270+ Best Writing Contests from QueryLetter.com
40 Free Writing Contests from The Write Life
The Ultimate List of Writing Contests from Reedsy.com
Writing Contests, Grants & Awards from Poets&Writers
JerryJenkins Ultimate Guide to Writing Contests
NewPages Big List of Writing Contests
Almond Press Writing Competions list
New Pages Writing Contest for Young Writers
List of Writing Contests for Kids from TCK Publishing
Writers Digest Writing Competitions
GCWA 2023 Writing Contest has been extended to May 31, 2023Deadline: 11:59pm on May 31, 2023
Writing Contest is open to GCWA members and the public — adults 18 and over, youth 11 to 17. Winners will be announced at the GCWA meeting in June 2023.
Documentation for 2023 Contest (adults 18 and over)
Writing Contest Announcement 2023_LTD
WritingContest Guidelines 2023_LTD
Documentation for 2023 Youth Writing Contest (age 11 through 17)
Youth Writing Contest Announcement 2023_LTD
Youth Writing Contest Guidelines 2023_LTD
JudgingCriteria-Fiction
JudgingCriteria-Nonfiction
Judging criteria-Poetry
JudgingCriteria-Children’s Stories
Formatting Tips for Writing Contest entries [doc]
Formatting Tips for Writing Contest entries [pdf]
If you have questions please email specialprojects@gulfwriters.org
GCWA 2015 through 2022 Writing Contest winners are posted below!
Read winning submissions here.
All submissions must include full payment made by check to GCWA.
DO NOT MAIL CASH. Check should be for your entries only and not for other monies owed to GCWA. You can also pay below with PayPal.
| Member Contest Entries | Non-Member Contest Entries |
Thank you to our Sponsors
Fiction/Children’s Stories (these categories were combined and judged together according to our guidelines, due to the low number of entries in each.
1st — Leah Miller — Terror in December (Children’s Stories)
2nd — Mary Charles — Counterculture ( Fiction)
3rd — Nancy Leake — Susie Spider Looks for a Friend (Children’s Stories)
Nonfiction:
1st — Deborah Burghardt — Dream Your Ink
2nd — Diane Parnell — A Slip of the Scalpel
3rd — Sally Basmajian — The Field
Poetry:
1st — Megan Dalziel — Maritime Muse
2nd — Debbie Watz — Bayou Sunset
3rd — Paul Anthony — Minimum Wage-Brianna
Youth:
1st — Nishini Fernando — Life is for the Living
2nd — Ryan Lee — A Soldier During the Great War
3rd — Keven Lacayo — Death
[L to R] Melissa Panneton, Maya Fleischman, Andrew Conlyn, Nancy Leake, Mary Lou Williams, Christie Zarria
Children’s Stories
1st place — Paper, the Airplane by Lynne Blackburn
2nd place — The Lonely Bear by Andrew Conlyn
3rd place — The Picnic by Nancy Leake
Fiction
1st place — Neighborhood Watch by Maya Fleischmann
2nd place — Conquer Your Fears by Kristen Taylor
3rd place — When the Bough Breaks by Pauline Hayton
Honorable Mention (Youth) — Circus Man by Arnav Adi
Nonfiction:
1st place — Missing Neil by Lorraine McCann
2nd place — The Lesson I Learned in Sister Regina’s Class by Mary Lou Williams
3rd place — Lucy, You’ve Got Some ‘Splaining To Do by Christie Zarria
Poetry:
1st place — The Concert by Melissa Panneton
2nd place — The Downfall of Cousin Leaf by Lynne Blackburn
3rd place — Morning by J. Bradley Burt
Children’s Stories
1st place — Oliver Goes Exploring by Nancy Leake
2nd place — Pointless, The Misfit Star by Mariah Julio
3rd place — Three Cheers for Emilio by Elizabeth Weiss Volstadt
Fiction
1st place — Thirteen by F.J. Talley
2nd place — The Trophy by K.J. Boyd
3rd place — Sweet taste of Success by Pauline Hayton
Nonfiction:
1st place — Unvarnished Truth by Bob Nelson
2nd place — Kay’s Eternal Garden by Geri McArdle
3rd place — Jus’ a Bus Ride by Michael Boyd
Poetry:
1st place — Decent/Desent by Nick Sweet
2nd place — Child of the Sea by Megan Dalziel
