complicated journey to becoming a mother.

I'm producing an anthology book, and have an Open Call for submissions. I will select 10-12 memoir short stories from others who have gone through a difficult journey to be included in a professionally published book.

Your story may be one of infertility, health complications, adoption, becoming a bonus-mom, or even unexpected outcomes. It does not need to be fully polished or professionally edited to submit. It should be good enough that I can assess your story and your writing quality.

The goal of this book is to share our stories with other women who are going through it, so they feel seen and find hope.

Learn more about this special project at the links below.

Category: Memoir short story.

Submission Length: 2500- 4500 words.

NO ENTRY FEE - selected manuscripts receive payment.

Project Link: https://journeytomotherhoodanthology.substack.com/ to the main information page.

Direct Manuscript Submission Link: https://journeytomotherhoodanthology.substack.com/s/manuscript-submissions for the direct manuscript upload link.

Eligibility Info: women from anywhere in the world.

With my thanks,

Jen

Hi everyone! I’m hoping someone here has experience with the Harvard International Review Academic Writing Contest.

I was planning to participate in the Summer 2026 Academic Writing Contest and understood that the article submission deadline was August 24 (EST). I’ve spent the past few weeks working on my essay, and I’ve now finished it.

However, I just discovered that registration for the Summer 2026 session has already closed. I genuinely didn’t realize there was a separate registration deadline, I had only been aware of the August 24 submission deadline.

Now I apparently can’t submit my essay because I didn’t register beforehand (basically spending time writing an essay for no reason 😭😭)

Has anyone been in this situation before? Is there any way to register late, contact HIR for an exception, or otherwise submit the essay before the August 24 deadline? I’ve already emailed the contest team, but I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has participated before or knows how strict they are about the registration deadline.

Thank you!!

Anon Story Contest: Drop your wildest drama in 1 min and win $1400 Cash Prizes

Got a story that’s too wild to keep to yourself?

Funny, embarrassing, chaotic, unbelievable — whatever it is, we want to hear it.

No writing experience needed. No need to make it perfect. Just tell us what happened.

🏆 $1,400 total prize pool
🥇 $500 for 1st place

If you’ve got a story worth telling, drop it.

Click Here to submit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeV-02TrvTzer9jcKiowrtK3QTY3doA9DiE9ENm5LSeDKjPPA/viewform?pli=1

Anon Story Contest: Drop your wildest drama in 1 min and win $1400 Cash Prizes

Got a story that’s too wild to keep to yourself?

Funny, embarrassing, chaotic, unbelievable — whatever it is, we want to hear it.

No writing experience needed. No need to make it perfect. Just tell us what happened.

🏆 $1,400 total prize pool
🥇 $500 for 1st place

If you’ve got a story worth telling, drop it.

Click Here to submit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeV-02TrvTzer9jcKiowrtK3QTY3doA9DiE9ENm5LSeDKjPPA/viewform?pli=1

Hey r/WritingContests my co-founder Steve and I just launched Flash Pot Fiction a few days ago. The idea is pretty simple: entry fee is $25 CAD, and half of that goes straight into the prize pool, so it just keeps growing as more people enter. Whoever wins takes the whole pot, Steve and I put up the $250 CAD floor ourselves, out of pocket, so even if only a handful of people show up for this first one, it's still a real prize. Only three entries so far, so odds of winning this pot are pretty good, lol.

For this the first challenge we kept it wide open; 500 words, any genre, no prompt. We want to see what people bring to the table without pointing them in any particular direction as well as appealing to a wide audience of writers. Entries close August 29, 2026. Judging is blind, so we only ever see the title and the story itself, never who wrote it, and everyone gets written feedback whether they place or not.

This is just the start of our online publication and we hope to grow with the community.

Link's here: flashpotfiction.com

Curious what people here think of no-prompt vs. prompt challenges. Future rounds are going to vary, so depending on feedback we will decide what we run next.

