To encourage, recognize, and reward good writing, the Charlotte Writers Club sponsors four contests each year for adults, two for students. Our contests, listed below in the order of their closing dates, span a variety of genres. To enter a contest, click on its name in the list below.
For information about rules and guidelines that apply to all of our contests, please read Contest Rules and Submission Guidelines. Information particular to individual contests is spelled out below.
Opens: August 15, 2023
Closes: October 17, 2023
Entry Fees: CWC Members: $15.00, Non-members: $20.00
Prizes: First Place — $150, Second Place — $75, Third Place — $25
Winners Announced: December 12, 2023
Short fiction of up to 500 words.
CWC Nonfiction Contest (article/essay)
Opens: October 17, 2023
Closes: December 31, 2023
Entry Fees: CWC Members: $15.00, Non-members: $20.00
Prizes: First Place — $150, Second Place — $75, Third Place — $25
Winners Announced: February 13, 2024
Nonfiction between 750 and 4000 words.
Elizabeth Simpson Smith Short Story Contest
Opens: February 13, 2024
Closes: March 19, 2024
Entry Fees: CWC Members: $20.00, Non-members: $25.00
Prizes: First Place — $250, Second Place — $150, Third Place — $50
Winners Announced: May 21, 2024
A short story between 1500 and 4000 words.
Opens: December 12, 2023
Closes: February 13, 2024
Entry Fees: CWC Members: $15.00, Non-members: $20.00
Prizes: First Place — $150, Second Place — $75, Third Place — $25
Winners Announced: April 16, 2024
One poem of fewer than 50 lines; haiku excluded.5