3rd place — She Walks the Decks Alone by Lona Haskins
Children’s Stories
1st place — Lola BaJola and The Fly by Laura Marske
2nd place — The Curious Gray Mouse and The Christmas Tree by Martha Jeffers
3rd place — Pixel, the Filthy-Footed Feline by Mariah Julio
Fiction
1st place — Marked For Life by Sandy Dahlhofer
2nd place — Good Night, Have a Nice Sleep by Jan Nieman
3rd place — Pick Me by Wendy Halloren
Nonfiction:
1st place — Where the Action Is by David Aiken
2nd place — Swinging Back to Life by Geneva Kelly
3rd place — The Apartment by Rick Urban
Poetry:
1st place — Hurricane by Sharon Whitehill
2nd place — Caloosahatchee by Gary McLouth
3rd place — The River by Carmine Lombardo
Poetry
1st place — When We Came Home by Mary Beth Lundgren
2nd place — Sowing Seeds by Joan Heller Winokur
3rd place — Psyche’s Rhumba by Dan Reed England
Fiction
1st place — So This Guy Walks into a Bar by Judy Marksteiner
2nd place — City Lawyer by Bill Wilson
3rd place — To Name the Name of Your Father by Martin Nakell
Nonfiction:
1st place — China’s Big Balancing Act by Rose Giro
2nd place — Courage With a Small c by Patricia Sheehy
3rd place — The Riverview Melting Pot by Jan Nieman
Children’s Fiction:
1st place — A Day at the Circus by Martha Jeffers
Poetry
1st place — “Year End Giving” by Teresa B. Falsani
2nd place — “Acceptance” by Richard H. Fox
3rd place — “Silence” by Lori Izral
Fiction
1st place — “Disappointed” by Jan Nieman
2nd place — “Single Black Roses” by Richard Rimrodt
3rd place — “Crows” by Judy Loose
Honorable Mention — Terry Wright “A Time . . .”
Nonfiction:
1st place — “Life Lessons” by Patricia Sheehy
2nd place — “Teeth” by Judy Loose
3rd place — “Bathing an Elephant is a Big Job” by Gillian Birch
Fiction:
First Place – “Billy Hurts” by Jim Marcotte
Second Place – “The Shaman” by Frankie Patman Maguire
Third Place – “Boy with One Shoe” by Richard Rimrodt
Non-fiction:
First Place – “Smoke and Fire” by Eva Romanczak
Poetry:
First Place – “The Final Journey” by Barbara Rohde
Second Place –“It’s a Boy” by Dan Reed England
Third Place – “Thanksgiving” by Joyce Berrian Ferrari
Children’s:
First Place – “Tommy the Leaf” by Nancy Leake
The winners will be published in the Ft. Myers Magazine summer edition.
The 2nd Annual Del Shores Foundation Writers Search is accepting scripts through the end of February. This contest is open to Southern LGBTQ+ screenwriters and playwrights. This could be an opportunity for Gulf Coast writers in other genres to spread their wings. Use the code “DSFFL” for free submission. See the graphic for further information.
Fiction/Children’s Stories (these categories were combined and judged together according to our guidelines, due to the low number of entries in each.
1st — Leah Miller — Terror in December (Children’s Stories)
2nd — Mary Charles — Counterculture ( Fiction)
3rd — Nancy Leake — Susie Spider Looks for a Friend (Children’s Stories)
Nonfiction:
1st — Deborah Burghardt — Dream Your Ink
2nd — Diane Parnell — A Slip of the Scalpel
3rd — Sally Basmajian — The Field
Poetry:
1st — Megan Dalziel — Maritime Muse
2nd — Debbie Watz — Bayou Sunset
3rd — Paul Anthony — Minimum Wage-Brianna
Youth:
1st — Nishini Fernando — Life is for the Living
2nd — Ryan Lee — A Soldier During the Great War
3rd — Keven Lacayo — Death
The Clue Awards — Thriller/suspense
Deadline September 30, 2021
The 2021 CIBA Fiction Series Awards! 16 Divisions
Deadline September 30, 2022
The 2021 CIBA Short Stories, Novelettas, and Novellas
Deadline December 31, 2022
Mystery and Mayhem — Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mystery Book Awards
Deadline April 30, 2022
Historical Fiction — Americana, Early, Late
Deadline July 31, 2022
And many more Chanticleer contests here.
