Grants and competitions for writers. Literary competitions

1. Independent literary award “Debut”

The most famous literary prize in Russia for beginning authors. Established by the International Generation Foundation. Awarded on the basis of an open competition to authors of literary works in Russian who have not reached 35 years of age at the time of the award. Publishing houses, media, public organizations, participants in the literary process, as well as the authors of works themselves have the right to nominate. The total prize fund is 6 million rubles.

2. Literary Prize named after V. P. Astafiev

Established by the V. P. Astafiev Charitable Foundation (Krasnoyarsk). The prize is awarded regularly at the end of the year on the basis of a competition, the task of which is to identify and support the most talented young writers.

Any writer from 18 to 40 years old can take part in the competition for the prize; The competition covers the territory of the Russian Federation. Candidates are nominated in the following categories: prose, poetry, other genre (essays, critical, literary, cultural works that have independent artistic value), “Early Debut” (a special nomination for authors from 9 to 18 years old who have exceptional abilities in the field of artistic literature and who created original works worthy of the attention of readers while still at school).

The V.P. Astafiev Prize has a monetary value and is awarded together with the Diploma of the Prize laureate. V. P. Astafieva.

3. Russian National Literary Award “National Bestseller”

Established by a fund of the same name, which was formed by individuals, with the global support of Eurofinance Bank and the support of the United Financial Group.

Prose works that were first published in Russian during the past calendar year, or manuscripts, regardless of the year of creation, with a volume of at least 3–4 author's sheets(1 author's page is equal to 40 thousand characters or 700 poetic lines).

The motto of the award is: “Wake up famous.”

4. Annual All-Russian Literary Prize "Yasnaya Polyana"

The award was established in 2003 by the museum-reserve of the same name and the Samsung Electronics company.

The Yasnaya Polyana Literary Prize is awarded for the best work of art in a traditional form in three categories:

"Modern classic".
"XXI Century".
"Childhood. Adolescence. Youth" (works for children are considered).

Texts submitted for consideration should not have previously been awarded major literary prizes. Only published works can be nominated for the prize.

To date, the prize fund of the award is 2,100,000 rubles.

5. Literary Prize named after Ivan Petrovich Belkin

The prize is awarded annually for the best story in Russian. The story must be published for the first time in a magazine (newspaper) or as a book (for the first time) within a calendar year. The author's country of residence does not matter.

Publishing houses, editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, creative organizations, and literary critics have the right to nominate. Online publications and manuscripts cannot be nominated for the prize.

6. Annual literary award "NOS"

The award was founded in 2009 by the Mikhail Prokhorov Charitable Foundation “to identify and support new trends in modern literary literature in Russian.”

The Prize accepts prose texts of various artistic genres ranging from traditional novels to radical experimental prose, written and published in Russian in book and/or magazine/newspaper formats, as well as in electronic media.

Book publishing houses, mass media, creative unions and associations, and literary agencies have the right to nominate for the Prize.

The winner of the Prize receives an award in the amount of 700 thousand rubles and a figurine symbol of the Prize; Each finalist included in the short list receives 40 thousand rubles, and the reader's choice prize, which is awarded to the author of the work based on the results of voting on the Internet or a television show, is 200 thousand rubles.

As part of the award, there is a special project dedicated to children's literature: « Baby-NOSE". A work written for children aged 5 to 12 years can be nominated for the “Baby-NOS” award. Prose works published since January 1, 2000 in book and/or magazine/newspaper formats, as well as in electronic media, are accepted for consideration.

7. International short prose competition “White Tablet”

Founder: Zolotaya Strofa LLC. The annual international short prose competition has been held since 2010. The purpose of the award: “to identify and support talented authors writing stories, essays, miniatures in Russian; promoting their creativity within the target audience, providing them with the opportunity to publish their works; introducing publishers to new names in modern prose; financial support for the best authors in the field of short prose.” Awarded twice a year in four categories. The laureates are awarded a diploma of the award and a monetary reward.