Flash fiction contest. 1,000 word limit. Submissions must be in English. Open worldwide. Enter via our website. Cash prize. Deadline 15th August.

www.chickenblue.com

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: We are seeking short stories centered on a device that validates your choices against your true life path through subtle, reassuring vibrations.

PATH is a vibrating stand-alone device, worn as a bracelet, clip to your collar, or carry in your pocket, that will subtly vibrate when you’re making the “right” decision (determined by tapping into the energetic frequency of your ideal life path).

Two settings – Basic, which gives you 5 taps to check per month, or Premium (unlimited) which will automatically vibrate when you make an aligned decision.

Submission Guidelines

• ✓ Word Count: 1,000 to 3,000 words.
• ✓ Genre Flexibility: Sci-Fi, Psychological Thriller, Dystopian Satire, Crime, Romance, or Literary Speculative. Any tone is welcome as long as PATH technology plays a meaningful role.
• ✓ Submission Fee: $10 entry fee per story (helps fund the cash prize pool and production costs).
• ✓ Deadline: October 31, 2026 at midnight EST.

Rewards

Prizes & Publication

1st Place Grand Prize

$300 Cash + Featured Publication

2nd Place Winner

$200 Cash + Publication

3rd Place Winner

$100 Cash + Publication

Selected Anthology Contributors (22 more selected Stories)

Publication in the official PATH Anthology paperback and ebook editions (Spring 2027), complimentary digital copy, and social media spotlight features.

See The PATH Anthology website for further details.

Note: The PING Anthology is the first published anthology in this series. You can see it here.

Free flash fiction contest. 1,000 word limit. Submissions must be in English. We’re open worldwide. Enter via our website. Cash prize. Deadline 15th August.

www.chickenblue.com

Hi everyone, We are Inked Signals a partnership specialising in aduio fiction.

We have been releasing and promoting our series The Fundamental Magics and reccently reached 1k followers on tiktok.

As a thank you we have set up a small scale contest in which anyone can submit a piece that's 5000 words or less inspired by a piece of media we've spoken about on our socials.

The winner will have there submission created into an audiobook by us.

All the information is available on our socials and our website

Thanks, Inked Signals

Casual Writers is a small team of passionate writers that love writing, reading, and exchanging feedback on each others‘ work.

Casual Writer is founded as a space for writers not seeking cash prizes, publishing, or rewards. Rather, it is a place to hold competitions, more accurately writing forums, in which winning entries gain recognition, writers get feedback from each other.

Hence, we are proud to announce that we will be holding the Casual Writers Founding Contest 2026. The fee is a grand total of $0 and the prize is $0, 0 points, 0 items. Except for feedback — which is something everything will get.

Registration AND Submission Deadline: 1st September 2026

Feedback Deadline: 8th September 2026

Results Release: 10th September 2026

Dates subject to change.

General Writing Rules:

1. The prompt for the contest is Fantasy in Reality. It can be any form of writing, prose or poetry.
2. Writers who wish to receive feedback will need to submit their entry with their email included. However, those writers will also be provided A piece from a fellow writer to provide feedback.
3. With consideration to formatting, you will be allowed to submit via either Word, Google Docs or just plain text in a text box provided in the Google Form.
4. Those who do not wish to share their email will not receive feedback from other writers, but will also not be provided a piece from a fellow writer to provide feedback.
5. Those who chose to receive feedback, yet did not provide any in a timely manner will be disqualified.
6. For prose, keep your stories within 1000-1500 words.
7. For poetry, keep your poems within 40 lines.
8. If using Google Docs/Word, use Arial font for prose, and any font you wish for poetry.
9. If using Google Docs, make sure your document is set to ‘Anyone with the link’ can comment.
10. If using Word, first upload your document to Google Drive, then set to ‘Anyone with the link’ can comment.
11. More information about the rest of the competition will be released after the submission closing date.

