Contests & Awards
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| © Susi Schaefer |
Submitting your work to contests and awards is a great way to get your work noticed. Here's a list of submission opportunities for children's writing and illustrating. We normally only list contests that do not require an entry fee.
Also, check out these other compilations of contests:
- Sub It Club's monthly lists of contests (see their contest roundup calendar)
- Funds for Writers
- Lee & Low's roundup of Awards & Grants for Authors of Color
- Institute for Children's Literature runs contests (for fee)
- Poet & Writer's Database of Writing Contests (includes fee contests)
Before entering a contest, pay attention to warning signs:Writing Contests are Important: How to Choose the Right Ones from the Scams; Awards Profiteers: How Writers Can Recognize Them and Why They Should Avoid Them
Twitter Pitch contests & 1st Five Pages Workshop by Adventures in YA Publishing
Most Popular Twitter Pitch Parties
James Cross Giblin Scholarship for Highlights Foundations courses
Four on 400 (every month, deadline 5th day of each month)
What I Gained from Contests (Besides my Agent)
Draw This!
Most Popular Twitter Pitch Parties
James Cross Giblin Scholarship for Highlights Foundations courses
Four on 400 (every month, deadline 5th day of each month)
- What: Comment on the contest announcement on the 4th of each month for a chance to submit your first 400 words of an MG or YA ms
- Prize: Winner's entry will be posted on blog & critiqued by four members of The Winged Pen
What I Gained from Contests (Besides my Agent)
Draw This!
- What: monthly illustration challenge with a prompt, due 20th of each month
- Who: SCBWI members
- Prize: winning pieces featured in SCBWI's monthly newsletter
ONGONG
- What: apply for emergency funds during the pandemic
- Who: people of color in the children's publishing industry (agents, editors, authors, illustrators) who've been furloughed or lost their jobs
- Award: emergency funds
January
- What: apply for a spot in a seminar with Editorial, Design, Marketing, Production, Manufacturing and Sales people from Scholastic about the publishing industry
- Who: for individuals who identify as Black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC)
- When: date of seminar is Feb 28. Apply by Jan. 28.
Jan. 31-Feb. 2 Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest
- What: submit a 200-word or less story for PB, MG or YA audiences to be judged by kid readers
- Prizes: AMA phone calls with agents Kaitlyn Sanchez and Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, manuscript critiques, more
February
Feb. 17 PBPitch
- What: pitch your picture book idea
- Prize: agent and editor attention and invitations to query
Feb. 1-25, 2022 Sustainable Arts Foundation Grants
- What: apply for a $5000 grant for art or writing
- Who is eligible: creative people who are parents of children
- Award: $5000 grants
March
Mar 12, 2022 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
- What: win an award for a book of poetry published in English
- Who: SCBWI member with a book of poetry published in 2019, 2020, or 2021 (Verse novels not eligible)
- Award: $1,000
April
- What: submit one humorous poem less than 250 lines
- Prize: cash prizes ($2000 first place, $500 second place, $100 honorable mention)