Let’s try to roughly divide the competitions into three groups:
- prestigious literary awards: “Big Book”, “Booker”, “National Bestseller”, genre awards such as “Wanderer”, etc.
- competitions held by publishing houses, such as “Manuscript of the Year”;
- network competitions.

Prestigious literary awards

Prestigious literary awards are for published authors, have substantial prize pools, nice prizes to put on the shelf, and attract widespread media attention. Even being included in the longlist is already happiness and a reason to proudly announce this on the cover of the book. However, no award guarantees success with the reader.

It is very difficult to nominate yourself for such a competition, even if you published a book at your own expense - publishers, thick magazines or a panel of judges most often have the right to nominate.

Therefore, you can forget about these bonuses and calm down. It’s one of two things: either it will happen or it won’t, nothing depends on our efforts.

The exception is "Debut". But it has drawbacks - this is a prize for authors under 25-35 years of age.

Competitions held by publishing houses

These competitions are mainly intended for aspiring authors and give them a great chance to start a writing career and get some initial impetus.

There are no prizes in them or they are purely symbolic, but they have one big, simply huge plus.

These are, by definition, fair competitions. The organizer, who is also the publisher, is vitally interested in finding new talented authors, so attention is paid to each text. As far as I understand, such awards have two main tasks. Firstly, promotion of the author - attracting the attention of the media and attracting the attention of readers with the inscription on the cover “Award winner so-and-so.” Therefore, only the text determines everything. There is no point in giving a push to a mediocre text - it will be a waste of time and money. No matter how much you kick a hedgehog, it will not fly like a bird. Secondly, the fee of a beginning author in our time cannot serve as any significant incentive to write new works. But this recognition and moral support - they play their role.

Finally, this is one of the few chances to publish a non-format work.

My personal experience is very positive. Winning the Blogbuster competition allowed me to meet some amazing editors. Thanks to these acquaintances, my story was published, and the novel did not lie idle for months, but was read immediately, out of sequence. But you must understand that the victory of one text in the competition does not guarantee the publication of another; the only thing you can count on is attention to your application.

Then the novel became the winner of another publishing competition - “Manuscript of the Year”, thanks to which I already have something to fill the “Media about the novel” page on the book’s website.

Network competitions

Online competitions are exactly the case when participation is more important than victory. This will allow the novice author to save some time, since it will not allow him to step on the well-known rake.

Of course, not a single editor will take seriously your comment that the text took first place in the “Afftor, write escho” competition held by the “Young Star of Literature” portal.

The prize most often becomes a beautiful picture on which is written “Winner of such and such a competition.” You can hang it on your blog or website.

The main thing a novice author needs from an online competition is reviews, feedback and reviews. The chance of getting a review or at least a detailed review from the editor of the publishing house who rejected you is close to zero. The majority of blog readers will either write “Thank you,” or “Drink yada,” or remain silent.

If you're lucky enough to make it to the finals of an online competition, you can sometimes get a review from a pro. If not, you will get feedback from people who are interested in literary theory, read a lot, and share their impressions at length. This can be very useful to pay attention to your mistakes, shortcomings and advantages. At a minimum, someone will read your worst story to the end and rub your nose into at least one of the reasons for your failure. It's a kind of school.

You need to understand that online competitions are often won by strong “middle-of-the-road” stories—stories that are understandable and interesting to most judges, and that equally satisfy male and female tastes. In addition, long-standing competitions have their own established concepts of a good story. Those. You need to understand that the judges of any competition are a certain target audience, a cross-section.

There is some risk of running into a not entirely friendly public and getting bogged down in an angry skirmish or some other holivar. But it is only your choice whether to react to such things or not.

Finally, it is very interesting to be a judge of the competition. Therefore, do not be afraid of lynching competitions. Of course, it takes time, but what practice it gives! Firstly, you will feel partly in the shoes of an editor reviewing gravity and understand how to interest him. Secondly, you will easily notice a dozen logs that you could not see in your own eye. Thirdly, you will become familiar with a huge number of cliches, and you will know how to avoid them.

