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The Creative Splurge
@thecreativesplurge.bsky.social
A source of writing challenges, competitions, prompts and ideas to get you started, keep you going, and help you achieve your writing dreams...
https://www.thecreativesplurge.com/
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Want to write more? Something? Anything!?
Don't know where to start (or how to keep going)?
Here at TCS, we share writing challenges, competitions, and tips so you can build a creative writing practice.
Join in here → https://www.thecreativesplurge.com/
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting
With no entry fee and a mere 55-hour window, are you ready for February's 500-word Furious Fiction challenge?
Starting Friday 6 Feb, give it a go! Low stakes, high fun!

The details are here →
https://www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS #FuriousFiction
Just a moment...
www.writerscentre.com.au
February 4, 2026 at 7:17 AM
An unknown text is the prompt for Off Topic Publishing’s February short story competition, closing 10 Feb.
Submit up to 1500 words and receive judges’ feedback.

All the details are here →
https://offtopicpublishing.com/contest/

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
@offtopicpublishing.bsky.social
Contest – Off Topic Publishing
Guidelines for the Off Topic Contest for writers!
offtopicpublishing.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:48 PM
If you want to (re)start your creative writing habit, here's a free, fun, community-focused writing challenge to bring forth 28 stories in February.

Just follow #30Words365 for the daily prompt and join in!

No pressure, all play! Everyone welcome!

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS
February 1, 2026 at 4:20 AM
Open now! Submit your 1,000-3,000-word story based on one of Reedsy Prompts’ 5 prompts by next Friday for a chance to win $250. 

All the details are here →
https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Weekly Writing Contests - Reedsy Prompts
Enter our weekly Writing Prompts Contest for the chance to win $250 and publication on our blog!
reedsy.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Have you written a novel or memoir? Congratulations! And if so, submit your first chapter to Off Topic Publishing’s First Chapter Contest by 10 February!

The details are here →
https://offtopicpublishing.com/first-chapter-contest/

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
First Chapter Contest – Novel and Memoir – Off Topic Publishing
Submit your first chapter for a chance to win money, a free manuscript critique, and access to the Off Topic Writers' Conference!
offtopicpublishing.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:59 AM
It’s here! NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge 2026 starts NOW! Get ready for the first round of this prompt-driven 2,000-word story competition!

All the details are here →
https://www.nycmidnight.com/ssc

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS #NYCMidnight
The Short Story Challenge — nycmidnight
The Short Story Challenge is an annual creative writing competition that challenges writers around the world to create short stories based on genre, subject, and character assignments in as little as 24 hours.
www.nycmidnight.com
January 24, 2026 at 6:46 AM
Open now! Submit your 1,000-3,000-word story based on one of Reedsy Prompts’ 5 prompts by next Friday for a chance to win $250. 

All the details are here →
https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Weekly Writing Contests - Reedsy Prompts
Enter our weekly Writing Prompts Contest for the chance to win $250 and publication on our blog!
reedsy.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:07 AM
Need some juicy prompts and a swift deadline to fire up your next story?
The Not Quite Write Flash Fiction competition starts on 23 January for just 60 hours.

All the details are here →
notquitewritepodcast.com/prize/

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS #NotQuiteWritePrize
January 22, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Emerging writers, enter your daring, formally innovative short fiction or nonfiction (up to 15k words or 100 pages) in the Chautauqua Janus Prize by 31 Jan!

The details are here →
https://www.chq.org/things-to-do/education/literary-arts/chautauqua-janus-prize/
#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
The Chautauqua Janus Prize - Chautauqua Institution : Chautauqua Institution
www.chq.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:07 AM
The New Writers Flash Fiction Competition is looking for imaginative flash fiction under 300 words, offering significant cash prizes and publication. Submit by 31 Jan!

The details are here →
https://newwriters.org.uk/flash-fiction-competition/

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS
New Writers Flash Fiction Competition 2026 - NewWriters.org.uk
New Writers Flash Fiction Competition 2026: information about the prizes (£1,100 top prize), entry instructions, deadline 31 January 2026.
newwriters.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 5:47 AM
A tiny 100-word story could win you €20,000 in the César Egido Serrano Foundation VIII International Microfiction Contest. Don’t miss this one! Closes 31 Jan.

The details are here →
https://www.fundacioncesaregidoserrano.com/en/contest

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
VIII International Short Tales Contest - Activities that promote cross-cultural communication
Foundation that fosters communication between cultures on the basis of the word located in Toledo Quero
www.fundacioncesaregidoserrano.com
January 19, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Enter your story about ‘Old Gods, New Feelings’ (20k words) in the Myth Weaver Writing Contest now to increase your chances of winning! Closes 31 Jan.

The details are here →
https://www.inkitt.com/contests/myth-weaver-writing-contest-old-gods-new-feelings

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS
Just a moment...
www.inkitt.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:08 AM
NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge 2026 kicks off on January 23. Register now for the first round of this prompt-driven 2,000-word story competition!

