Writing Contests: July 2025
- Lilyana Page
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
***Please remember: I do my best to make sure that the information contained herein is accurate, but mistakes happen, and sometimes contest listings are modified after I collect information for my blog. Always visit the competition's website and read the rules for yourself!***
***All quotations are from the competition websites themselves.***
I've got three writing contests for July 2025. I've entered both the Briefly Write poetry prize and Morgen Bailey's 50-word Competition once each, and I had fun. The HG Wells Short Story Competition looks like a solid competition, but I've not entered that one personally. Take a look at all three to see if one of them suits you and your particular kind of writing. Enjoy!
Contest Entry Period: "The closing date is Monday 8th July 2025 and entries will be accepted up to 11pm (BST) on that date."
Entry Fee: "There are no entry fees for those aged 21 years and under on Monday 8th July 2025. Over 21s must pay an entry fee of £10 or £5 for those with student id. Details for payment are shown on the entry form. Each story must be submitted on a separate entry form and accompanied by a fee where appropriate."
Special Requirements: None found.
Theme: "The Middle Ground."
Entry Length: Minimum 1,500 words, maximum 5,000 words.
Age Categories: Two categories; Under 21 and Over 21.
Rights Information: "Entry implies permission for your story to be published in the annual HG Wells Short Story Competition Anthology, and used for Competition publicity purposes."
Prizes: Under 21, "prize of £1,000 for the winning entry"; Over 21, "prize of £500."
Winners to be announced November 16th, 2025.
You can find the contest site here.
You can find the Competition Rules here, and FAQs here.
Briefly Write Poetry Prize
Contest Entry Period: "Entries open 24 May 2025. The closing date is 31 July 2025 @ 23:59 BST."
Entry Fee: FREE.
Special Requirements: None.
Theme: None.
Entry Length: 10 lines or less.
Age Category: None.
Rights Information: "By entering the Briefly Write Poetry Prize, you are granting us first electronic rights only. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication."
Prizes: "There is a minimum prize fund of £80. FIRST = £40 / SECOND = £25 / THIRD = £15. All shortlisted poets will also be paid."
"Prize and shortlisted poems will be published online."
A full list of rules etc. can be found here.
Morgen Bailey's 50-Word Competition
Contest Entry Period: July 1st-July 31, 2025
Entry Fee: FREE
Special Requirements: None found.
Theme: "The main character is an inanimate object".
Entry Length: 50 words exactly (excluding title). EXACTLY 50 words. Don't try to sneak any more or any less than 50 words in.
Age Category: None. All ages are welcomed.
Rights Information: Not listed. Winning stories will be published on Morgen's website.
"1st prize: free prose critique up to 1,500 words or 30 minutes of mentoring time;
2nd prize: free prose critique up to 1,000 words or 20 minutes of mentoring time;
3rd prize: free prose critique up to 500 words or 10 minutes of mentoring time."
"Each prize will be valid for six months from the closing date (i.e. the prizes for the top three stories for January 2025 are valid until end June 2025) so you can combine your ‘winnings’."