Where to find out about competitions

There is room for everyone to step forward. Now there are many writers, screenwriters and copywriters who have not yet established their positions in the creative environment. What to do if you have no special education and promising acquaintances, but you have already written one or two stories or scripts? Modern technologies help young and adult talents express themselves. You don't have to write on your desk and wait for a belated assessment of your creativity. You can already understand how in demand texts are.

Urban Legend competition for science fiction fans

Participation and victory in the “Urban Legend” competition will ensure the publication of the story in the collection of the “Contact” club, which was created by fantasy lovers. Club publications are sent to large libraries - this way you can get, firstly, official publication, and secondly, fame in the circles of literature lovers. Each winner will receive a copy of the collection by mail. There will be three prizes in the competition. Deadline March 15, prizes: publications and gift publishing.

Literary Award "Electronic Letter"

Receiving a prestigious literary award is important, especially for an aspiring writer. “Electronic Letter” is an award given to contestants who upload their books (printed in a standard Word file) to the portal. The works will be evaluated by an authoritative jury, consisting of Denis Dragunsky, Dmitry Bykov, Andrey Vasilevsky, Natalya Kochetkova, Sergey Chonishvili, Natalya Lomykina.

The Liters: Samizdat platform will help those who have already written a book earn money. Outside of the competition, you can upload your works to the site and track sales. The publisher will pay you a percentage, which can reach impressive amounts. Deadline March 15, prizes: literary prize, publication, percentage of book sales.

Grand for participation in the project “Cross-border journalism”

If you have an exciting research project in mind, you have the opportunity to fully recoup the costs and make a great statement. Bloggers, journalists and freelancers who are good with words can participate in the grand competition. While working on the project, participants will unite in a group and begin to create materials about pressing and interesting topics relating to many countries (Russia, the Baltic countries and Asia), their residents and current events. Thus, participants, with the help of mentors, will be able to create interesting materials and decide on further publication. Deadline March 4, prizes: payment of expenses, free mentoring, publications.

Studying at a summer media school in Prague

Thanks to the Boris Nemtsov Foundation, you can win free training with travel, accommodation and meals in Prague for 3 summer weeks. It is enough to go through two stages of selection: initial and interview via Skype. All those who are interested in correct and interesting coverage of current events are invited to cooperate: bloggers, copywriters, journalists.

To participate, you just need to plan a project, which experienced mentors will help you implement in Prague. Deadline April 1, prizes: free training, transfer, accommodation, meals and assistance in implementing the project.

“Russian Reporter” magazine and the “I am a Creator” competition

To participate in the “I am a Creator” competition, it is necessary to prepare material about the heroes of our time who take an active social position, are volunteers, or simply enter into an argument with injustice. There will be 6 winners. Deadline is March 15. Each winner will receive a cash reward and popularity.

Publishing house "Fiction" is looking for authors

For those writers who have finished working on a manuscript and don’t know where to go with it, applications to the publishing house “Chchivo” are open. Just make sure your manuscript meets the requirements and send it to the address provided on the site. Deadline: within a year. If successful, you will receive an official publication and earnings.

Literary competition "Red Nose"

All those who appreciate humor and are ready to submit their works in prose or poetry to the jury - act right now. There is still time to select works or write them from scratch. Deadline March 25, 2018, prizes: diplomas, bonus and cash reward.

Posted on by

Current literary competitions for 2019 for experienced and aspiring writers. Placed in accordance with deadlines (dates when the acceptance of works ends). The necessary information is indicated: nominations, age of participants, topics and genres, volume of accepted works.

The list of competitions is regularly updated and expanded!

International competitions 2019

31.01. Annual International Internet competition “Family Glory Page”. We accept works dedicated to wars and conflicts, pages from family history, compatriots-internationalists, and home front workers. This is a project for people of all ages and professions. Conditions: You must register on the site.

