Contests

Enter our 2025 Poetry Contest starting April 1st, 2025!

Check out our contest terms . | First Thousand Words Contest (Jan - Feb) | Poetry Contest (April - May) | Short Story Contest (July - August) | Book Cover Contest (October)

Once you're good with our terms and conditions, enter our next contest:

Poetry Context (opens 4-1-2025).

The Writerwerx University "First Thousand Words" Contest

Pit the first 1,000 words of your book against published authors from all over the world. If you have a talent for hooking readers from page one—regardless of the genre you write in—this contest is yours to win!

Opens: January 1st.

Ends: February 28th.

Judging Wraps Up: March.

Winners Announced: April / May.

The Writerwerx University Poetry Contest

How moving can you be in 100 words or less? Submit to this contest to find out!

Opens: April 1st.

Ends: May 31st.

Judging Wraps Up: June.

Winners Announced: July / August.

The Writerwerx University Short Story Contest

This competition gives you up to 4,000 words to impress our judges. All genres, including nonfiction, are welcome!

Opens: July 1st.

Ends: August 31st.

Judging Wraps Up: September.

Winners Announced: October / November.

The Writerwerx University Book Cover Contest

Think your cover design is awesome? Get in the ring with other authors from around the world to see who can bring home the gold! As always, all genres are welcome!

Opens: October 1st.

Ends: October 31st.

Judging Wraps Up: November.

Winners Announced: November / December.

Writerwerx University Contest Winners

We keep a list of who has won our contests in the past. Take a look!

The Writerwerx University First Thousand Words Contest

7th First Thousand Words Contest: 2025

Judging is in progress, so we'll see who takes home the gold!

6th First Thousand Words Contest: 2024

C. S. Donnell of Santa Clara, California for Deeper Colors.

Carolyn Donnell resumed writing again in 2003 when she joined California Writers Club -South Bay Branch. She writes short stories and novels. She also paints, with some of her work available at FineArtAmerica.com.

Follow her on Amazon.

Visit her website.

5th Novel Opening Contest: 2023

Jodi Lea Stewart of Mesa, Arizona for Canyon of Doom.

Jodi Lea Stewart is a fiction author who centers her themes around the triumph of overcoming adversity through grit, humor, and hard-rock tenacity. Born in Texas and growing up in Arizona smelling cedar berries and cow pens on a large cattle ranch wedged between the Navajo Nation and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, most of her friends were Native American and Hispanic with a few Anglos thrown in for good measure. On the ranch, she climbed petroglyph-etched boulders, sang to chickens, bounced two feet in the air in the backend of pickups wrestling through washed-out terracotta roads, and rode horseback on the winds of her imagination through the arroyos and mountains of the Arizona high country.

Learn more at JodiLeaStewart.com.

4th Novel Opening Contest: 2022

LaTosha McCauley of Detroit, MI for The Velvet Capture.

LaTosha McCauley is the lead writer at LaTosha The Author, LLC. Launched in May 2020 and stationed in Detroit, Michigan, L.T.A. is an organization that hosts a plethora of books that cater to the urban crowd. With genres ranging from adult thrillers to teen romance, L.T.A. is well versed in the popular world of fictional stories.

Learn more at LaToshaTheAuthor.com.

3rd Novel Opening Contest: 2021

Anat Ghelber is originally from Israel and currently resides in New York. She is a strong believer in the capacity of all people to make a difference if they take the time to discover their true inner talents. No One Will Save Me is available on Amazon.

2nd Novel Opening Contest: 2020

As a native Floridian, Hollie Lemons has seen some strange things. She’s filtered those strange things into award winning short stories about romance, the supernatural, and even autobiographical.

Waking Up is her debut novel and because she doesn’t know the meaning of ‘work/life balance’ it certainly won’t be her last.

1st Novel Opening Contest: 2019

Sean is a graduate from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature. He resides in a seaside town on the Jersey shore.

Two A.M. Flavored Coffee is his first novel.

