2025 Annual Writing Contest

SouthWest Writers Contest 2025

Beyond Boundaries

The 2025 SouthWest Writers Writing Contest opens on June 1, 2025 and closes at midnight on July 8, 2025. This year’s contest includes 18 writing categories with cash prizes available in all and an opportunity to be included in the SouthWest Writers Contest Anthology to be published later this year.

SouthWest Writers (SWW) encourages aspiring and experienced writers of all cultures and backgrounds to enter. We welcome a diversity of creative expressions and points of view. Writers do not have to be a member of SWW or live in the Southwest to enter.   We recommend you read through the rules below before entering.

NOTE: At least 5 entries are required in a given category for the top three prizes to be awarded. Two prizes will be allowed if there are only 4 entries and only one prize will be given if there are 3 entries. If any category receives less than three entries, the writers will be contacted to see if they wish to move the entry to a different category.

Click Here to go directly to the entry form on or after June 1, 2025.

Categories

Flash Fiction
Flash Fiction entries should be 200 words or fewer, any genre.

Short Fiction
Short fiction of less than 2,500 words that tells a story.

  • General
  • Mystery/Crime/Thriller
  • Science Fiction/Fantasy
  • Speculative/Horror/Paranormal/Etc. Note: Stories that contain horror elements should refrain from excessive gore.
  • Young Reader/Middle Grade Stories intended to be read by young readers age 8-12. This category will be judged by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) standards.
  • Young Adult Stories intended to be read by young adults ages 12 and up. This category will be judged by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) standards.

Short Nonfiction 
Short non-fiction of less than 2,500 words that tells a story. NOTE: These should be complete pieces, not part of a larger work of writing.

  • Short Memoir
  • Article/Essay/General Nonfiction

Opening Chapter, up to 2,500 Words, of an Unpublished Fiction Novella/Novel
There are three subcategories that will be eligible for prizes. Entries may include up to 2,500 words but should end in a logical place (ex. End of chapter or scene). This does NOT include front matter before the opening chapter (e.g., table of contents, acknowledgements pages, copyright pages.)
o          General
o          Mystery/Crime/Thriller
o          Speculative Fiction

Opening Chapter up to 2,500 Words of Unpublished Nonfiction
There are two subcategories that will be eligible for prizes. Entries may include up to 2,500 words, but should end in a logical place (ex. end of a chapter, scene or section). This does NOT include front matter before the opening chapter (e.g., table of contents, acknowledgements, pages, copyright pages.)
o          Memoir
o          General Nonfiction

Poetry Categories
Poetry focuses on the use of unique phrases and words to create moods and/or express feelings and ideas. Each poem must be one submission. Entries will be judged by members of the New Mexico State Poetry Society according to their contest standards.

  • Free Verse:  Any theme, any form within a 40-line limit. Line limit includes every line, both printed and blank. A one-line title and its following space is not counted in line limit
  • Haiku:  Not titled, lower case, no punctuation. One haiku per entry.
  • Limerick:    Five-line stanza. May be titled. One limerick per entry.

 NEW in 2025!

Short Screenplay Category
This is a new category that we haven’t seen in the last few years! Short screenplays are intended to be complete screenplays, up to 10 pages (plus a title page), in industry-standard format. Entries in this category will be judged by accomplished screenwriters.

 

FAQ / Common Questions

Who can submit?

Any writer may submit, regardless of their location or experience level. We just ask that entries be previously unpublished and written in the English language.

What are the entry fees?

There are several levels of entry fees as you can see below.  Since Limerick and Haiku are very short literary pieces they have a lower entry rate. The entry form will adjust on the specified dates as of midnight.

        • Early bird (June 1-June 8) entry fee for prose, free verse poetry, and short screenplay: $20
        • Early bird (June 1-June 8) entry fee for limerick and haiku: $5
        • Normal (June 9-June 30) entry fee for prose, free verse poetry, and short screenplay: $25
        • Normal (June 9-June 30) entry fee for limerick and haiku: $10
        • Late (July 1-8) entry fee for prose, free verse poetry, and short screenplay: $45
        • Late (July 1-8) entry fee for limerick and haiku: $15

Can I submit multiple entries?

