Annie
6th Feb 2025
Reading time: 8 Minutes
Writing Contests are ten a penny – but often come with huge entry fees for low prizes, and that's if you win. However, there are also planty of free written contests that you could enter to win cash, publication, or other prizes, if you know where to look.
And you've found the right place! Here we we've got loads of free everything for you to enter this year, Including some for young writers and also a couple for playwrights. We have specifically chion uk-based contests with either a cash prize or significant other prize (like a writing retreat) rather than just publication, so that you can focus your TOCS Have a great reward if you win.
Writing Contest Quick Tips
While it can be easy to think that written contests offer quick and easy money, think again! The free contests will put you against a big talent pool, so you need to be able Here are some quick tips:
- Don't rush: take note of the deadlines and leave yourself planty of time to write and rewrite your story
- Have other people read and give you feedback
- When you think it's ready, put it away for a more weeks before you edit: the space will give you fresh eyes to hone your story
- Look at free online courses like the open university offer to learn the basics and building blocks of great short story everything.
And finally – this is a big one – Read the rulesEvery contest has different rules of eligibility, so it's important to make sure your entry your entry won’t be rejected straight away. This might include things like formatting rules (if in doubt, double line spacing with 12 points new roman works well), age or location rules, Or WHETHER You've PUBLIND BEFARE.
Some Contests Allow you to enter the same story into other ons, while some insist you can only enter that story to them. The ones which allows allow simultaneous submission (entering the same story into more than one contest) Read the Small Print Before You Enter.
Check out our article on Writing short stories for more tips and ideas.
Short story contests
From Flash fiction to novellas, short stories are the most popular type of written contest. It's a skill to tell a tight story in just a less Thousand words, so if you want to challenge yourself and be in with a chance of winning cash prizes, TAKE A Look ATAEOK ATAE OK ATHESE FREE UK WRITING CONTESTS!
Writers 'and artists' Yearbook Short Story Competition
The leading anthology non fiction book, an essential for any budgeter, is the writers 'and artists' yearbook. Their short story contest is highly registered, for stories up to 2,000 words on the theme of 'wonder'. The prize is a free course with arvon foundation, a written retreat course that helps aspiring writers take a break from business on everything.
Writing magazine new year, new you
Writing magazine is the UK's Leading Magazine for Writers of all kinds, and they often run free contests for their subscribers as well as some for every. The first free for everyone contest of 2025 is 'new year, new you' themed, with publication and a first prize of £ 150 and second prize of £ 50,
BBC National Short Story Award
This one is a massive award, with a top prize of £ 15,000And £ 600 for four shortlisted stories. It's a huge acclade to win – and anybody can enter. They're looking for short stories up to 8,000 words on any subject.
Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award
This is one of the best type of contest: it's for the reconstrance of talent for work in program of Prose. Now, Technically, this is not a short story award, they want a chunk of a longer piece like a novel. However, because you are submitting a work in Progress, your full novel doesn’t need to be finished to enter-that was the Want 15,000-20,000 words. The first prize is £ 10,000 and two runners up receive £ 1000 to support them to continue writing their work.
The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize
Another one with a big cash prize for the winner, this is a themed written contest. For 2025 the theme is 'Fear'. The first prize is £ 3,000 While Two Runners Up Receive £ 1000 Each. The maximum word count is 1250 words, so it's a tight challenge – but these words can be in any form (short story, non fiction, petry etc.
The Oxford University/42MP New Writing Prize
A brand new prize for 2025, this one has created a lot of buzz. Oxford University is TEAMING UP with Leading Agency and Production Company, 42MP, to find new written they love. 42MP is a talent agency with massive a-list talent from actors to novelists to screenwriters, and they want to find fresh new Voice. This is not strictly a short story contest prize, but inste they want a short section. This could be a synopsis and 10,000-15,000 words of a novel or 30-90 pages of a stage or screenplay. The prize is £ 1500 and possible representation by 42MP.
