Most “best writing contests” roundups are recycled affiliate content. Here’s a real one — genuine competitions with verifiable prizes, real publications that pay per word, and where the free, no-deadline options actually fit into the picture.
Contests with real cash prizes
The Writer’s Digest Competition awards its grand-prize winner $5,000, publication, and a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference, with category winners receiving $1,000 and publication — a genuinely prestigious, decades-running contest, though entry carries a fee (around $30–35 depending on timing). The Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition is higher-stakes still: winners receive an actual publishing contract with a £10,000 advance. The Wasafiri New Writing Prize offers £1,000 and publication in a well-regarded literary magazine.
Worth knowing if budget is the constraint: the Parsec Short Story Contest is free to enter, with a dedicated youth prize category — a real, no-fee option among the paid ones above.
Publications that actually pay per word or per piece
Beyond contests, plenty of real publications pay freelance writers directly for essays and reported pieces. Longreads pays $500 for essays between 2,000 and 6,000 words. High Country News pays $1 per word for reported pieces and $0.50 per word for essays and reviews. The Sun pays $200 or more per essay. Narratively, which publishes creative nonfiction and personal essays, typically starts around $300 per piece. Niche outlets like Earth Island Journal and the National Audubon Society pay $0.50 to $1.50 per word depending on length and format, for writers working in environmental and nature-focused nonfiction specifically.
What almost every option above has in common
Contests carry entry fees and fixed deadlines you can miss by a day and lose your shot for a full year. Paying publications require pitching, waiting on a response, and — for most of these markets — an editor saying yes before you get paid at all. Neither path is a knock against these outlets; they’re genuinely legitimate. But they leave a real gap for a writer who wants a shot at a real byline without a fee, a pitch process, or a fixed submission window.
Talmyn Writer Challenges is built for that gap: a recurring, themed writing prompt, free to enter, with a new specific challenge each cycle rather than a single once-a-year deadline. If your writing is closer to a true personal story than a themed prompt, Talmyn 100 Voices is the better fit — also free, also open year-round.
Not everything worth writing has to come with an entry fee. See the current Talmyn Writer Challenges prompt, or if you have a real story to tell, submit it to Talmyn 100 Voices.
