Grinter Sunflower Farm: Flickr This August there are three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $20,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck! 
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Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships. Restrictions: Delaware poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year prior to application and who are not enrolled in a degree-granting program. Genres: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Prize: Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Granum Foundation Prize helps U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works. Additionally, a Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated by a U.S.-based writer. Prize: One winner will receive $5,000; up to three finalists will be awarded $500 or more; $500 or more will be awarded to one writer working in translation. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grants. Restrictions: Open to women and trans artists in Greater Philadelphia to fund art for social change projects. People living in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties Delaware who are 18 years of age or older and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Genre: Art in traditional or nontraditional modes, mediums or disciplines. Prize: $2500. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be Singaporean, Singaporean permanent resident or Singapore-born. Genre: A full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language. Prize: $20,000. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

NOMAD Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual art, industry specials, and criticism/reviews/interviews on theme "Fragility." Prize: $75. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Only Poems Poem of the Month. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Prize: $33. Deadline: August 7, 2025.

Oregon Literary Fellowships. Two fellowships (one $10,000 grant and one $3,500 grant) are reserved specifically for writers of color. There are also fellowships for women/gender-nonconforming writers as well as special fellowships for fiction writers who have lived in Oregon over the past 5 years. Deadline: August 8, 2025.

Literature Matters. Restrictions: UK residents. Genre: "Awards will be given to individual writers or other literary creators, recognising their past achievements and providing them with financial support to undertake a proposed new piece of writing or literary project. Launched as part of the RSL’s new Literature Matters programme, priority will be given to proposals which (a) will help connect with audiences or topics outside the usual reach of literature, and/or (b) will help generate public discussion about why literature matters." Award: £20,000. Deadline: August 8,  2025.

John Glassco Translation Prize. Sponsored by Literary Translators' Association of Canada. Restrictions: Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents only. Genre: The work submitted must be the translator's first published book-length translation into English or French. Prize: $1000. Deadline: August 8, 2025.

Peter Blazey Fellowship.  Restrictions: Applicants must either be an Australian citizen or have Australian residency. Genre: Non-fiction in the fields of autobiography, biography or life writing. Prize: $20,000, and a one-month writer-in-residency at The Australia Centre. Deadline: August 11, 2025.

Giller Prize. Restrictions: Open to books published in Canada in English between  July 1, 2025, and September 30, 2025. Must  be nominated by publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

53-Word Story Contest. Genre: Flash fiction of exactly 53 words based on monthly theme. Prize: Publication and a free book. Deadline: August 15, 2025. (Note: This is a monthly contest)

The Yale Drama Series. Genre: Full-length play, with a minimum of 65 pages. Prize: $10,000, publication of the manuscript by Yale University Press.  Deadline: August 15, 2025.

Waterford Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of Ireland. Genre: Poem. Prize: First prize is €400 plus attendance at a designated writing course. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition. Genre: Haiku. Prize: $200. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for one story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

Forum Prize. Genre: Essay on the subject of: ‘Anniversaries’. To mark the 60th anniversary of Forum for Modern Language Studies, we are looking for bold, visionary and persuasive essays that use academic research to pursue innovative questions. The winning essay will be that judged by the panel to have best addressed the topic with flair, ambition and resonance.The topic may be addressed from the perspective of any of the literatures (including literary linguistics, translation and comparative literature approaches) normally covered by the journal: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish." Prize: £500 and publication. Deadline: August 15, 2025. 

Ligonier Valley Writers. Genre: Flash fiction on theme;1000 words max. Prize: The first prize winner will receive $50, second prize $25, and third prize $15. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genre: Poetry. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: August 18, 2025. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.) 

Pen and Quill. Restrictions: Only writers between ages 12 and 21 years can enter. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and other (which do not fit poetry or fiction, like nonfiction, experimental work, scripts). Theme: “Longing and Dreamscapes”. Prize: $200, $100, $50; $20 for a middle school standout. Deadline: August 21, 2025.

Write the World: Flash Fiction Competition. Restrictions: Young writers ages 13-19.5. Genre: Flash fiction, 100 words max. Prize: Best Entry: $100; Runner up: $50. Deadline: August 25, 2025.

RSL V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. Genre: Short story. Prize: £1,000. No-fee entries are available for the first 50 low-income UK writers. Deadline (for fee-free enries): August 28, 2025.

Women's Prize for Fiction. Genre: Published novel by a woman. Entrants must be writing in English and must be published in the UK between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. All subject matters and women of any age, from any nationality or country of residence are eligible. Prize: £30,000.00. Deadline: August 29, 2025.

Preservation Foundation Biographical Nonfiction Contest. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $250 in any single year. Genre: Biographical Nonfiction. Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Finalists will receive $50. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Kindle Storyteller Award (UK). Restrictions: The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk. Genre: Book. Prize: £20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Mustapha Matura Award. Restrictions: The competition is open to any playwright of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the UK. Entrants must be 25 years or under at the time of submission. Genre: Stage play in English. Television, radio plays and film scripts will not be considered. Prize: £3,000 top prize. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry collection (in English), at least 48 pages long, published between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the deadline year by an upstate New York author. Prize: $2000. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

“Kusamakura” Haiku Competition. Genre: Haiku. Prize: (Grand Prize) to one winner : goods worthy of ￥20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Poetry Archive NOW! WordView. Genre: Poetry. "Make a video/film recording of yourself reading or reciting a single poem which you have written in 2025." Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing. Genre: Short story with an overall word-count of 1500 on theme: "Secrets." Prize: £100. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Apex Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Speculative fiction, 1000 words max. Prize: 8 cents/word or $10, which ever is greater. Deadline: August 31, 2025. Note: Apex Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest is open from the 7th until the final day of each month. The contest is themed.

#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Flash fiction on theme of a niche hobby or special interest. Your story must be no longer than 101 words. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction. Genre: Essay, maximum 5,000 words. Prize: $250 top prize. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation or Multi-Lingual Texts. Restrictions: Translators and authors of multi-lingual texts. Genres: Poetry and prose. Prize: $200. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Iowa Short Fiction and John Simmons Short Fiction Awards. Restrictions: Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition. Genre: Short story collection. The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages. Prize: Publication by the University of Iowa Press, royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: August 31, 2025. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.