Contests & Awards
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| © Julie Rowan-Zoch |
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
November
Sept. 15-Nov. 15 Stephen Fraser Encouragement Award
- What: Submit a 500-word essay on why funds would provide encouragement for your writing/illustration career
- Who: author, illustrator, or translator with at least one traditionally-published book
- Prize: $2000 grant
Sept. 15-Nov. 15 Tomie dePaola Professional Development Award
- What: apply for a grant
- Who: early career illustrators with 1-3 books published
- Prize: first place $3500, runner up $1500 award
Nov. 1 - Nov. 30 SCBWI Independently Published Pre-Publication Grant
- What: apply of grant
- Who: SCBWI members interested in self-publishing
- Prize: $2500 grant to be used to self-publish a book
Nov. 1 - Nov. 30 Spark Award
- Who: SCBWI member with a nontraditionally published book
- Prize: $1,000 plus free tuition to a SCBWI conference