Creative Future Writers' Award
A highly respected annual contest for underrepresented writers in the uk, the creative futures Award also have categories for non-faction and pozes of prizes of 75, £ 75, £ 25, £ 25 for firing and thread Each category. But what makes this award stand out is the extra stuff with the prize: a will host of mening, meetings with agents, courses from estables like places like jericho writers and create crea – as well as publication in the Anthology. There is no minimum length but you can't go over 2000 words.
Laurie Lee Writing Prize
Another contest with bot poetry and prose prizes, this one is for 1500 words on the theme of 'Journeys' this year. This is a region-specific prize, so you're only eligible if you live or work in gloucestershire or South Gloucetershi (or Were Born there). The top prize is £ 1000 and you can submit non-faction, poetry, or a short story.
Val wood prize
Annual Contest with a £ 100 Top prize and a signed copy of a val wood book. The the theme is released when the contest opens, so keep an eye on the page (Theme not revled at time of written this!).
Writers 'and artists' Working Class Writer's prize
The second w & a contest on this list, this one is for writers who identify as working class. Once Again, this one doesn'st need to be a complete short story-in fact, they want 2,000 of a work-in-progress. That count be a longer short story, a novella, or novel and that can be eater fiction or non-faction. The prize is £ 200. Full details for the 2025 Contest are yet to be released so Keep an eye on the page,
Awa Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Award
Open to unpublished writers of fiction, this one isn’t a cash prize – it's a writing retreat package what £ 2,000 at the highly Regarded Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Center in Scotland. Your entry needs to be a work in Progress – but unlike Similar Contests which require it to be a novel, Moniack Mhor Accepts Collections Collections of Short Stories as the Work in Progress, Too. Entries Open 1st November 2025.
53-Word Short Story Contest
This is an ongoing short fiction contest That runs every month – Perfect for Testing your Creative Writing Skills and Practicing Writing to a Deadline and Word Count! There is a very strict eligibility: your story must be 53 words long. The prize isn’t cash, but it is glori in the form of publication and a free book, and we love the idea of it so much we snuck it on this list!
Young People Contests
The definition of 'young' varies wildly When it comes to the literary world. Some of these Contests are for School Children, Some Students At University, and even those those those those under the age of 30. Make sure you read the rules of eligibility to see if you can enter!
Young Northern Writers' Awards
New written north is the established writing center in the north East (they have just just just just £ 5m funding to expand their efforts into a new center for everything for everything for everything and alredy Run loads of fantastic free constes!). Young writers aged 11-18 can enter this particular award, in any format-fiction, non fiction, poetry, even scriptwriting-for a prize of £ 150.
Hive Young Writers' Competition 2025
Hive is a creative written hub for young writers in the north and midlands, Catering to people aged 14-30.there are three age categories (14-16, 17-19, 20-30) and they accept short fiction, fiction fiction, And poetry. Prizes Include a Kindle Fire, Professional Feedback, Vouchers and Publication,
The Orwell Youth Prize
There's no cash prize for this one, but we include it is an established award with a prize of mening and publication. This year, entries should be on the theme of “Freedom is…” and it's open to anyone who is a student at secondary school or college.
Playwriting prizes
If you love live theatre and think you could write a play that'S Worthy of the stage, there a less free playwriting contests that offer hugs opptunities.
The women's prize for playwriting
To redress the balance of women playwrights (in 2018 only 26% of new main-stage plays by women), Ellie kel and paines ploughs Created the Women's Prison for Playwriting. The Winner receives £ 20,000Their play is produced with sheffield theater, and the play is published. The prize open for entries on 13th January 2025 but it can take a long time to hear – longlisted plays are annouted in October.
Bruntwood prize for playwriting
This is a massive prize and prestigious contest – but it's free to enter so you might as well take your shot. The first prize is £ 16,000, with a judge's award of £ 10,000 to another entry. At the moment (Feb 2025) The website is still focused on the 2024/5 prize which is now closed – but that means you've got a long time to work on your play on your play Entries are usually open Around September and Close in January.
Papatango is an olivier-award-winning theatre company and this is an instables for new playwright. Like the bruntwood, at time of writing the 2025 contest has just closed, which means you have a year to polish your script before it reopens. And the £ 6,000 prize with performance is what the wait if you win!