15.03. Literary competition"History and Legends". Everyone is welcome to participate. Prizes: diplomas, gifts, publication for the winners. Send work to: [email protected]. There are design requirements. Genres: historical novel or story, epic, fairy tale, folklore, epic, ballad, ode, poem, vision, science fiction, fantasy. Topics: “Smeda” (based on the legend of a brave Bulgarian woman named Smeda); "Sofrata".

31.03. Short Story Competition"From the great to the ridiculous." Participants: aged 14 years and over. Prizes: winning stories are broadcast on radio “Gomel Plus” on Saturdays and Sundays at 18.15, the names of the winners are announced weekly in the organizer’s social groups. Radio broadcast on the Internet on the website http://radiogomelplus.by.

01.04. International poetry competition. Humorous poetry is accepted. Anyone can participate without restrictions on age, nationality and citizenship - who writes in English. Prizes: money, publication.

15.04. International literary fantasy short story competition XXII "Flight of Fantasy". Requirements for stories: in Russian; only fantasy (but in the broadest sense!); size from 7000 to 40000 characters excluding spaces; previously unpublished (including on the Internet).

20.06. International literary competition "Petroglyph-2019". Goal: to draw attention to the topic of the heritage of culture, literature, history,
architecture, the North, the natural wealth of the regions of the Republic of Karelia. Age: 18+. Only works by living authors, in Russian, are accepted. Each participant can send 1 prose work
up to 20,000 characters with spaces, in the “Poetry” nomination – no more than 7 works. Prizes: diplomas, memorable gifts, possible publication in the almanac “Noon” or “North” (Petrozavodsk). Participants have the right to perform in one or more categories. Competition nominations:

Poetry
Realistic prose (short fiction)
Fantastic prose (short fiction)

31.12. Newspaper Awards“Literature and Art”:

Prize named after B. Mikulich - for the best publication of creative prose on the old pages of the newspaper “LIM”;
Prize named after A. Bachyly - for the most impressive and pathetic publication on the old pages of the newspaper “LIM”;
G. Berezkin Prize - for the best literary critical publication.

Works for participation in the competition are accepted in electronic form by the editors of the newspaper “Literature and Art” ( [email protected]) from January 1, 2019 with the marks “Prose”, “Poetry”, “Criticism”. Information about the results of the competition will be published in the newspaper “Literature and Art” no later than January 31, 2020.

You can also see which ones are held

If you have not yet decided whether to participate in competitions, this article may be useful:

P.S. Are you participating in literary competitions? What do they give you? Share your thoughts. And I wish you, colleagues, easy keys and nimble mice!

Do you have information about a literary competition for adults? Write to me by e-mail: [email protected].

63 comments

Oleg, if you do not have the opportunity to study at a literary institute, act on the principle of “learn from someone and somehow.” The main thing is your sincere desire and talent, but remember: the latter must be constantly developed. Read the classics, analyze, draw conclusions.

Maybe I should try it too? Actually, my only desire is to win. I could never afford to be somewhere behind someone's back. My story “The Long Road Home” has already occupied the souls and minds of many.
Ilgiz Akhmetov

- - As for whom, Alexander. For a very long time I did not dare to show my poems to other writers. It took me a fair amount of courage to decide for the first time and take them out of the table. And to the competition, where they will evaluate and compare, many still do not dare to send their creations.
    As for the dispute with the jury, I don’t see the point in it. You can, of course, express your opinion, tactfully and unobtrusively. But to criticize... They set the rules - they break them. And this, as I already said, is their problem. My conscience won't bother me. :)
    - “to a competition where they will evaluate and compare, many do not dare to send their creations.” Their doubts are incomprehensible. No one is shot for submitting works to the competition. But writing just to hide the manuscript in the table is pointless. It's like a singer with an opera voice performing in a dense forest. It’s just that no one explains to people what’s what.
      
