Again, I love writing contests! So, here are a few more I found on Writer's Digest. These are particularly interesting because they are genre specific. Now these are not free contests. I think the entry fee for most is $20, but the first place prizes include $1,000, a feature in Writer's Digest, $100 worth of books, and the newest Writer's Guide to your genre! Talk about incentive!

The following contests are now accepting entries. Beside the genre, I have posted the entry deadline:

Science Fiction: Sept. 15, 2011
Thriller: Sept. 15, 2011
Young Adult: Oct. 1, 2011 (I know we have many YA writers listening out there!)
Romance: Oct. 15, 2011
Crime: Oct. 22, 2011
Horror: Oct. 21, 2011 (All Hallows' Eve, of course!)

Additionally, there is a "Short Short Story" contest ending Nov. 15, 2011 with a first place prize of $3000 and a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference! And a "Poetry" contest ending on Dec. 1, 2011 with a top prize of $500 and a trip to the conference.

All contests can be found at Writer's Digest.

If you know of any other genre-specific writing contests going on, feel free to post a comment!

Write on, fellow writers!

One of my professors once told me to never pass up a free contest. She started her career by winning a book contest, and now, not only has she been teaching Creative Writing for over 20 years, but she is the author of two novels, three short story collections, two chapbooks of poetry, one play, and many essays.

Contests are a great way to get your name and work out and add another line to your Author Bio (not to mention that constantly entering contests means that you are constantly writing!).

I came across this free contest today: the Your Story Competition at Writer's Digest

Every other month, Writer's Digest posts a short prompt. In response, you submit a short story. There are currently two contests open.

(1) Write an opening sentence to a story, 25 words or less, based on a photograph. This contest ends Sept. 10.

(2) Write a short story of 750 words or less (that's a really short story!) in response to the following prompt: "After being pulled over for speeding, your character finds something important while looking for her registration in the glove compartment." This contest ends Oct. 10.

The grand prize? Publication in the next Writer's Digest! Talk about getting your name and work out there!

Best of luck to everyone, and keep writing, fellow writers!