Writer's Digest Competitions

Writer's Digest sponsors several annual writing competitions, many of which are open to submissions right now.  These contests have a lot of upside -- large cash prizes, many prizes awarded, and additional prizes such as writing-related books -- but they also have steep entry fees. All of the contests listed below have a $20 entry fee, except for the poetry contest which costs $15 for the first entry and $10 for additional entries submitted together.

- Writer's Digest Poetry Awards: deadline Oct 1st
- Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards, Crime Writing Category: deadline Oct 15th
- Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards, Horror Writing Category: deadline Oct 15th
- Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards, Science Fiction/Fantasy Category: deadline Oct 15th
- Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards, Thriller Suspense Category: deadline Oct 15th
- Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition: early bird deadline Nov 15th

Writer's Digest Write It Your Way Competition

Writer's Digest is sponsoring the Write It Your Way Short-Story Competition.  Even though "short-story" is in the title, you can submit fiction or nonfiction (up to 1200 words).  The theme for the contest is "new beginnings."  This is a regular contest, and the winner will receive a free entry for next month's competition (along with $25 worth of stuff from WritersDigestShop.com).  Entries are $5 each, and the submission deadline is August 15th.

Writer's Digest annual competitions

If you're looking for speculative writing contests to enter, here are a few hosted by Writer's Digest:

- WD Science Fiction Competition
- WD Thriller Suspense Competition
- WD Crime Writing Competition
- WD Horror Writing Competition

All four contests have the same guidelines and rules.  They want short stories no more than 4000 words long, and the guidelines don't say anything about the stories having to be unpublished.  First prize for each contest includes $500 cash, $100 off your next purchase at WritersDigestShop.com, and promotion in Writer's Digest.  You'll also get a shot at the $2500 grand prize.  The deadline for each contest is September 14th.

All of these contests have a $20 entry fee, which is very steep for a short story contest, but if you can win at least Honorable Mention in any of the contests, you'll receive a copy of the 2013 edition of Novel & Short Story Writer's Market ($29.99 list price).