      “As for the dispute with the jury, I don’t see the point in it. You can, of course, express your opinion, tactfully and unobtrusively. But to criticize... They set the rules - they break them.” There is a single literary theory that all experts must adhere to. If the jury violates the rules, it must be reported. If it does not know or deliberately does not indicate in the Regulations the criteria for evaluating works of art, it must be made sure that it knows and indicates. The main thing is to speak publicly, and not in private messages, to be as convincing as possible and to cast aside empty fears. Let me remind you of the words of director Sergei Bodrov: “He who has the truth behind him is the strongest.”
      - I understand both doubts and fears - because each of us has our own experience, and not always rosy. Another thing is that it is important to understand and admit that there is this problem and try to cope with it.
        As for the second paragraph... I was thinking: it’s probably a man’s job to rush into battle with a saber at the ready. Nowadays I simply prefer not to participate in competitions that cause confusion, are incomprehensible, seem unfair, etc. If everyone didn’t participate and ignored it, from my point of view, this would be the best protest. :)

Svetlana, good afternoon! Please tell me, my grandmother is 94 years old, she is a child prisoner, she wrote down her memories. I edited them and put them into a small brochure. I would like these memories of the terrible years of German captivity to reach the reader. Which competition do you think would be suitable? Grandma is very proud of her book, she often rereads it and cries...Thank you

Olga, I don’t know if there are competitions where brochures are accepted. But in the form of an essay you can submit it to the annual International Internet competition “Family Glory Page”. As far as I know, they print submitted works on their website. Also try submitting your manuscript to the national Big Book Award. Later, there is also a competition for the National Prize for Humanism in Art “For the Good of the World”, where you can also send your manuscript.
Remember that many competitions allow you to submit manuscripts that have not been published anywhere before.
You will receive more detailed information if you follow the links to the relevant sites.
If you are not specifically interested in competitions, but the goal is to give the world your grandmother’s work, you can publish it for free on the Liters or Ridero platforms.
Good luck!
- It is very difficult for a beginning author to break into the Big Book. If he does not have the book, he will have to send the manuscript, and this can only be done in paper copies. Even if there is a printer at home, there will be costs for paint, paper, parcel post (or even a parcel). The amount will be so high that you won’t want to participate in the competition. Add to it the real probability of losing, and you will understand that the game is probably not worth the candle. Even experienced writers cannot get into the Big Book. It’s not surprising - there the fight is for millions, and the selection is quite tough.
  - Alexander, the material costs for a manuscript in 1-3 copies are actually not that high. And if there is a goal, they are quite achievable. I’m used to not looking for reasons, but considering possibilities.
    I did not participate in the “Big Book”; I have no such experience. But if I had decided to send the manuscript there, I would have simply taken it and sent it, and let it be as it will. The game may well be worth the candle, if you look at it from a different angle. I think that you, Alexander, have already understood from my responses to your comments above.
    So, Olga, just choose competitions, prepare your manuscript, and submit. Grandma will already be pleased with your attention and efforts. Good luck to you and grandma!
    - “The material costs for a manuscript in 1-3 copies are actually not that great.” Svetlana, some are small, and some are big. What is good for a Russian is ruinous for a German. Before getting involved in an unpromising business, you need to weigh your options.
      
      “I didn’t participate in the Big Book, I don’t have that experience. But if I decided to send the manuscript there, I would just take it and send it, and then let it be what it will be.” If you are used to taking risks, please do not advise others to do the same. Many professional writers cannot even get on the longlist for this award. In addition to material costs, the participant faces another problem: the manuscript must be recommended by someone - usually either a writing organization or a publishing house.
      
      In my opinion, Olga should choose competitions where the demands on authors and works are not too high.
      - “If you are used to taking risks, please do not advise others to do the same.”
        Alexander, if you are used to giving instructions left and right, please don’t tell me what to write. It is my right to say what I think. And a person’s right is to do as he sees fit. Everyone has their own head on their shoulders. In addition, there is no need to distort what I said: I am not giving advice at all. They asked me - I answered as I saw fit.
        This is just about respecting the personality of the other person with whom you communicate. Because I find your tone unpleasant.
        As for expenses, I insist: printing 1-3 copies of the manuscript is a small expense for people who want to hold their book in their hands and are doing everything possible to do this. For those who are used to whining and whining, even if you pay, they will still find something to be dissatisfied with.
        In general, I am for positivity and for the position of the Master of life, not the Victim. That’s why I’m looking for options, and not endlessly shedding tears about unfulfilled dreams, bad surroundings, stupid weather and the fact that “they didn’t understand me... didn’t recognize me...” Not enough money? Look for how to make money. Whining definitely won't get them going.

