Many writing competitions are currently open for students to enter. Listed below are the ones that have crossed my desk recently.

A big thank you to Jilly O'Brien for pointing out some of these competitions that I may otherwise have missed. We hope to host Donna Young and Jilly again at Columba College this year to workshop pieces for the Burns Writing Competition which is coming up in October.

1. National Flash fiction competition. Closes April 30th. Can be a story, can be prose. Free to enter the youth category. Winner gets $100 and published in fingerscommatoes journal. 300 words. https://nationalflash.org/competition/

2. Starling literary journal. Writers under 25. Accepting submissions now until October 20th for summer issue. Free. Prose or poetry. https://www.starlingmag.com/ 

3. NZ Poetry Society International poetry competition. Youth entries $2.50 each. Closes 31 May 2020. Winner gets $200 runner up $100. Plus published in anthologyhttps://poetrysociety.org.nz/nzps-international-poetry-competition/ 

4. NZ Poetry Society International Haiku competition. Youth entries win $100 or $50 (not a bad wordly rate!) $1 per haiku to enter. . https://poetrysocietynz.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/learning-to-write-haiku-a-teachers-guide-k-raine.pdf

5. Stasis online journal - just accepting submissions during Lockdown. Paying $100 https://www.stasisjournal.com/home?category=Poetry

6. Microfiction competition open until 15 May. Up to 100 words 3 entries per person. Entry fee is free https://nationalflash.org/micro-madness/?fbclid=IwAR3JTG-Lcf7HN_iwQCL2bMNFNCIqQV4E5yiiY60VxGib726Zk4JVpQfCJus  

7. Red Room Poetry have different categories for Australian and New Zealand entrants.https://redroomcompany.org/projects/poetry-object/

8. The Possibilities Project is a local, UNESCO City of Literature competition. 

https://www.cityofliterature.co.nz/whats-on/the-possibilities-project/

9. Finally, we have a few students entering the NZCW Dunedin Branch Dawn Ibbotson Essay Competition this year and a reminder that entries to that close on the 15th of May.