Leilanie Stewart’s round-up of FREE writing competitions – update 2

Here’s my latest update of FREE poetry and fiction competitions for teenagers to enter, either by themselves or through a school or local library. A lot of writers these days are cash-strapped and aren’t in a position to enter every fee-charging competition that comes up. There are many legitimate competitions that rely on funds to keep running their business and keep the world of poetry and short fiction alive (which I’m grateful for!), but in my mind, the odds of winning the top prizes are so low that it seems to me a writer would spend more on entry fees than reaping rewards. I’ve personally never entered a competition that isn’t free – however, I regularly subscribe to my favourite literary magazines to do my part for the industry! At least with magazines you subscribe to you get a product for the money you spend. And in my opinion, children and young people shouldn’t have to pay to enter competitions at all – on that note, here’s my round-up of freebie poetry competitions for youngsters:

ONGOING CONTESTS – NO DEADLINES:

Creative Communication Poetry Contest

Teen Ink Poetry Contest

Teen Ink Fiction Contest

Stage of Life Essay Writing Competition

Junior Authors Poetry and Fiction contests

Stone Soup Magazine

Creative Kids Magazine

Highlights Kids Magazine

Poetry Zone

Best of luck to you!

Leilanie Stewart is a widely published writer and poet. In addition to promoting her own work, she has run creative writing workshops for gifted and talented London secondary school students aged 12 to 18 and is currently a poetry editor for Ashvamegh International Literary Journal. She is married to the writer and poet, Joseph Robert.

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