I am writing “Tales from Zhora Mariupolsky.” This is an extensive anecdotal incident taken from life. This genre is closest to me. He started in the “Priazovsky Rabochiy” in the city of Mariupol. Published in various publications. I would like to collect it in a book. It’s expensive to publish yourself. You won't be able to speed up your retirement. I have no idea what to do!

Konstantin, try publishing the book in electronic version. You have Strelbitsky’s electronic publishing house in Ukraine (my book “Nymph and Hooligan” was published there). But I really liked the Russian publishing house Ridero the most: it’s easy to figure out what’s what, design the book yourself - completely free, if your knowledge and skills allow it, and also print it, from 1 copy to as many as you want. At the same time, the printed books are of excellent quality, I can say this, because... tested from my own experience. True, you have to pay for printed books, but, alas, charity is now a rare phenomenon, and, in my opinion, often even harmful. 🙂

Konstantin, for some reason it’s impossible to get to your site: I get a 404 error. That’s why I removed the URL of your blog.
- The most important thing is to understand what is more important for the author: to become a recognized writer or to publish a book because “I want it to be read.” Strelbitsky's publishing house is not suitable for the first version - it has poor editing. If the author just wants to stroke his vanity, then any samizdat will do. However, you need to be careful where they offer to sign a vague contract. This way you can fall into literary slavery or lose your copyright.
  
  “You have to pay for printed books, but, alas, charity is now a rare phenomenon, and, in my opinion, often even harmful.” A harmful phenomenon is when the author is not paid for his work, and when they try to extract money from him, this is already rudeness. If you want to earn money, share it with the author, because he also spends time and effort, he also needs to live on something.
  - You are right in many ways, Alexander. As for charity, even more so: I’m a writer myself, I know that. However, charity can still be “harmful”: I have seen books that not only have no artistic or other value, but are illiterate, “about nothing” - on expensive glossy paper. This kind of charity is pure harm (I won’t describe it). So those who want to help the author should first get acquainted with the work in which he is going to invest money, and perhaps consult with experts.
    - “However, charity can still be “harmful”: I have seen books that not only have no artistic or other value, but are illiterate. This kind of charity is pure harm. So those who want to help the author should first get acquainted with the work in which he is going to invest money, and perhaps consult with experts.” Svetlana, this is a well-known fact. Only a careless person would buy a suit without making sure that it can be worn. It also happens differently: a sponsor gives money for publication to a friend, relative or “needed” person, and, instead of reading the manuscript, asks for an autographed book. This is roughly how all junk ends up on store shelves. Or the unfortunate writer pays his money, if, of course, he is rich.
      - Without a doubt, Alexander. And these are also well-known facts. 🙂

MY POEMS
The secret of existence will be revealed to us.
Talented people of Art.
The writer's talent is thinking.
And the essence of thoughts is words.
Turn it into art.
A writer's talent is like revelation.
In the sincerity of feelings in words.
The talent of a writer is a story in a novel.
Beautiful gentle kind words.

I have a small question, as a person who has no experience in participating in competitions.
When an author submits his work to a competition, can’t he lose his work after the competition is over and someone uses his work, but on his own behalf? After all, it is impossible to trace the fate of a work, and when it is suddenly published under a different name, then, most likely, it will not be possible to restore justice... What to do, what can you advise?

