Writing Contests

Many do — typical entry fees run $3 to $30, which funds the prize pool and judges. Free contests exist and are listed here too. CozyJobs shows the entry fee on every listing and automatically rejects predatory contests where the fee outweighs any stated prize.

Listed prizes range from a few hundred dollars for magazine flash contests to $5,000–$50,000+ for major book prizes. Every contest on this page states its award amount — contests with no stated prize aren't shown.

Most contests are open to any adult writer, and many are specifically aimed at emerging or unpublished writers — first-book prizes, debut awards, and new-voices competitions. Check each listing's eligibility details before entering.

Opportunities are aggregated daily from publishers' and organizations' own submission pages and portals, plus curated editorial sources. Filters remove explicitly unpaid calls and automatically reject contests whose entry fee outweighs any stated prize, and our curators investigate listings readers report. We can't verify every organization, so confirm the details on the organizer's own page before you apply or pay an entry fee.

Browsing titles, deadlines, award amounts, and entry fees is free. The hosting organization and direct submission link are unlocked with a paid CozyJobs membership — that curation is what the subscription funds. Plans start at $25/month; see cozyjobs.com/pricing.

Continuously. New opportunities are ingested throughout the day, deadlines are monitored, and listings are removed automatically when their submission window closes.