10 Best Personal Essay Competitions of 2024

Personal essay competitions are a great way to break into getting your work in print — and many great contests are coming up in 2024. The competitions help build a writing resume to help with future publication; grants and fellowships; even MFA applications. Also, most competitions bestow cash awards. Several of my clients have won awards, and I’ve seen how it boosts their writer’s profile and confidence. 

You’ll notice a range of personal essay prize amounts (generally $250-$2,000) depending on the contest and placement—many offer prizes even for runners-up. Fees also vary, usually ranging from $15-$25. Themes differ a bit, with opportunities for personal essays, memoir, personal travel essays, personal nature essays, hybrid journalism essays, and more. 

Bookmark this page—I’ll add more to the list when I have a chance.

Personal Essay Awards

Sponsor: Writer’s Digest
Deadline: Opens June 2024
First-place prize: $2,500
Fee: $25-$30
Learn More about the Personal Essay Awards

Wide-ranging 2000-word essay competition with a fabulous grand prize that includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations and conference fees for Writer’s Digest’s annual conference. Runner-up prizes range from $100-$1,000. 

Swamp Pink Prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction & Poetry

Swamp Pink

Submit nonfiction personal essays of up to 25 pages to this annual competition, formerly known as the Crazyhorse Prizes; the winners receive a $2,000 prize and publication in the literary magazine swamp pink. 

Deadline: January 1st to January 31st , 2024
First-place prize: $2,000
Fee:  $15 
Learn More about the swamp pink prizes.

The 2024 Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction

Lascaux Review 
Deadline: Opens April 1, 2024
Winner: $1,000 and a bronze medallion.
Fee: $15. 
Learn More about The Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction category is expansive in many ways. Your piece can run up to 10,000 words and include personal essays, memoirs, humor and more. It must be something you’ve “witnessed, experienced, learned, or discovered.” Accepts previously published works. Even finalists receive $100, and the winner and finalists are published in The Lascaux Review.

Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize

Missouri Review
Deadline: TBA
Cash Prize: $5,000
Fee: $25
Learn More about the Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize.

Submit up to 8,500 words of prose, and potentially win one of three $5,000 prizes and your essay’s publication in the venerable Missouri Review. 

Gabriele Rico Challenge for Creative Nonfiction

Reed Magazine
Deadline: TBA 2024
Cash Prize: $1,333
Entry Fee: $20
Read more about the Gabriele Rico Challenge for Creative Nonfiction.

Submit personal essays or narratives of up to 5,000 words to California’s oldest literary journal. Winners receive $1,333 from Reed Magazine, a publication of San José State University. Fun fact: The journal is named for James Reed, a survivor of the infamous Donner Party fiasco. 

The Moth Nature Writing Prize

Sponsor: The Moth
Deadline: TBA
Prize: €1,000 (approximately $1,090) 
Fee: €15 (approximately $16)
Read more about the Nature Writing Prize.

Cash prize and online publication in the Irish Times for a story, personal essay or poem focused on “an exploration of the writer’s relationship with the natural world.” You’ll also receive a weeklong stay at a Missé, France retreat. Submit up to 4,000 words. Second and third prizes also receive €500 and €250, respectively. 

Pro Tip: Ensure you understand the rules for writing dialogue before submitting your personal essay, and any differences between U.S. and U.K. styles.

Solas Awards

Sponsor: Travelers’ Tales
Deadline: TBA
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Read more about the Solas Awards.

Submit travel essays ranging from 750 to 5,500 words to this contest, where winners receive a prize and online publication. The recommended word count is 1,000-3,000 words, however. Entries must be true stories and can be previously published, but you must own rights to the essay. Read through the site’s category descriptions to see if you can align your essay to a category. Second prize is $750, and third is $500. 

2024 Barthelme Prize for Short Prose

Sponsor: Gulf Coast
Deadline: TBA
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $26
Learn more about the Barthelme Prize for Short Prose.

The University of Houston’s Gulf Coast literary journal sponsors this prize, which offers cash and publication of a micro essay of up to 500 words. Your entry fee also includes a subscription to Gulf Coast. Runners-up (honorable mentions) receive $250.  

2024 Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers

Sponsor: Boulevard
Deadline: January 31, 2024
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Learn More about the 2024 Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers.

Awards to go to a winning essay by a new writer—one who hasn’t published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. Boulevard specifically seeks works of up to 8,000 words that are researched and reported, such as hybrid essays, reported essays, and literary journalism.

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100-Word Writing Contest

Sponsor: Tadpole Press
Deadline: TBA 2024
First-place prize: $2,000 USD.
Fee: $15
Learn More about the 100-Word Writing Contest

This contest emphasizes growth but is open to personal essays mixed with other genres, including fiction. No violence. Contest notes that judges review a piece based on its creativity, new angles, upending stereotypes, unexpected delights and expansion of “our beliefs about what's possible.” 

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FAQs About Writing Competitions

How Do I Win a Personal Essay Writing Contest?

Carefully read the rules for any contest you enter—your personal essay may require editing as it must be shorter or longer to fit the competition’s parameters. Most importantly, don’t let Chat GPT write your essay.

How Do I Improve My Personal Essay?

Read examples of amazing, memorable personal essays to inspire your own writing and improve it. Understand rules for writing dialogue in personal essays. You can also take an online personal essay class to better your writing skills.

What Should I do if I don’t Win a Personal Essay Writing Contest?

Keep submitting. As an alternative, you can also submit your personal essay to publications known to welcome and publish first-time writers. Many literary journals are thrilled to discover new writing talent, and pay writers for their work.