The question of how to protect your work is always relevant. And, as I understand it, I have a new topic for a post. 🙂 Thank you.
As for your question (so as not to leave it completely unanswered now), I’ll suggest the following options offhand.
1. Post it on one of the sites on the Internet or publish it in the press. But (!) - such works are not always accepted for competition. Look at the conditions carefully.
2. Give the manuscript to several readers to read (for the court, these are quite excellent witnesses - if you have to prove something). Ask them to write reviews on social media or your blog.
3. You can also post an excerpt/excerpts from the work on Internet sites: you will hear your opinion and record the authorship.
- Thank you, Svetlana!
  The issue of authorship is not a simple one. Can I use a notary? Let's say I send my work to a competition with the mark “notarized”, as a kind of patent. How reasonable will this be from your point of view?
  - Fedor, I’m not sure that notaries provide such services. But ask: if a lawyer undertakes to draw up such a document, I think you will sleep more peacefully.

So, I sent my story to the competition... Now all I can do is wait. Of course, I have little faith in justice. But when you read it, I believe that everyone will receive a huge charge of patriotism, love of life and hope for this very justice.
“Memory is not just a cold stone on a godforsaken abandoned alley. This is the guiding star in our heart..."
Ilgiz Akhmetov.

Ilgiz, you probably don’t quite understand that I just give information about competitions - with links to primary sources, but I don’t work in any of them. Therefore, I’m unlikely to read your brilliant creation, which you sent to someone unknown.
Be careful when reading other people's texts and collecting information - it is your inattention that can become the reason for NOT winning. After all, it’s important to start by sending your texts to where they need to go, while complying with all the conditions. I wish you success.

“The time has passed when I criticized, pointed out, suggested - even if fairly, with knowledge of the matter and with respect for the individual.” Svetlana, it only seems to you that it has passed. This is what unscrupulous organizers and jury members of competitions are counting on. No criticism - no hassle, you can continue to fool inexperienced authors.

“Now I stick more to the advice ‘Don’t do good’.” It's a delusion. Good is valued at all times, and those who do not accept it are either fools or ungrateful people.

“The world is fair and sooner or later it sets its own accents.” The world is huge, but helpless, and without people it will not set any accents.

“The most important thing for me is participation in the competition, because I see this as one of the options for self-development. And winning is a great bonus, but not an end in itself.” There will be no development if the jury rewards mediocre works, and the participants are silent like fish. This is a vicious circle, not development.

“In my opinion, any disappointments are not from wrong decisions and not from who thinks what. In my opinion, disappointments arise when expectations do not match the result.” Wrong decisions, especially those of organizers or experts, lead everyone to a dead end. This is shown by practice and proven by logic, and it is natural that such a result gives rise to disappointment.

“The solution is to cancel expectations that do not depend on us!” If we come to terms with the lawlessness of the competition, the irresponsible organizers and jury will become completely insolent

“Self-development depends on me, but the results depend on other people and circumstances.” If the results are incorrect, this must be reported. Today one person made a mistake, tomorrow another, the day after tomorrow four more will make a mistake, and then our world will turn into one big mistake.

“I don’t chase these results, I don’t bet on them.” If you participate in a competition, this already means that you want to achieve results, and good ones at that.

“If they mess up, no one gets away with it, life has convinced me of this more than once.” I’ll tell you from my own experience: a screwed-up jury gets away with it precisely when no one declares: “You’re wet!”

“everyone gets a reality created with their own hands” Competition organizers really create reality with their own hands, and it does harm if they begin to cheat and hack.

“Everything is relative in the world! For example, you helped a friend and got him a job in your company. Having emerged from poverty, he began to destroy your company from the inside with his negativity. It seems like you did a good deed - good. And it turned out to be the collapse of your brainchild.” Well, everything is very simple here: if an employee does not cope with his tasks, he is either demoted or fired.

