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Writer’s Digest has been shining a spotlight on up and coming writers in all genres through its Annual Writing Competition for more than 80 years. Enter our 88th Annual Writing Competition for your chance to win and have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the 88th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection.
You can edit or manage your entry HERE
Prizes
One Grand Prize winner will receive:
- $5,000 in cash
- An interview with the author in Writer’s Digest
- A paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, including a coveted Pitch Slam slot
- A one year subscription to Writer’s Digest Tutorials
The First place winner in each category will receive $1,000 in cash and $100 off a purchase from the Writer’s Digest Shop
The Second place winner in each category will receive $500 cash and $100 off a purchase from the Writer’s Digest Shop
The Third place winner in each category will receive $250 in cash and $100 off a purchase from the Writer’s Digest Shop
The Fourth place winner in each category will receive $100 in cash and $50 off a purchase from the Writer’s Digest Shop
The Fifth place winner in each category will receive $50 in cash and $50 off a purchase from the Writer’s Digest Shop
The Sixth through Tenth place winners in each category will receive $25 in cash
All top winners will also receive:
- A one-year Writer’s Digest VIP membership, which includes a one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine, access to WritersMarket.com for one year, discounts on Writer’s Digest University workshops and discounts off of purchases made at WritersDigestShop.com.
- The Grand Prize winning piece and the 1st place winning piece in each category will be published in the 88th Annual Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition Collection.
- All other top winners will have their names listed in Writer’s Digest, on WritersDigest.com and in the 88th Annual Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition Collection.
All Honorable Mentions receive:
- 20% discount off of purchases made at WritersDigestShop.com
- Their names listed in the 88th Annual Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition Collection.
- Inspirational/Spiritual
- Memoirs/Personal Essay
- Print or Online Article
- Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
- Mainstream/Literary Short Story
- Rhyming Poetry
- Non-rhyming Poetry
- Script (Stage Play or Television/Movie Script)
- Children’s/Young Adult Fiction
- Enter online or submit your entry via regular mail. Offline entries must be accompanied by an Entry Form, and the required entry fee (credit card information, check or money order made payable to F+W Media, Inc.). If you are entering more than one manuscript, you may mail all entries in the same envelope and write one check for the total entry fee; however, each manuscript must have its category indicated in the upper left-hand corner. You may enter online even if you are paying with a check. All checks will be cashed within 60 days of the competition final deadline. Entry fees are non-refundable.
- Your entry must be original, in English, unpublished* and unproduced, not accepted by any other publisher or producer at the time of submission. Writer’s Digest retains one-time nonexclusive publication rights to the Grand Prize and First Place winning entries in each category to be published in a Writer’s Digest publication.* Entries in the Print or Online Article category may be previously published. Any piece posted online, anywhere other than a personal blog, is considered published. For poetry, poems posted online to poets’ personal blogs, social media accounts, or online forums (like the comments on the Poetic Asides blog) are eligible. Anything posted online by a third party is considered to be published.
- If you are submitting your entry via regular mail (NOT using the online entry form), the entry must be typed on one side of 8-1/2 x 11 or A4 white paper. Scripts and poems may be either double-or single-spaced; all other manuscripts must be double-spaced. The competition category and word count/line count must appear in the upper left-hand corner of the first page —otherwise your entry is disqualified. The first page should also include the entry’s title. As judging is blind, do not include your name, address, phone number, email address or other identifying information in the upper left-hand corner of the first page.
- BE SURE OF YOUR WORD COUNT! Entries exceeding the word or page limits will be disqualified. Type the exact word count (counting every single word, except the title) at the top of the manuscript.
- Mailed entries that are more than one page in length must be stapled.
- Due to U.S. Government restrictions we are unable to accept entries from Syria, Iran, North Korea, or Crimea.
- For more information visit our Preparing Your Entry Page or our FAQ page.
- Click here for the offline entry form.
Competitions Newsletter
To receive occasional updates on deadlines, when winners are announced and other writing competitions information, sign up for the Writing Competition Email.
Does anyone know what the required ‘Entry Fee’ is?
$35.00 for first entry and $30.00 for any entry after the first one.
I started a blog with other authors. We took turns posting our stories on WordPress. I consider this my personal blog but wonder if you see it that way or if you consider the pieces previously published
Hi, I had quick question. If a book was briefly published online but is no longer published, could that be entered?
Hello,
Regarding the terms of submitting works that are not published, does a poem entered in a Booksie contest count?
I have a question. Can I submit poems that have been published on my blogs on Medium.com or WordPress.com? Do these count as personal blogs or as third party sources? Thanks so much!
I am confused by entry guidelines stating that a piece previously “published” cannot be entered. My question is this: Can I enter a piece I submitted online as an assignment for an online workshop to the WD competition?
Thanks for your response.
Yes. We would not consider that as published. Thanks.
I have a question about word counts that isn’t covered in anything that I’ve read: do hyphenated words count as one word or two? MS Word counts them as one word, so I want to be sure to give the correct word count based on the competition standards.
If your word processing program counts them as one word then we will count them as one word. Thanks.
Worse than that!! I can’t figure out how to find out what the word count limit even is.
Hello. Thanks for your inquiry. Science fiction stories are included in the Genre category. A full listing of the categories can be found on the Preparing Your Entry page (https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-competitions-preparing-your-entry#annual).
I’m curious. The emails I get from WD promoting this contest have a subject line that says, “Last week to enter your science fiction stories in WD’s Annual Writing Competition!” In fact, every promotion I’ve gotten regarding this contest hypes SCIENCE FICTION STORIES, yet there’s no category specifically for sci fi and no mention of it under genre. They might miss reaching some writers who think this contest is only for that type of writing.