All the details are here →
https://www.nycmidnight.com/ssc

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS #NYCMidnight
The Short Story Challenge — nycmidnight
The Short Story Challenge is an annual creative writing competition that challenges writers around the world to create short stories based on genre, subject, and character assignments in as little as 24 hours.
www.nycmidnight.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Open now! Submit your 1,000-3,000-word story based on one of Reedsy Prompts’ 5 prompts by next Friday for a chance to win $250. 

All the details are here →
https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/

#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Weekly Writing Contests - Reedsy Prompts
Enter our weekly Writing Prompts Contest for the chance to win $250 and publication on our blog!
reedsy.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:15 AM
Enter your ‘fresh and original’ fiction (min. 25,000 words) in the Cai Emmons Fiction Award by 15 January. Winner gets $5,000 and book publication by Red Hen Press.

All the details are here →
https://redhen.org/awards/cai-emmons-fiction-award/
#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Cai Emmons Fiction Award - Red Hen Press
To honor the life and legacy of beloved novelist Cai Emmons, Red Hen Press is proud to announce the Cai Emmons Fiction Award of an original story of fiction with a minimum of 150 pages. The awarded fiction manuscript is selected through an annual submission process which is open to all authors.
redhen.org
January 4, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Need some juicy prompts and a swift deadline to fire you up to write your next story?
The Not Quite Write Flash Fiction competition starts on 23 January for just 60 hours.

All the details are here →
notquitewritepodcast.com/prize/
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS #NotQuiteWritePrize
January 3, 2026 at 6:27 AM
The 2026 Rattle Chapbook Prize wants your chapbook (15–30 pages of poems) by 15 January. Three winners each get $5,000, 500 copies and distribution to 8k subscribers!

All the details are here →
https://rattle.com/page/chapbookprize/
#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS #poetry
Rattle Chapbook Prize - Rattle: Poetry
Deadline: January 15th
rattle.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Submit your short fiction (up to 1,500 words) to the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition - deadline extended to 15 Jan!

Here are the details →
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/short-short-story-writing-competition
#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Short Short Story Competition | Writer's Digest - Writer's Digest
www.writersdigest.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:23 AM
The Story Unlikely Short Story Contest wants good stories of any genre (up to 7,000 words) by 14 January and offers a substantial cash prize and publication (online/magazine).

All the details are here →
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#contest
#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Story Unlikely
An award-winning monthly literary magazine, Story Unlikely publishes top-tier fiction and non-fiction - from memoir to speculative (fantasy, horror and sci fi), and everything in between. Have a story to tell? Enter Story Unlikely.
www.storyunlikely.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:07 AM
UK/Irish women and non-binary writers, enter the opening pages and synopsis of a novel in the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize by 7 Jan for a chance at £1,500 and feedback.

All the details are here →
https://www.lucy.cam.ac.uk/fictionprize
#WritingCommunity #WritingContest #TCS
Lucy Cavendish | Lucy Cavendish
www.lucy.cam.ac.uk
December 30, 2025 at 7:17 AM
500 chances to win in the 95th Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition, open to emerging writers in all genres! Early Bird deadline 4 May 2026.

The details are here →
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/annual-writing-competition
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS
Annual Writing Competition - Writer's Digest
www.writersdigest.com
December 28, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Enter your unpublished poem (no line limit, any subject) to the Moth Poetry Prize, with an €11,000 prize pool and closing 31 December!

The details are here →
https://www.themothmagazine.com/a1-page.asp?ID=9445&page=59

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS #poetry
The Moth Magazine
Purveyor of literary prizes, including The Moth Short Story Prize, The Moth Nature Writing Prize and The Moth Poetry Prize, one of the biggest in the world for a single unpublished poem. Publisher of The Moth (2010‒2023) and The Caterpillar (2013‒2023).
www.themothmagazine.com
December 28, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Submit the first 5 pages and a synopsis of your novel to the Farnham’s First Five Pages Writing Competition for a £1,000 prize + critique. Closes 31 Dec!

The details are here →
https://farnhamliteraryfestival.co.uk/literary-writing-competition/
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS
Farnham's First Five Pages - writing competition - Farnham Literary Festival
Farnham's First Five Pages - Writing Competition Deadline: Wednesday 31 December 2025 Farnham Literary Festival presents Farnham’s First Five Pages writing competition. Entrants to submit the first 5 pages
farnhamliteraryfestival.co.uk
December 27, 2025 at 6:17 AM
NaNoWriMo writers, enter the Fiction Factory First Chapter + Synopsis Competition for a £500 prize + appraisal. You can still polish your writing. Closes 31 Jan!

The details are here →
https://fiction-factory.biz/first-chapter-synopsis-competition/
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #TCS
First Chapter + Synopsis Competition – Fiction Factory
fiction-factory.biz
December 26, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Reposted by The Creative Splurge
#FiftyWords — A Speculative Fiction Challenge

Years ago, I entered a 50-word horror contest. I didn’t win.
I did write ten stories I’m still proud of.

Fifty words is merciless. No padding. No mercy. Only story.

Join me. If you dare.

#Writing #MicroSFF
December 23, 2025 at 3:32 AM