I read with interest everything you write on my blog, Alexander. But the more I read, the more I understand: you and I are on different wavelengths. In such cases it is difficult to come to a consensus. Or impossible. Therefore, I propose that everyone stay with their own opinion - with full respect for the opinion of the other. In my opinion, this is the ideal solution when the worldviews are completely different. 🙂
I will answer only on this point: “If you participate in a competition, this already means that you want to achieve results, and good ones at that.”
You are right, I want to achieve results, and good ones at that. But they do not depend on the jury's decision. Firstly, competitions motivate you to write - and this is often difficult for a person who works with other people’s texts all day. Secondly, for me it is also a test of “I can or cannot”, especially if I have to write on topics that are new to me. She won and became a laureate - a great bonus. That's why I have no disappointments. And I’m also sure: if negative things happen to me (I was deceived or insulted, for example), it means that I somehow created a situation in which this became possible.
By the way, when I felt like the master of my life, such negative situations began to happen much less frequently. 🙂

“It’s probably a man’s job to rush into battle with a saber at the ready.” Svetlana, in such matters there is no division based on gender. The main thing is attentiveness, knowledge and logic.

“Nowadays I simply prefer not to participate in competitions that cause confusion, are incomprehensible, seem unfair, etc.” It is not always possible to understand what kind of competition is in front of you. I have already published “symptoms” here, which should cause caution, but the situation finally becomes clearer after summing up the results. And even then, if the works of the winners are made public. Otherwise, there is nothing to compare your work with, that is, you cannot make a comparative analysis and determine whether the awarded work is really better.

“If everyone didn’t participate, if everyone ignored it, from my point of view, this would be the best protest.” In order for participants to understand what is happening, explanations will have to be given. And if you simply walk away in splendid silence, it will not help either you or your colleagues.

Judging is a subjective phenomenon: each person has his own experience, values, ideas, etc. And it’s simply impossible to please everyone, even if the jury tried to be as objective as possible. If only because the author himself is not always objective when it comes to his works.
I had to work with authors more than once, albeit not in competitions, but one on one. Oh, how different they are and how complex they are.
And I myself am an author. And I conclude: we must write, we must write. And time will put everything in its place.

Svetlana, what competitions would you recommend a 14-year-old child start with? My son wants to become a screenwriter. I want someone to look at his texts professionally. Issued a review. We like what he writes, but we are parents. We may not be objective.

Svetlana, unfortunately, I’m unlikely to be able to help you with anything. I choose competitions for adults, not for children and teenagers. But I think if you Google it, you can find these. You can also try to submit a script to the monoplay competition “MonoLIT” (until July 25) - it is in the list of this publication, you can follow the link to the organizers’ website: there are no age restrictions in this competition.
As for the texts, you can also show them to one of the writers, screenwriters, directors: they quickly grasp how suitable the text is for production. But it’s best, while the boy is still too young, to go with him to the regional creativity center and enroll in the appropriate club or studio. You can also try contacting your local newspaper.
I wish you success!

Do you want to loudly announce yourself to the world? Tired of peeing on your desk? It's time to throw off the shackles of uncertainty and demonstrate all that you are capable of! The online library of author's books website invites all young and beginners, as well as experienced and knowledgeable writers about real books, to take part in unique competitions of masters of the word and pen.

Literary competitions are fertile ground for aspiring writers, providing not only the opportunity to show their work to a wide range of readers, receive feedback, hear criticism, or earn approval and trust, but also compete for a cash prize! We regularly hold up to five competitions simultaneously, in which absolutely any author who considers himself a worthy competitor to other writers can submit an application to participate.

The most famous competitions for authors

If you love to write, your friends and loved ones read your works, but you believe that no publishing house will undertake to publish your work - cast aside your doubts! Our daily audience reaches several tens of thousands of readers, each of whom can see your novel, story or short story and vote for first place. In addition to the monetary reward, we offer the best author to sign an agreement with publishing houses that publish books by young writers in printed form. Agree that this is a good opportunity to wake up famous. This also applies to short stories; the best works are published in collections. Where else can you demonstrate to the public your brilliant talent and ability to deftly juggle words? Our large-scale competitions of literary talents light up bright stars every year!

The editors of the site hold competitions not only for book authors, but also for illustrators who are ready to invest a little of their own work into the production of unique works of modern literature. If you have a talent for creating deep images that reveal key moments in the plots of your author's books, you love to draw and want to prove that you are worthy of a major award - register in the illustrator competition and become the new winner of the annual ART Breakthrough Award!