Five Fiction Writing Contests in 2025, plus a Call for Novella Submissions
Do you write flash fiction or short stories? Do you have an unpublished story collection in need of a home? Here are five fiction contests that offer publication and a cash prize. These are annual fiction writing competitions, so if you miss the deadline, you can take time to polish your fiction manuscript and submit next year.
At the end of the post, you’ll also find a small press with an open reading period for novels, novellas, and story collections.
Fiction Writing Contests in This Post
a flash fiction contest from a respected literary journal
a highly competitive international short story contest with a hefty prize
a story contest that accepts fiction in any genre
two contests for story collections, which include a cash prize and publication of the winning book
a respected small press that is accepting fiction manuscripts (novels and novellas) through the end of June. This is a good opportunity for writers who have a completed fiction manuscript and do not have a literary agent.
Flash Fiction Contest
Lascaux Review Prize in Flash Fiction
What to submit: a flash fiction of 1,000 words or fewer, published stories accepted
Entry fee: $15. You can submit up to three stories per entry fee.
Prize: $1,000, publication in Lascaux Review, and (wait for it) a bronze medallion
As I’ve said before, flash fiction is a great way to break into publishing, and this is a respected prize from a well-regarded literary journal.
Deadline: June 30
Story Collection Contests
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of university presses and respected book publication prizes. It was through a contest that I published my debut story collection, The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, with University of Massachusetts Press (I write about it here).
Publishing with a university press through a contest was a great experience. A contest requires no literary agent and no connections. Submissions are blind, so your work is truly judged on merit.
Here are two highly respected contests for short story collections. Both have a June 30 deadline.
Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction
Entry fee: $25
Prize: $1,000 and publication by The University of North Texas Press
What to submit:
Entries must be a collection of any combination of flash fiction, short stories, or novellas, from 100 to 200 book pages in length (word count between 27,500 and 50,000). Material should be previously unpublished in book form.
Prize: $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press
no entry fee
What to submit:
Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 pages.
This one has more stringent requirements, as the writer must be previously published, but your publications can include stories in literary magazines; to qualify, the stories must have been published in print, not online.
The award is open to authors who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals.
Before submitting, you might want to browse past winners of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize.
Short Story Contest
The Moth International Short Story Prize - a long shot with a hefty prize
What to submit: an unpublished short story up to 3,000 words
Deadline: June 30
Entry fee: 15 euros
Prize: 3,000 euros and publication in Irish Times
Judge: Evie Wyld
Note: The bar is high, so only submit if you have a truly exceptional story. You might want to take a look at past winners. This contest is open to writers anywhere in the world. Last year, the top prize went to a writer from New Zealand who already had a slew of prizes under her belt. Second place went to a writer from New Zealand, and third prize went to a journalist and short story writer from North Carolina. All three had previous association with Moth. One was a previous winner of the Moth story prize, one had been a runner-up in an earlier year, and one had been published in Moth magazine. That indicates that previous association with the magazine might give entrants a significant advantage. Prior years’ winners, however, did not have similar previous ties to the prize, so it may have just been an unusual year in that regard.
The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction
What to submit: a short story up to 5,000 words in any genre
Entree fee: $20
Prize: publication in The Letter Review and $250 (or more, depending on number of winners. The Letter Review awards $1,000, shared among up to four winners).
Note: I haven’t heard of this prize before, but I like that they are open to fiction in any genre. They also have a creative nonfiction contest with a June 30 deadline.
Where to Submit Your Fiction Manuscript without a Literary Agent
This isn’t a contest, but an open reading period that ends on June 30. Previously an imprint of the highly respected Dzanc Books, Black Lawrence Press became an independent company in 2014 (you can read about the press here). It accepts un-agented submissions of book-length works of fiction through its two open reading periods. One is in November, and the other is in June.
What to submit: a novel, novella, or story collection.
Entry fee: submitters must purchase a Black Lawrence Press title for $14
As this isn’t a contest, there isn’t a cash prize, but the press says it selects many of its titles through these two open reading periods.
Thank you for reading The Caffeinated Writer. If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my other posts on publishing.