MrSeanMcmahon.wordpress.com

The Writerwerx University Poetry Contest

6th Poetry Contest: 2024

Madi Fiely of Brookhaven, Georgia for “Staring at the TV Screen”

Madi Fiely is a poet that is inspired by personal events she has experienced in her own life, and longs to express the human experience throughout her work. After growing up in Oklahoma, she now resides in Georgia with her fluffy cat Ginger. When she is not dissecting her thoughts, she enjoys watching films, roaming antique malls, participating in photography, and spending time in nature.

Learn more at MadiFiely.com.

5th Poetry Contest: 2023

Charles Perry of New Bedford, Massachusetts for “The Rise of Nightfall”

Charles Perry is a poet aka “A Poetic Pulse” & the Host of the “Really Charlie” podcast on YouTube.

Learn more here.

4th Poetry Contest: 2022

LaTosha McCauley of Detroit, MI for “Melanated Males: The Mistreated Stepsons of America.”

LaTosha is only the second author to ever win first place in more than one of our contests!

Learn more at LaToshaTheAuthor.com.

3rd Poetry Contest: 2021

Linda M. Kola has had a love of writing and poetry from a very young age. She’s won oratory contests and other literary contests during her childhood. Her favorite writers and poets are Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Edwidge Danticat to name a few. She withdrew from writing for a while but has since had a renewed love for writing. She draws from personal experiences and from experiences of those around her and adds a little flair that many can relate to. Her aspirations are to publish works of poetry, children’s books and fiction.

2nd Poetry Contest: 2020

You’re not seeing double! Chuck Holmes is the first person to win one of our contests TWICE! Learn more about Chuck at ChuckHolmes.org.

1st Poetry Contest: 2019

Chris Widney is a New York City based playwright, book writer and lyricist who spends as much time as possible wandering around in the mountains.

The Writerwerx University Short Story Contest

6th Short Story Contest: 2024

Pablo Mendez of Roseville, California for his story "The Blue Door."

I am originally from Venezuela and came to the U.S. to pursue a graduate degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. I like writing fantasy, particularly stories that fall under the wide umbrella of Magical Realism. I have received honorable mention and second place awards for my writing from Writers’s Digest and the League of Utah Writers respectively, and I’m currently working on the manuscript for my first novel, a YA fantasy story.

A photo of Kittisak Kongka of Thailand, 1st place winner of the 2023 Writerwerx University Short Story Contest.

5th Short Story Contest: 2023

Kittisak Kongka of Nakornpathom, Thailand.

Kittisak Kongka is a Thai writer who tries to write the ordinary thing to embrace the extraordinary world.

Connect with Kittisak.

4th Short Story Contest: 2022

Ian Phillips of Mount Crawford, Virginia for “Shades of Me.”

Ian Phillips is a senior Media Arts and Design major at James Madison University with a minor in Creative Writing. He has been writing since he was five years old and puts much of his effort nowadays into developing and hopefully publishing a series of fantasy novels. He plans to join a Master’s program in Creative Writing after he graduates.

3rd Short Story Contest: 2021

Will Brown of Santa Fe, New Mexico for “Where Buffalo Roamed.”

Will Brown is a lifelong reader of fiction. He earned a degree in English from Rutgers University. After graduating from Boston College Law School, he served as a JAG Corps captain for six years, then taught criminal law on the east coast for two years. Now, Will is retired and looks forward to his weekly New Yorker and other literary periodicals.

2nd Short Story Contest: 2020

Ishan Davis of Charlotte, NC for “Paris.”

Ishan Davis is an aspiring author, photographer, and multilingual travel enthusiast who enjoys writing about the dark and unexplained. She is a senior currently working towards a dual degree in both English and Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at UNC Greensboro.

1st Short Story Contest: 2019

Chuck Holmes is the author of More Than Just Cellular and The Sing. He specializes in strong storytelling laced with wisdom and humor.

ChuckHolmes.org

The Writerwerx University Book Cover Contest

1st Book Cover Contest: 2025

Kood B. Yuu: Sign up to be notified when this contest opens so you don't forget!

Contest Terms and Conditions

One of the easiest ways to get disqualified or unpleasantly surprised is to not read the contest terms. They're short and clear, so please spend the few minutes it will take you to read through them in order to make sure you only submit to contests you are well-informed about.