As a fan of Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley novels, I’m delighted to find that the author has created a foundation to encourage up-and-coming authors. The Elizabeth George Foundation makes grants to unpublished fiction writers, poets, emerging playwrights, and organizations benefiting disadvantaged youth. These grants cover expenses in a number of areas. It also gives me a smile to note that applicants will need to break out good old-fashioned pen and paper, as information about these grants can only be accessed by writing a letter or postcard to:
Elizabeth George Foundation
PO Box 1429
Langley, WA 98260
Booksie, a free platform for writers, is sponsoring the Booksie Flash Fiction Contest. In 300 words or less, write a story about the image on their website (the link in this paragraph will take you there). The story can be in any genre. Winner and two runners-up receive cash prizes and e-books from Booksie’s online store. $6.95 entry fee; deadline September 14.
The Dream Quest One Poetry and Writing Contest welcomes entries from writers of short stories (limited to five pages) and poetry (limited to 30 lines). Winners and runners-up will receive cash prizes. Entry fee $5 for poems, $10 for stories. Deadline September 22.
Have you written a great YA novel? Enter it in Regal House Publishing’s Acheven Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction contest. The winner receives book publication by Fitzroy Books and Regal House in 2023, along with $750. Books must be between 120 and 375 pages long. $25 entry fee; deadline September 30.
The Mystery Writers of America has established the Barbara Neely Memorial Scholarship in honor of the trailblazing Black crime novelist who was named an MWA Grand Master in 2019. $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to two Black crime writers: one to an aspiring crime writer who has yet to be published, the other to a published author. Both fiction and nonfiction entries are welcome. No entry fee; deadline September 30.
Submit original, unpublished short stories in any genre, as long as they have LGBTQ+ content, to the Saints and Sinners Fiction Contest offered by the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival. Entries must fit with the broad theme of “Saints and Sinners.” Top stories will be published in an anthology, and cash prizes will be awarded to the winner and two runners-up. There will also be a book release party and reading held during the 19th annual Saints and Sinners Literary Conference in New Orleans in 2022. $20 entry fee; deadline October 2.
Information about contests, markets, and grants is provided as a service to writers, and is not an endorsement of any particular contest or sponsoring organization. Always check contest websites for complete rules.