All deadlines / Contests

Mystery & crime writing contests

Short story contests, unpublished-manuscript and first-novel competitions, and awards for published crime fiction, sorted by deadline. Entry fees and prizes are listed up front.

29 listings, last checked October 27, 2026. Listings whose deadline has passed are hidden automatically.

Short story contests (4)

Jan 28, 2027

Next Generation Short Story Awards 2027 – Crime

ShortStoryAwards.com (Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group)

Contest
1st $500, 2nd $300, 3rd $200 + medals; finalists $75
Fee: $25 ($20 each extra category)

Up to 5,000

Jan 28, 2027

Next Generation Short Story Awards 2027 – Mystery

Next Generation Short Story Awards

Contest
Grand prizes $500 / $300 / $200; category winners $75 + medal
Fee: $25 first category; $20 each extra category

Up to 5,000

Jan 29, 2027

CWA Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition 2027

Crime Writers' Association & Margery Allingham Society

Contest
£500 + one year CWA membership
Fee: £25

Up to 3,500

Open anytime

AHMM Mysterious Photograph Contest

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

Contest
$25 prize + publication
No fee

250 or fewer

Novel & manuscript contests (16)

Oct 31, 2026

CWC Award for Best Unpublished Crime Manuscript 2027

Crime Writers of Canada (sponsor: ECW Press)

Contest
CA$500; ECW Press reads all finalists
Fee: CA$45 (CA$36 members)

First 5,000 + 500-word synopsis; complete MS 50,000–110,000

Nov 1, 2026

MWA Barbara Neely Awards 2026

Mystery Writers of America

Contest
$2,000 + one-year MWA membership (two awards: unpublished and published)
No fee

300–500-word essay + 5-page mystery writing sample

Nov 1, 2026

William F. Deeck–Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers

Malice Domestic Ltd

Contest
$2,500 + full Malice Domestic registration + 2 hotel nights
No fee

First three chapters + synopsis up to 200 words

Nov 30, 2026

Minotaur Books / Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel

Minotaur Books & Malice Domestic

Contest
$10,000 advance + Minotaur publishing contract
No fee

~65,000+, complete

Nov 30, 2026

Writory Thriller Writing Competition (round closing Nov 30, 2026)

Writory

Contest
1st $100 + free entry to next round; 2nd $50; 3rd $20
Fee: $8 (two stories $14; five $25)

100–6,000

Dec 13, 2026

Uncharted Magazine Novel Excerpt Prize 2026

Uncharted Magazine

Contest
Three co-winners each get $1,000 + publication + agent consult (Fuse Literary)
Fee: $20 reading fee

Up to 5,000

Dec 14, 2026

Minotaur Books / MWA First Crime Novel Competition

Minotaur Books & Mystery Writers of America

Contest
$10,000 advance + Minotaur publishing contract
No fee

60,000+ (220+ pages), complete

Jan 29, 2027

CWA Emerging Author Dagger 2027

Crime Writers' Association (sponsor: Fiction Feedback)

Contest
£500; shortlist sent to agents and publishers
Fee: £42

Opening up to 3,000 + synopsis up to 1,500

Feb 28, 2027

Agatha Christie Award (17th, Hayakawa Publishing – Japanese-language)

Hayakawa Publishing & Hayakawa Kiyoshi Literary Foundation

Contest
¥1,000,000 + Christie-themed plaque; winner published in book form by Hayakawa
Fee: No entry fee stated on the official page

300–800 manuscript pages of 400 Japanese characters, plus ~5-page synopsis

Mar 15, 2027

ITW Best First Sentence Contest 2027

International Thriller Writers (ThrillerFest)

Contest
10-page critique from a 2027 Master Class instructor (the judges); winners read at the CraftFest Luncheon, April 28, 2027
Fee: No entry fee listed (ITW membership or ThrillerFest XXII registration required)

One sentence (your opening line)

Mar 31, 2027