Writing Competitions - Almond Press

20/06/2026

Our weekly Writing Deadlines newsletter is out ⤵️
This week - Prizes up to $15,000, 18 new opportunities from:
Palette Poetry, The Masters Review, Rattle, New Writers UK, Dark Poets Club, World History Encyclopedia, Oxford Poetry, The Milk House, Southam Book Festival, The Moth, Dzanc Books, and more!

fans

Link:

Discover 18 writing competitions with deadlines from June to October 2026. Short fiction, poetry, flash fiction, and more. Prizes up to $15,000. Opportunities for writers at all levels.

20/06/2026

📌 New writing competition
★Ink of Ages Fiction Prize 2027 ★

📆Deadline: August 22, 2026 1:14 pm - 1:14 pm The Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is an annual international contest run by the non-profit World History Encyclopedia and sponsored by Oxford University Press . The award celebrates short fiction that engages readers with cultural heritage and explores the interconnected human past.

Writers are invited to submit original, previously unpublished short stories in English across two specific categories: Historical Fiction and Mythological Fiction . All submissions must follow a strict timeline constraint: no part of the story can be set more recently than 50 years ago. Historical pieces must ground themselves in the past’s social, political, or cultural atmosphere (alternative history is permitted, but time travel is not). Mythological stories must actively draw from a genuine, specific mythic figure, folkloric tradition, or cultural belief, though they do not need to be set in the time or place of the original myth. Stories set in prehistory are welcome if they plausibly evoke the lived experience or oral traditions of the era.

The competition is open to writers worldwide. There are two entry tiers evaluated by age on the closing deadline: an Adult category for writers aged 18 and over (stories must be strictly 1,500–2,000 words) and a Youth category for writers aged 13 to 17 (stories must be strictly 800–1,000 words, accompanied by parental consent). Submissions must be written in English and are judged anonymously. Simultaneous submissions are permitted provided the organizers are notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.

Top prize: US$500 cash, global publication and promotion to over 7 million monthly readers, custom artwork (map, infographic, or family tree) by an in-house cartographer, story translation into multiple languages, and a lifetime World History Encyclopedia membership.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/ink-of-ages-fiction-prize-2027/

The Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is an annual international contest run by the non-profit World History Encyclopedia and sponsored

20/06/2026

📌 New writing competition
★The International Dark Poets Prize ★

📆Deadline: July 31, 2026 1:21 pm - 1:21 pm The International Dark Poets Prize returns for its fifth edition, serving as the flagship global competition for the Dark Poets Club . The collective provides a dedicated platform for emerging and established writers whose work embraces “real-world rawness” and themes that mainstream publications might find too heavy or intense.

Poets worldwide are invited to submit pieces exploring the beauty, complexity, and intrigue found within the shadows. The contest welcomes all styles of verse that lean into the gothic, melancholic, macabre, unsettling, surreal, or quietly haunting. Keeping with the organizer’s philosophy that great poetry should be shared without limitations, previously published work is fully welcome and accepted. All entries are automatically considered for future publication on the club’s platforms, and a portion of all submission fees is donated to the mental health charity SANE. Poems must be submitted in English.

For this landmark fifth edition, the competition introduces its largest prize pool yet, transitioning to award major financial prizes to three individual top entries alongside a series of shortlist selections and honourable mentions.

First Prize: £1000 plus a Dark Poets Prize certification and a Dark Poets Club T-shirt

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/the-international-dark-poets-prize/

The International Dark Poets Prize returns for its fifth edition, serving as the flagship global competition for the Dark Poets

20/06/2026

📌 New writing competition
★The Squat Pen Rests Short Story Competition ★

📆Deadline: July 31, 2026 12:39 pm - 12:39 pm The Squat Pen Rests Short Story Competition is an annual short fiction competition sponsored by the Royal Society of Literature and Wiltshire Writes@Swindon New College . The competition is open to writers of short stories and aims to recognise and showcase original work from emerging and established writers.

The competition is open to all writers aged 18 and over who live in the UK. Submissions must be original short stories written in English.

Entries must not exceed 750 words, excluding the story title. The entry fee is £5 per submission. All entries must be submitted by 31 July 2026 at 23:59.

