Finding Fee-Free Short Story Contests

Before I continue, let's stop and get one point clear - if you are entering a short story contest to win money and/or fame, forget it. Writers don't get money and/or fame from winning a short story contest. They get money and/or fame by getting published. Entering a short story contest should only be done in a spirit of fun and adventure. In other words, have no expectations and you won't be disappointed.

No Fee Contests Are Best

It's incredibly easy to find short story contests. They are all over magazines and the Internet. However, it gets harder finding free short story contests. If you are like most writers, than you have no money to spare for short story contest entry fees. And there is no need to fork out for them. With a little homework and a computer, you don't have to.

That being said, let's get on with how to find short story contests that do not require entry fees. This is the easiest and least stressful way of doing it. You go to a website called Winning Writers at www.winningwriters.com. You sign up for the free edition of what's called "The Best Free Poetry Contests". Don't worry about the title - this features all genres of free writing contests, including short stories, not just poetry.

There is a more thorough edition which you have to pay for, but since we're writers, we don't have the money to spare.

When you log on to Winning Writers homepage, you come to a "Welcome" page of really small print. The regular print is in black, with all linked text in a rusty orange. Go to the second line of the second paragraph. Click on the text link "Find Free Contests". This takes you to a Search block which you do not have to fill out in order to use. Just click "Deadline Date" and (ta da) you have your list of free poetry, non-fiction and short story contests for the year.

Another good website to check out is Absolute Write. They very, very rarely post information abut story or poetry contests, so when they do, you know they're worth bothering with.

Avoid Vanity Press Contests

The main advantage of finding free short story contests this way is that Winning Writers and Absolute Write have already weeded out the vanity press "contests", in which you have to buy a book in order to win anything. These "contests", which usually claim that they are free, are usually aimed more for poetry than short stories, but they crawl out of the muck from seemingly nowhere. Their argument is that there are lots of other short story contests that charge fees, but don't fall for it.

Although there are short story contests that do require entry fees, they are not recommended for beginning or unpublished writers. If the prize money is huge, then there will be many published writers entering. They can usually write the entry fees off on their taxes. But if you are only writing as a hobby or as a part-time job, then you may not be able to write off the entry fees.