Leilanie Stewart’s round-up of free competitions – update 5

Here is my latest update of free competitions for young people aged between 12 and 21. As I’ve said in previous posts, there’s no better way for a novice writer to get started in the literary world than competitions. The benefits of winning or being shortlisted are numerous – apart from a possible cash prize, there’s the chance to see your work in print, not to mention building your CV. The odds of winning the top prize might be similar to a lottery win, but getting shortlisted or recognised are more realistic. I once mentored a young man in sixth form who went on to win a prize in a competition run by Young Poets – he was delighted to see his work appear in an anthology along with other shortlisted poets. Maybe you might win one of the top prizes too – read the guidelines on the individual websites carefully and always send your best stuff. And since the competitions are free anyway, what have you got to lose?

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.

A Model Archaeologist

YouTube poetry

Zombie Reflux

Posted by Leilanie Stewart on September 21, 2014 in Competitions, Fiction, Resources, Short Stories, Writing and tagged fiction competitions, free writing competitions for teenagers, poetry competitions, teenagers, writing competitions, young people.

2 Comments

About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her writing centres around protagonists who are on a journey of self-discovery and who explore their identity by overcoming adversity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Magazine, a creative writing ezine, with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from literary pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary tot, a voracious reader of construction vehicle books. CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: https://mailchi.mp/17e6ca162ff3/leilanie-stewart-author

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2 responses »

Nicole says:

January 11, 2015 at 6:29 AM

Hey, Ms. Stewart? I’m looking for a couple of competitions for 2015. Im 16, and live in Africa. Do you have any suggestions?

Reply
- Leilanie Stewart says:
  
  January 11, 2015 at 11:11 AM
  
  Hi Nicole. Most of the competitions I have found are open internationally. Teen Ink might be a good starting place as they have a 13-19 year old category for poetry and fiction: http://www.teenink.com/submit. Laura Thomas Communications also run international poetry and fiction contests but they aren’t open until 27th March 2015: http://laurathomascommunications.com/junior-authors-poetry-contest/. Good luck and I hope you have great writing success.
  
  Reply