Our purpose is to discover, publish and promote talented new writers
The Plaza Prizes is the international literary competition to enter. We have Booker Prizewinners, Pulitzer Prizewinners, U.S. National Book Award Winners, T.S. Eliot Prizewinners as judges: Natalie Diaz, Damon Galgut, Junot Diaz, Georges Szirtes, Anthony Joseph, Nin Andrews, Jamie Quatro, Michael J. Sullivan, Lachlan McKinnon, Pascale Petit, Toby Litt, Sam Blake, Annie DeWitt, Roland Watson-Grant, Tara Laskowski, Richard Skinner, Maya C. Popa, Carrie Etter, Meg Pokrass, Simon Trewin, Ben Clark, Rory Waterman, Angela Readman, David Mark, Nicole Treska, Moniza Alvi, Paul Farley, and Jason Mott. We award over £20,000 (US$30,000) in prizes to our winners, and publish those we shortlist. We will be holding our third awards ceremony to launch The Plaza Prizes Anthology 3 on 16th October 2025, in the Dordogne, France.
Are you one of those poets or writers who don’t read the anthologies of the literary contests you enter? If so, how can you know the high standards expected of you? The Plaza Prizes Anthology 2 is an exciting showcase of contemporary world literature in English. It’s chock-full of 20 short stories, 20 poems, 10 prose poems, 30 flash fictions, and 3 winning novel extracts. The Trade Paperback and EPUB ebook version is available for purchase in our Shop. Please click this link:
The Plaza Prizes approved 200 FREE bursaries over our first two years. We encourage writers who might not be earning much right now or writers from different communities to showcase their work. One entry per year in any literary contest for FREE. So, if you’re from an under-represented group, or not exactly Blackrocking it (as if), please do apply to enter for FREE.
Who wins Short Story contests? Six talented winners of The Plaza Prizes have come together to give you their insights on ‘How to Write Winning Short Stories’: a 7-module course. You can purchase our Teachable course for ONLY £35.00 per month in our Shop.
The Competitions
The Plaza Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Speculative Prize
Judged by Michael J. Sullivan
1st prize: £3000 / US$3750. 2nd prize: £300 / US$375*. 3rd prize: £100 / US$125*
Continue reading “The Plaza Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Speculative Prize”
The Plaza Poetry Prize (60 lines)
Judged by Natalie Diaz
1st prize: £4000 / $5000. 2nd prize: £300 / $360. 3rd prize: £100 / $120
The Plaza Short Story Prize (5000 words)
Judged by Damon Galgut
1st prize: £4000 / *$5000. 2nd prize: £300 / *$360. 3rd prize: £100 / *$120
The Plaza Short Memoir Prize
Judged by Jamie Quatro
1st prize: £1000 / $1250. 2nd prize: £300 / $360. 3rd prize: £100 / $120
The Plaza Prose Poetry Prize
Judged by Nin Andrews
1st prize: £750 / $900. 2nd prize: £300 / $360. 3rd prize: £100 / $120
The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines)
Judged by Georges Szirtes
1st prize: £1000 / *$1250. 2nd prize: £300 / *$375. 3rd prize: £100 / *$125
The Plaza Audio Story Prize
Judged by Junot Diaz
1st prize: £1000 / *$1250. 2nd prize: £300 / *$360. 3rd prize: £100 / *$120
The Plaza Flash Fiction Prize
Judged by Barbara Black
1st prize: £1000 / *$1250. 2nd prize: £300 / *$360. 3rd prize: *£100 / $120
The Plaza Audio Poetry Prize
Judged by Anthony Joseph
1st prize: £1000. 2nd prize: £300. 3rd prize: £100
The Plaza Short Story Prize (2500 words)
Judged by Jamie Quatro
1st prize: £1000 / $1250. 2nd prize: £300 / $360. 3rd prize: £100 / $120
The Plaza Literary: First Chapters Prize
Judged by Jason Mott
1st prize: £1500 ($1750). 2nd prize: £300 ($375). 3rd prize: £100 ($125)
The Plaza Poetry Prize (20 lines max)
Judged by Lachlan McKinnon
1st prize: £1000 / *$1250. 2nd prize: £300 / *$375. 3rd prize: £100 / *$125
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'Every new writer needs encouragement to take that brave first step to put pen to paper - The Plaza Prizes is a brilliant, timely initiative that will help bring to the surface some great new voices. Be brave, pick up your pens and write on!'