Writing Contests

Writing Contests by Month

To be updated soon

***This list is by no means comprehensive. If you know of a contest that should be on the list, please e-mail me at kdawnbyrd@yahoo.com and I'll add it. Thanks so much!









January

Award of Excellence
Colorado Romance Writers
http://crw-rwa.ning.com/page/2013-aoe-main

Book Buyer's Best Contest
Orange County Romance Writers of America
http://www.occrwa.org/bbb2011.html

Golden Quill
Desert Rose Romance Writers of America
http://www.desertroserwa.org/contests/Phoenix-Romance-Writers-Golden-Quill.php  

Write Touch Readers Award
Wisconsin Romance Writer's of America
http://www.wisrwa.org/contest.html

Bookseller's Best Award
Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America
http://www.gdrwa.org/contests.html

Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence
Southern Magic Romance Writers of America
http://southernmagic.org/gaylewilsoncontest.html


Amazon Breakthrough Novel  Award
http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011


Judge a Book By Its Cover
Houston Bay Area Romance Writers of America
http://www.hbarwa.com/content/

Marlene Award
Washington Romance Writers of America
http://wrwdc.com/marlene-contest-2/

Winter Rose Award for Excellence-Published
Yellow Rose Romance Writers of America
http://yellowroserwa.com/winter-rose-contest-published-authors/

Winter Rose Award for Excellence-Unpublished
Yellow Rose Romance Writers of America
http://yellowroserwa.com/winter-rose-contest-unpublished-authors/

New England Reader's Choice Bean Pot Award
New England RWA
http://necrwa.org/blog1/contests/#beanpot

Holt Medallion Contest
Virginia Romance Writers
http://www.virginiaromancewriters.com/Contests/holt.html 


February

Willa Award
Women Writing the West
http://www.womenwritingthewest.org/willaaward.html

Romance through the Ages Contest
Hearts through History Romance Writers
http://www.chicagonorthrwa.org/contest.php

The Sheila
Valley Forge Romance Writers
http://www.vfrw.com/contest/ 

The Sandy
Crested Butte Writers
http://thesandy.org/sandy.php

Between the Sheets
Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America
http://www.gdrwa.org/contest_bts_rules2010.html

Merritt Contest (has an inspirational category)
San Antonia Romance Writers of America
http://www.sararwa.net/contest.html

Fire and Ice
Chicago-North Romance Writers of America
http://www.chicagonorthrwa.org/contest.php

Flash Fiction Contest
Wow! Women on Writing Quarterly
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/downloads/contests/WOWContestTermsFAQsWinter2011.pdf


March

Fab 5
Wisconsin Romance Writers of America
http://www.wisrwa.org/

Great Beginnings
Utah Romance Writers of America
http://www.utahrwa.com/gbcontest.html

Inspirational Readers Choice
Faith, Hope and Love Romance Writers of America
http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/2010_ircc_rules.htm

Query Quandary Contest
New Hampshire Romance Writers of America
http://www.nhrwa.com/contest.html

More Than Magic
Romance Writers Ink
http://rwimagiccontests.wordpress.com/rwi-contests/more-than-magic-contest-published/

Hearts Through History Romance Writers of America
Romance Through the Ages
http://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/contest.htm

Dixie First Chapter Contest
Magnolia State Romance Writers
http://www.msrw.org/Dixie_First_Chapter.html

American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW)

Genesis Award
http://www.acfw.com/genesis  

The Lories Best Proposal
From the Heart Romance Writers of America
http://fthrw.com/contest/lories/2010BestProposal.php

Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence
Kiss of Death Romance Writers of America
Published: http://rwamysterysuspense.org/d_published.php
Unpublished: http://rwamysterysuspense.org/d_unpublished.php

Duel on the Delta
River City Romance Writers
http://rivercityromancewriters.org/

American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW)
Carol Awards
http://www.acfw.com/boty.shtml


Prism Contest
Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Writers of America
http://www.romance-ffp.com/contests.htm

Touch of Magic Contest
Central Florida Romance Writers of America
http://www.cfrwa.com/?page_id=28

Patent Your Kiss Contest
Harlequin
http://www.patentyourkiss.com/contest-details.aspx

Golden Acorn
Charter Oak Romance Writers of America
http://www.charteroakromancewriters.org/contests.html 


April
Madcap Award
Heart and Scroll Romance Writers of America
http://www.heartandscroll.com/contest_Madcap.htm

Fool for Love
Virginia Romance Writers of America
http://www.virginiaromancewriters.com/Contests/ffl.html