Prizes will be determined based on the number of entries received and awarded to the top six winners. Winners will be announced in September 2026.

In addition to cash prizes, the top six winners will be invited to an awards ceremony in October 2026, where they may read their work to an audience of friends, family, and members of the public. During this event, winners will also compete for an additional Readers’ Choice Award .

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/the-squat-pen-rests-short-story-competition/

The Squat Pen Rests Short Story Competition is an annual short fiction competition sponsored by the Royal Society of Literature

20/06/2026

📌 New writing competition
★2026 Rattle Poetry Prize ★

📆Deadline: July 15, 2026 12:28 pm - 12:28 pm The Rattle Poetry Prize is an annual international poetry competition organized by Rattle , an American poetry magazine. The contest is open to poets of any nationality writing in English and awards $15,000 for a single poem. Entries are judged anonymously by the editors of Rattle .

Poets may submit up to four poems per entry. Poems may be any length, any style, or any subject, but must be written primarily in English and must be unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are permitted, provided Rattle is notified immediately if a poem is accepted elsewhere. Multiple entries are allowed, with each additional group of up to four poems requiring a separate entry fee.

The entry fee is $30, which includes a one-year subscription to Rattle magazine or a one-year extension for current subscribers.

Entries close on 15 July 2026. Winners will be announced on 15 September 2026, with the Readers’ Choice Award winner announced in February 2027.

Prizes:

1st place: $15,000 USD and publication in the Winter 2026 issue of Rattle .

Ten finalists: $500 USD each and publication

Readers’ Choice Award: $5,000 USD, selected by subscriber and entrant vote from among the finalists.

Additional poems submitted to the contest may also be offered standard publication.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/2026-rattle-poetry-prize/

The Rattle Poetry Prize is an annual international poetry competition organized by Rattle, an American poetry magazine. The contest is

20/06/2026

📌 New writing competition
★The Moth Nature Writing Prize 2026 ★

📆Deadline: September 30, 2026 12:13 pm - 12:13 pm The Moth Nature Writing Prize is an international competition run by The Moth Magazine that aims to encourage and celebrate nature writing. The prize is awarded annually to an unpublished piece of prose or poetry that combines literary merit with an exploration of the writer’s relationship with the natural world. Entries are judged anonymously by a single judge each year. Previous judges have included Richard Mabey, Helen Macdonald, Max Porter, Kathleen Jamie and Cal Flyn.

The competition is open to writers worldwide aged 16 and over. Entries may consist of either a single poem of any length or a single prose piece, fiction or non-fiction, of up to 4,000 words. Work must be original, unpublished, written in English, and not previously self-published, published online or broadcast. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but AI-generated work is not eligible. There is no limit on the number of entries.

Although entries may be on any subject, they should reflect concerns about or appreciation for the natural world.

Submissions close on 30 September 2026 at 11:59 p.m. (Ireland time). The entry fee is €16 per poem or prose piece.

Prizes:

1st place: €1,000 and a one-week stay at The Moth Retreat in rural Ireland.

2nd place: €500.

3rd place: €250.

The winning entries are also published online by The Irish Times. Winners are expected to be notified by the end of November, with results announced in December.

Is this competition legit?YES! - Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work .

FAQ If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it's your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

🔗 Find out more: https://dystopianstories.com/events/the-moth-nature-writing-prize-2026/

The Moth Nature Writing Prize is an international competition run by The Moth Magazine that aims to encourage and celebrate

20/06/2026

Deadline June 30: Reprint Prize
Emerging writers may submit previously published prose (under 6,000 words) to win $500 and online publication in The Masters Review. Fee: $10.
https://mastersreview.com/the-reprint-prize/

20/06/2026

Deadline: Jul 31: International Dark Poets Prize sponsored by Dark Poets Club. Submit dark poetry exploring the beauty, complexity and intrigue found within darkness to win a prize fund of £1,800, publication opportunities and international recognition. Fee: £6 for 1 poem, £10 for 3 poems, £14 for 5 poems. https://www.darkpoets.club/darkpoetsprizev

18/06/2026