Freelance Writing: Simple Tips on Complicated Topics10 Writing Contests That Might Be of Interest to You

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Have you ever participated in any writing contests? C’mon, we’re pretty sure that a professional who can meet our high standards has good chances to win a prize in one of the competitions.

For instance, some of the following contests can be of interest to you:

Writing Contests with Minimal Entrance Fee

1. CDS Documentary Essay Prize http://documentarystudies.duke.edu/awards/cds-documentary-essay-prize promises $3000 for 15 to 20 pages of documentary writing.
2. Bellingham Review http://bhreview.org promises $1000 to each of three winners in poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction competition. Though the entry fee is $20, this chance is worth it.
3. Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story http://www.selectedshorts.org/extras/writing-contest-2/ grants a prize of $1000 and a tuition for a 10 week writing course.
4. Family Matters http://www.glimmertrain.com/ gives a prize of $1,500 twice a year for a short story about family life.
5. A Short Story Contest from Gemini Magazine http://www.gemini-magazine.com/ gives a $1,000 prize and a publication in a magazine once a year for a short story.

Kindly note that each of the contests discussed above requires a small entrance fee, ranging from $5 to $20.

No Entry Fee Writing Contests

Just in case you’re annoyed with the obligation to pay for participation, here are five options which are absolutely free:

1. National Endowment for the Arts http://arts.gov/ is simply amazing, because they award $25,000 annually for poetry or creative prose works.
2. Washington College Prize http://www.washcoll.edu/centers/starr/hodson-brown-fellowship.php every year gives a stipend of $20,000 to anyone who’s working on non-fiction books related to History, Culture, Art etc.
3. Sozopol Fiction Seminars Prize http://www.ekf.bg/sozopol/page/36/ gives 10 (!) prizes $1,600 each to take part in Sozopol Fiction Seminars in Sozopol, Bulgaria.
4. Winning Writers http://www.pw.org/writing_contests/wergle_flomp_humor_poetry_contest gives a prize of $1,000 for a humorous poem of any length every year. The contest offers a convenient online submission form.
5. Arrowhead Regional Arts Council http://www.aracouncil.info/ annually gives $5,000 to Minnesota creative writers and poets.

So, good luck in any of these writing contests, dear colleagues! We’re crossing our fingers for you.