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
August
Aug 1-31 Rate Your Story Contest
- What: submit a PB manuscript or MG/YA novel excerpt
- Awards: win opportunities for mentorship/critiques/consultation with Lynne Marie, agent-intern & author, books, and other critiques
September
- What: submit a flash fiction between 6 to 749 words (previously unpublished) story; protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher
- Who: any adult
- Award: $1000 and publication
Sept 1- 30 SCBWI Narrative Art Award
- What: submit a sequence of 3 or 4 images with no text based on a prompt suitable to PB or MG audience
- Who: SCBWI member
- Prize: All expenses paid trip to NY SCBWI conference plus work shown in Illustrator Showcase
October
- What: apply for a cash prize
- Who: any author or illustrator with a book traditionally published or self published in 2023 promoting compassion and respect for animals
- Award: $2500 first place, $1,000 honor prize
Oct 4-6 KidlitGN Pitch Event
- What: pitch your graphic novel projects for middle grade or younger
- Who: un-agented and agented authors and illustrators
- Award: interest/ invitation to submit from agents & editors
- What: design a banner for Kidlit411
- Who: anyone over age 13
- Prizes: cash ($175/ $125/ $75 for first, 2nd, 3rd places) plus 9 honorable mentions; an Illustrator Spotlight; use of banner on website, in Facebook group, and in newsletter