I haven’t done a contest blog post in a while here, and today I’m going to blast you with five really good ones. I’ve posted about all of these on the blog before, and this post is for the 2013 deadlines.
(By the way, you can find all the past contest posts by searching the categories in the right sidebar of this page. They’re organized by the deadline months.)
Contests are a terrific way to hone your writing skills by writing to spec, word limit, and deadline. Many contests also offer feedback from the judges, which at times can be quite valuable.
NAESP National Children’s Book of the Year
Deadline: March 15, 2013
Details: NAESP Website
This contest is open to authors of children’s picture books and children’s chapter books, suitable for elementary school students up to age sixteen. In collaboration with Charlesbridge Publishing, the contest offers an opportunity of a publishing contract.
The contest is judged by educators, librarians, and publishing professionals. One piece of good news is that last year, the contest only had about 1,000 entries. If your writing is top notch, those are good odds.
You may enter online or by snail mail. Just visit the NAESP website for the entry form and details.
Good luck!
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest
Deadline: April 30, 2013
Details: Winning Writers Tom Howard Story Page
This contest is for short stories or essays of any type, up to 5,000 words. The contest awards prizes totaling $5,500, with a grand prize of $3,000. The top ten entries will be published online to their audience of over 40,000 readers.
More good news is you may read past winning entries at their website. This will give you a feel for what the editors want to see.
Sports Fiction and Essay Contest
Deadline: May 31, 2013
Details: Winning Writers Sports Fiction Contest
Do you have an entertaining story to tell about sports? Bring it on at this contest, and win up to $1,000 in two different categories. This contest has the added bonus of a full page of advice from the judge. Jendi Reiter tells you exactly what she’s looking for and give you suggested reading material.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Deadline: April 1, 2013
Details: Wergle Flomp Contest
The name alone is enough to make you laugh. If you love humorous writing, and you can create poetry, you might want to enter this contest. As with the others, you may read past winning entries to see what the judges enjoy.
Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest
Deadline: September 30, 2013
Details: Poetry Contest
This is for poetry that meets traditional standards of rhyme and metre. Check the website for more details about what they specifically want. Entries that are previously published and even entries that have won other awards are accepted. The prizes are substantial, and if you win, your poems will reach thousands of readers.
Happy writing everyone!
There will be two winners, a children’s picture book winner and a children’s chapter book winner.
You can enter at the NAESP website.
And look at me, with a chapter book or two hanging about.
Thanks, Suzanne!