Beacon Contest for Published Authors
First Coast Romance Writers
http://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/contest_pub.htm

Spring into Romance
Romance Writers of America San Diego
http://www.rwasd.com/contest/

Orange Rose
Orange County Chapter Romance Writers of America
http://www.occrwa.org/orangerose.html

Breakup
Alaska Romance Writers of America
http://www.alaskawriters.com/membersites/memberuploads/akrwa/Break-Up_Contest_2010_Information.pdf

Royal Ascot
The Beau Monde Romance Writers of America
http://www.thebeaumonde.com/royalascot/

The Laurie (Canceled in 2009)
Smoky Mountain Romance Writers of America
http://www.smrw.org/laurie.htm


May
TARA
Tampa Area Romance Writers of America
http://www.tararwa.com/contest.php

Magic Moments Contest
Heart and Scroll Romance Writers of America
http://www.heartandscroll.com/contest_MagicMoment_rules.htm

Ignite the Flame
Central Ohio Fiction Writers
http://www.cofw.org/contest.html

Aspen Gold Published Author Contest
Heart of Denver Romance Writers
http://www.hodrw.com/contests/welcome-to-the-2010-aspen-gold-published-writers-contest/

The Molly
Heart of Denver Romance Writers of America
http://www.hodrw.com/contests/the-2010-molly-unpublished-writer-contest/

The Rebecca (no contest in 2010)
Land of Enchantment Romance Writers of America
http://www.leranm.com/contest.html



June
Cleveland Rocks Romance (no contest for 2011)
Northeast Ohio Romance Writers of America
http://www.neorwa.com/index.php/Contest/Contest

Four Seasons Contest
Windy City RWA
http://www.windycityrwa.org/pages/node/6

Colorado Gold
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
http://www.rmfwcontest.com/2010rules.pdf

Emerald  City Opener
Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America
http://gsrwa.org/contest.php

Maggie
Georgia Romance Writers of America
http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/the-maggies/

Reveal Your Inner Vixen
Maryland Romance Writers of America
http://www.marylandromancewriters.org/mrw/index.php?page_id=9

Summer Sizzle
Ohio Valley Romance Writers of America
http://www.ovrwa.com/summer_sizzle/

Toronto Gold Contest (formerly: Original Golden Opportunity)
Toronto Romance Writers of America
http://www.torontoromancewriters.com/contest.html

Lonestar
Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America
http://www.nwhrwa.com/html/contests_announcement.html

Golden Leaf
New Jersey Romance Writers of America
http://njromancewriters.org/index.php?/njrw_contest/golden_leaf_contest/

Big Break (Screenplay contest)
Final Draft
http://finaldraft.com/events-and-services/big-break/

Fox Broadcasting Company, Procter & Gamble Productions, and the New York Television Festival
Fox-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest
http://www.nytvf.com/2009_scripts_info.htm

Heart of the Rockies
Colorado Romance Writers of America
http://www.coloradoromancewriters.org/hor.html

Put Your Heart in a Book Contest
New Jersey Romance Writers of America
http://njromancewriters.org/index.php?/njrw_contest/put_your_heart_in_a_book_contest/

Get Your Stiletto in the Door
Chick Lit Writers of the World
http://www.chicklitwriters.com/contest.htm

Hollywood Book Festival
http://www.hollywoodbookfestival.com/next.htm

Indiana's Golden Opportunity
Indiana Romance Writers of America
http://www.indianarwa.com/contest/


July
Heart of the West
Utah RWA
http://www.utahrwa.com/howcontest.html

Heart of Excellence Readers Choice Award
Ancient City Romance Authors
http://web.mac.com/vickihinze/ACRA/Heart_of_Excellence_Rules.html

Golden Gateway
From the Heart Romance Writers of America
http://www.fthrw.com/contest/goldengateway/ 

Dixie Kane Memorial Contest

Southern Louisiana Chapter of RWA
http://www.solawriters.org/

Heart to Heart Contest
San Francisco Area RWA
http://www.sfarwa.com/contests/heart2heart/h2h_info.asp

Royal Palm Literary Award Competition
Florida Writers
http://www.floridawriters.net/RPLA.html


August
The Golden Rose
Rose City Romance Writers of America
http://www.rosecityromancewriters.com/contest.html

The Golden Pen
The Golden Network RWA
http://www.thegoldennetwork.com/goldenpen.html

Golden Palm
Florida Romance Writers, Inc
http://frwriters.org/contests.htm

On The Far Side
FF&P RWA Chapter
http://www.romance-ffp.com/OTFS.htm

Laurel Wreath Award
Volusia County Romance Writers
http://vcrw.net/index.php/contests

