When you submit writing to a lit mag, you are always looking for a good fit. The same goes for writing contests.
Many contests are terrific, offering the potential to gain prestige and prize money. But some contests are scams, and you’ll want to avoid those.
This guide will help you navigate the process of evaluating whether a writing contest is right for you. A quick note: We’ll be focusing on contests for short work—an essay, a short story, a poem, or a few poems. Contests for longer works, like chapters, chapbooks, book-length manuscripts, or published books, have their own idiosyncrasies.
Why submit your writing to a contest?
There are many good reasons to enter a contest. Start by thinking about your writing goals and if and how a contest fits into them. Your goal might be:
- To challenge you to get your work out in the public arena
- To experiment with a new type of writing in response to the contest call
- To gain validation for your work
- To get a strong credit for your CV and bio
- To get published and get cash
Next, evaluate the contest critically. You do this by asking lots of questions. The contest should have a website or landing page that’s easy to access and reads clearly. Here’s what you want to find.
The writing contest guide
| Question | What you want to know and do |
|---|---|
| Who is organizing the contest? | Writing contests are sponsored by publishers, literary magazines, and academic and literary organizations. Be sure the sponsor is both discoverable and reputable. Explore their track record with the contest on their website, on social media, and on other writing forums. Confirm there’s a way to communicate directly with the contest organizers via email or a website contact form. Any lack of clarity around sponsorship is a major red flag. |
| Does the entrance fee fit the prize? | Entry fees range from $5–$30, or more. Consider how the fee compares to the prize money and prestige of the publication. What’s reasonable will vary by writer, but with an entry fee that’s more than 5-10% of the prize money, think twice. |
| Does the contest call fit your writing? | The genre(s), word count, and any specific category (e.g., flash) or theme (e.g., medicine, travel) should be clearly stated. (Not all contests have a theme.) Your submission should fit the call and the outlet and be a polished piece. |
| How long has the contest been established? | A contest that has been run for three or more years and makes the results—with winners and their work—accessible on their website, is a contest with strong credibility. New contests can present an opportunity, but research these carefully and factor in the sponsor’s reputation. |
| Who’s judging and how? | A reputable contest will list any judges and provide their professional backgrounds, publishing credits, and editorial and teaching experience. Celebrity judges can be a draw, but what you’re looking for is a judge whose editorial eye you respect. Additional details on the judging process, like a rubric, are less commonly available but great to have. |
| What are the contest guidelines? | If the contest is read blind, be sure your name is not in the file or filename. Follow the word or page count and formatting exactly as directed. Make sure your work is eligible. Some contests exclude writers (faculty, students) associated with the sponsor; most exclude previously published work. Failing to follow the guidelines can disqualify your submission at the start. |
| What are the terms and publication rights? | Be sure you understand what will happen with a winning submission: when and where the piece will be published and how the rights to the piece will be handled. Beware of a contest with terms that are far-reaching or difficult to understand. |
| How many submissions are accepted, and what’s the timeline? | It’s useful to know the size of the pool you’ll be competing in. Some contests set a cap and limit the number of entries. An unlimited number of entries and long submission period slows the process and impacts your chances of winning. |
| Can you see past winners and read their winning work? | Access to previous winners and their entries is a great way to see the level of the writing playing field and what the judges are looking for regarding content, style, and craft. Read these. |
| When and how will you be notified? | Depending on the number of entries, judging can take six months or more, and organizers often communicate with the winners only. See what the guidelines say and follow the contest online. |
Beware of scams
Journals and literary organizations have limited ways to raise funding to pay writers and staff. Sponsors run contests to make money—that’s the bottom line.
Contest scams are not the norm, but they do exist. Investigate contests thoroughly and avoid red flags. Look for a reputable sponsor, reasonable fee, complete information, and full transparency. The blog Writer Beware is a great resource to check for contest scams and pitfalls.
You may not find answers to all of your questions, but the contest should feel legitimate. And as we say with shoes, if the contest fits, go ahead—hit submit.
A real-world example
Let’s look at a real-world example and put all this contest stuff in perspective. In 2021, I submitted an essay to The Missouri Review’s Perkoff Prize, a tri-genre contest that awards $1,000 and publication in the journal to writers of the best story, set of poems, and essay that engage in evocative ways with health, wellness, and medicine.
- This was the first year that the contest was offered, but The Missouri Review is a long-standing, highly-regarded literary magazine. I’d always admired the magazine’s content and the editors, who were judging the contest.
- I had workshopped and revised my narrative medicine essay extensively and had received positive, personalized feedback from three respected journals. I felt the essay was ready for publication and that TMR’s contest, with its specific theme, was a good fit.
- With an entry fee of $15 and the potential for a $1,000 in prize money and publication in this high-tier journal, the spend-to-win ratio seemed reasonable to me.
- Per the guidelines, my essay had not been previously published, and I wasn’t a student or faculty at the University of Missouri.
- I did not receive any direct notification of the contest results. I follow the journal and did receive the email blast announcing the contest winners. Good thing that I clicked through and saw my name as a finalist in the CNF category. I could have missed that. Only the winners’ submissions were published in TMR.
I am pleased to have “Finalist for the 2021 Missouri Review’s Perkoff Prize” in my bio and on my website. I felt validated. But my primary goal was to be published in the journal. Still placing in the top five kept me going—the essay was published the next time I submitted it to another respected journal.
Writing contests have pros and cons and require due diligence—be sure the shoe fits.
Andrea A. Firth is an essayist and editor for Brevity Blog. She often teaches and writes about submitting and publishing in literary journals and on the web. On the first Wednesday of each month, she leads a co-working session called Submit It Now!—time to work on submitting your writing with the support of peers in the Zoom room. Andrea starts each session with a review of a topic or questions related to the submission process. Last month, she reviewed the pros and cons of writing contests. In February, she’ll talk about expediting the submissions process. You can register for Submit It Now! here. It’s FREE! Read more from Andrea on her Substack Everything Essay!
Andrea A. Firth
Essayist & Editor, Brevity Blog
Andrea often teaches and writes about submitting and publishing in literary journals and on the web. On the first Wednesday of each month, she leads Submit It Now!—a free co-working session where writers work on submissions with peer support. Read more from Andrea on her Substack, Everything Essay!