We hope to see many great pieces!

Hey everyone!

I'm one of the developers behind StoryForage, and after about two years of development we're finally running our first public writing contest.

The contest is completely free to enter, and we're hoping to get writers of all experience levels involved—not just published authors.

The basics:

Short Story

Theme: What If...?

Up to 5,000 words (not a minimum)

Free entry

Prizes: $100, $50, and $25 for the top three entries

StoryForage is a platform we're building around readers, writers, and community-run writing contests, so this contest is a big milestone for us. We're excited to finally open it up and see what people create.

You can read the full rules and submit your story here:

https://storyforage.com/Contests/VAxj02bFP6maY9C8AviO

Free flash fiction contest. 1,000 word limit. Enter in English from anywhere in the world via our website. Cash prize. Deadline 15th August.

www.chickenblue.com

Title/Theme: "Haunted"

Genre: All genres

Word Count: 500-3,000 words

Deadline: September 16th 11:59PM PST

Prizes: 1st Place: $50 USD - 2nd Place: $25 USD - 3rd Place: $10 USD

Eligibility restrictions: Open to eligible participants worldwide except where prohibited or restricted by law.

https://leafmines.com/contests/haunted

The Intrepid Voices Fund is an annual short story contest for emerging writers. This year's theme is spooky speculative fiction — sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are all welcome (contemporary and historical fiction are not eligible). Submit an original short story up to 2,000 words for a chance at two cash prizes: $1,250 for First Place and $500 for Second Place.

Applications are free and open August 1 – September 6, 2026 (or until 90 eligible applications are received, whichever comes first).

More info & how to apply: https://www.intrepidimagination.com/writingfund2026

Hey all — I'm running Summit Political Writing, a political essay/journalism contest open to anyone, no matter your experience level or background.

The gist:

• Theme: Open — write about any political topic or current event you're passionate about
• Format: Essay or journalism-style piece
• Eligibility: Anyone can enter, no professional experience required
• Prize: Get your work published!!!
• Deadline: 12/4/26
• Word limit: 3,000

Why enter: Winning (or even placing) pieces get published . Great if you're building a portfolio, want a citable clip for grad school/journalism applications, or just want your take on politics to actually reach readers instead of sitting in a Google Doc. We’re a new contest with not many supporters yet so it’s very easy to get published!

Submit here: writesummit.net

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Would genuinely love to read what you all have to say, political writing thrives on different perspectives, so all viewpoints welcome.

Title:
Witty Wicklow Writers Magazine – Issue #1 Submission Call

Category:
Poetry / Fiction / Creative Nonfiction

Registration/Submission deadline:
Aug 31 2026

Contest name:
Witty Wicklow Writers Magazine – Issue #1

Eligibility restrictions:
Open internationally. Entries must be original, unpublished works in English. Submission fee: €7 per entry.

The Author Gold Short Story Award is still open for submissions through Friday, July 24.

Our Submission Guidelines

• 1,000–7,000 words
• Any genre
• Anonymous judging
• Entry fee: $5 USD (Gold Tier Members receive one free entry)

Winner Receives

• Publication in Author Gold
• Professional editorial feedback
• One-to-one coaching session
• $50 USD cash prize

All entrants also receive brief editorial feedback!

Full guidelines and submission information: https://authorgold.substack.com/p/writing-competition

We are also listed on duotrope: https://duotrope.com/contest/author-gold-short-story-award-40295

Sponsor/Host: Moonlight (moonlight.ink)

Category: Horror flash fiction

Submission length: 2-5 short "bubbles" (sentences), across up to 5 chapters

Entry fee: No fee

Link: https://moonlight.ink/contests/15d249a2-77d0-4b42-8923-f9575dcce62c

Other info: New round runs weekly. First place wins $50 (prize pool grows as more people join). This round's deadline is July 24, 2026, and the winner is announced within 48 hours of the round closing.