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.

Ruth Moose Flash Fiction

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.

CWC Poetry Contest

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