You can submit as many different entries as you want, as long as each entry is paid for appropriately. However, a single entry may NOT be entered into more than one category.

What happens after I submit?

After you submit you’ll get a confirmation email and our judges will handle the rest! Judging will be finished on July 29th, 2025 and the finalists will be contacted prior to the award ceremony. Awards will be distributed and winner rankings will be announced at the SouthWest Writers Annual Meeting on October 11th, 2025.

Key Dates

        • Early Entry: June 1st- June 8th
        • Normal Entry: June 9th- June 30th
        • Late Entry: July 1st-July 8th
        • Results announcement: finalists will be informed of finalist status after judging has been completed.
        • Awards/showcase event: October 11th, 2025

 

 

General Contest Rules

As this is a contest to encourage writers, industry standards in formatting will be followed:

For Poetry and Prose:

        • The submission must be formatted as a Microsoft Word .doc or .docx.
        • Body of text — 12pt Times New Roman.
        • Titles — 14pt Times New Roman.
        • Double line spacing for all prose and nonfiction with no extra line spacing between paragraphs.
        • Poetry categories may be single or double line spaced.
        • Prose categories must have the first line of each paragraph indented.

For Short Screenplay:

        • The submission may be formatted as a .pdf or Microsoft Word .doc or .docx.
        • Short Screenplays must be formatted as industry-standard screenplays. You may use Final Draft or Movie Magic to format your screenplay. You DO NOT have to buy professional screenwriting software, but submissions MUST be formatted in the industry standard.
        • Short screenplay submissions must be in 12pt Courier typeface.
        • You may include a title page that DOES NOT contain your name. This title page may be in addition to 10 pages of screenplay (roughly 1,500 words), but no screenplay will be accepted that the substance of which exceeds 10 pages.

 

NOTE: Entries received that do not conform to these stated requirements will be disqualified from judging. Submitter will not receive notice of the disqualification and no refund will be given. It is up to the submitter to read and understand the rules. The general requirements of submissions are as follows, though individual categories may state exceptions or additional guidelines:

        • No prose or poetry entry may contain more than 2,500 words. Specific lengths for individual categories are listed above.
        • No short screenplay entry may exceed 10 pages of content with an additional page for the title of the screenplay. (11 pages maximum, but one of these MUST be the title page.)
        • The author’s name must not appear anywhere in the entry. This includes the file name, title, header, footer, or within the body of the story, article, poem, or screenplay.
        • A submission may be entered in only one category. If a submission is entered in more than one category, it will be disqualified.
        • Submitters may enter multiple entries in one category, or any other category, as long as the appropriate entry fee is paid for each entry.
        • All submissions must be in English, although words in other languages may be included to enhance the story.
        • In all categories, SouthWest Writers does not allow pornography, politically charged commentary, or excessive violence. Acceptance of any entry is at the discretion of the SouthWest Writers Writing Contest Committee.
        • Entries cannot have won or placed in any SouthWest Writers contest.
        • All entries must be submitted online through the submission platform Zealous. No paper entries will be accepted.
        • No endnotes, graphs, footnotes, citations, or artwork should be included with the prose/poetry entries.
        • Entries must be unpublished (see definition below*).
        • No entry will be accepted that has been created through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
        • Entries may not include song lyrics or other copyrighted material.
        • Entries in the short screenplay category must not be produced and/or published as a film prior to submission.

*Published vs. Unpublished: “Published” is defined as offering for distribution or actually distributing copies of a work to the public whether or not it was offered for sale. SouthWest Writers has determined this includes, but is not limited to, the following venues: newsletters, eBooks, blogs/websites, magazines, traditionally published (HarperCollins, etc.), self-published books, or short films which have been released for sale to the general public. Material is considered unpublished if it was not intended for public distribution or if only a few copies were created and distribution was limited.

To view the scoring sheets used by SWW Writing Contest Judges Click Here.

Click Here to go directly to the entry form on or after June 1, 2025.