Show me the spark!
Heartland Romance Authors
http://www.heartlandromanceauthors.com/Contest/Contest.html


September
Hold Me, Thrill Me Contest
Southwest Florida Romance Writers
http://www.swfrw.org/contest.php

Hot Prospect Contest
Valley of the Sun RWA
http://www.valleyofthesunrw.com/vos-hot-prospects.htm

Melody of Love
Music City Romance Writers
http://www.mcrw.com/contest.htm

Southern Heat
East Texas RWA
http://www.easttexasrwa.com/html/southern_heat.php

Where the Magic Begins
Romance Writers Ink
http://rwimagiccontests.wordpress.com/

Finally A Bride
Oklahoma RWA
http://www.okrwa.com/fab_index.htm

New Voices
Mills & Boon
http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/

Fiction From the Heartland
Mid-America RWA
http://mararwa.com/Contest/contest.htm

Launching A Star
SpacecoasT Authors of Romance RWA
http://www.authorsofromance.com/contest.htm

Gateway to the Best
Missouri RWA
http://www.morwa.org/gateway.htm

Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest
RWA New York City Chapter
http://www.rwanyc.com/Love-LaughterContest.html

Hearts Crossing
White Rose Publishing
http://whiterosepublishing.blogspot.com/2009/05/short-story-contest-hearts-crossing.html

East Valley Authors Query Contest
http://www.eastvalleyauthors.com/contest.html


October
Beacon Contest for Unpublished Writers
First Coast Romance Writers
http://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/contest_un.htm

First Kiss
New England RW
http://necrwa.org/thefirstkiss2009.htm

MERWA Synopsis is Not a Four-Letter Word
Maine RWA
http://www.mainerwa.com/2009_Synopis_Rules.htm

The Suzannah
North Louisiana StoryTellers and Authors of Romance
http://www.nolastars.com/node/84

Get Your Stiletto In the Door- Unpublished
ChickLit Writers
http://chicklitwriters.com/home/get-your-stiletto-in-the-door/

The Emily
West Houston RWA
http://whrwa.com/emily/

Dawn Thompson Memorial Haunted Hearts
Gothic Romance Writers
http://www.gothrom.net/contest.html

Linda Howard Award of Excellence
Southern Magic RWA
http://www.southernmagic.org/lindahowardcontest.html

Get Your Stiletto In the Door- Published
ChickLit Writers
http://chicklitwriters.com/home/get-your-stiletto-in-the-door/

Bump in the Night
Western Pennsylvania RWA
http://wprw.wordpress.com/bump-in-the-night-flash-fiction-contest/

The Phoenix Rattler
Christian Writers of the West
http://joyfulhutch.googlepages.com/rattlerscontest.com

Sweet Spicy and Spooky Contest
Smoky Mountain RWA
http://www.smrw.org/contest.htm


November
Inland Valley Romance Writers of America
Bad Kitty Contest
http://www.ivrwa.org/contest07.htm

Ohio Valley Romance Writers of America
Enchanted Words
http://www.ovrwa.com/enchanted_words/

Hudson Valley Romance Writers of America
Hook, Line, and Sinker
http://www.hudsonvalleyrwa.com/contest

Writer's Digest
Pop Fiction Awards
http://www.writersdigest.com/popularfictionawards

Silicon Valley Romance Writers of America
Gotcha!
http://www.svrwa.com/gotcha

Dawn Thompson Memorial Haunted Hearts Contest
Gothic Romance Writers, Inc.
http://www.gothrom.net/contest.html

Romance Writers of America
Golden Heart
http://www.rwanational.org/cs/contests_and_awards/golden_heart_awards/contest_rules

Women on Writing
Flash Fiction Contest
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php


December
National Readers' Choice Awards
Oklahoma Romance Writers of America
http://www.okrwa.com/NRCA/nrca.htm

Writer's Digest
Short Short Story Competition
http://www.writersdigest.com/short

RITA
Romance Writers of America
http://www.rwanational.org/cs/contests_and_awards/rita_awards/contest_rules

The Write Stuff
Connecticut Romance Writers of America
http://ctrwa.org/writestuff

Great Expectations
North Texas Romance Writers of America
http://www.ntrwa.org/contest/contest.aspx


Disclaimer: This is by no means a full list of all contests offered. I do not endorse or recommend any contest, but provide these dates for information purposes only. Do your own research before entering any contest. Dates are always subject to change by contest chairs.