My Novel

My Novel

UK Poetry Competitions (currently 35)

Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition.  This monthly contest from the glossy magazine Writers’ Forum is for poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing: Monthly.  Entries arriving too late for one month go forward to the next.
    Prizes: 1st - £100.  Runners-up - A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
    Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter.  Includes a free critique (sae required if entering by post).
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Whidbey Writing Competition.  This contest from Whidbey Writers Workshop in the USA is open worldwide and is for fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and writing for children or young adults.  Up to 1,000 words.  I should point out that they have a rather strange - and if I may say so lazy - way of selecting a winner for this one.  The judge reads submissions until he or she finds one that ‘knocks his/her socks off’.  Never mind that the next one might have divested the judge of his/her pants and woolly vest, the remaining entries are tossed aside without so much as a glance.  However, you can submit you entry again if it isn’t selected (try to get it in early, as entries are read in order of submission).
    Closing: Monthly.
    Prize: $50.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

And now a word from our sponsor.  Hello.  I’m Michael Shenton, creator of this website and author of Stiff Competition, winner of the Peter Pook Humorous Novel Competition.  People who are looking for me through search engines can remember just about everything about the website save its name and, more distressingly for me, my name. They search for ‘Peter Pook author’, ’the man who wrote Peter Pook’, ‘that bloke who won the cars’ and all manner of other odd things, but never ‘Michael Shenton’. The sole purpose of this site is to get my name known in the hope that one day dozens of people will buy my current novel and any others I manage to get published.  So would you all kindly make a note of it.  Michael Shenton.  Thank you.

Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award.  Entries for ths one should comprise 10 poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing: Bi-annually (end of June and November).
    Prize: £100 and your collection published.
    Entry Fee: £16 per batch of ten (includes a free copy of the winners’ anthology).
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Flash 500 Humorous Verse Competition.  Any kind of humorous verse up to 30 lines is required for this one.
    Closing: 30.3.12, 30.6.12, 30.9.12, 31.12.12.
    Prizes: £150, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3 for the first, £2.50 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dear Michael
   I discovered your excellent site a few months back and entered some of the poetry competitions. I have in all my long years never received a payment for anything I have written, but I today received an email from Cooldog Publications to say I have won second prize in their E-mag Poetry Competition! £50! What a great way to start the new year.
   I just had to write and say thanks to you for the trouble you have taken with your site and how much I appreciate the sense of humour that underpins it.
  This has given me a terrific boost.
                                                                                -  Carol Browne

Envoi International Poetry Competition.  This one, from the well-known though small magazine Envoi, is for poems up to 40 lines.
    Closing: 20th February each year.
    Prize: Poetry books to the value of £150, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee : £3.00 per poem or 5 for £12.00.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dear Michael

Just to let you know I’ve been entering writing competitions for several years and this year came second in the 19^th Feile Filiochta International Poetry Competition. Hurrah! I probably wouldn’t have heard about it but for your site (and I still don’t know how to say it). I don’t even consider it one of my better poems – but it was free to enter. It just goes to show that literary competition judges have to be very subjective in the end, so it’s worth carrying on even when you don’t feel that confident. Anyway, I’m off to spend my winnings of 500 euros (that’s very nearly £375 in real money). Keep up the good work!
     Here’s a link to the poem that won the prize
      All the best - Clare Kirwan

Strictly Shakespeare Writing Competition.  Strictly speaking you don’t have to be Shakespeare to enter this one.  Nor do you have to write like Shakespeare.  In fact, as far as I can make out, you don’t even have to have read Shakespeare.  It’s got nothing to do with Shakespeare really, although of course Shakespeare did write things.  The contest requires you to write something (prose or poetry) in response to prompts posted on the News page on the first of each month,  You will have 14 days to submit your entry, which will then be displayed on the website, whereupon visitors will decide the winners.
    Closing: 14th of each month.
    Prizes (3): A share of the entry fees.
    Entry Fee: £1.
    Comp Page: Click Here

Dear Michael,
     I just wanted to tell you that I won first prize in the Charnwood Arts' miniWords Poetry Competition (£250), so thank you very much for that!
                                                                               -  Mary Whitsell

Hello Michael
     I've just won the Telegraph's 'Just Back' Travel Writing Competition, which I heard about on your site. Thank you yet again for providing this service to writers.
     It's a good thing I don't have to tell you about all the competitions I entered but didn't win, isn't it?  But all the rejections only make the wins that much sweeter!
                                                                                                  -   Mary Whitsell

SLQ Poetry and Short Story Competition.  This one from Sentinal Literary Quarterly is for poems of up to 40 lines and stories of up to 1,500 words.  Any subject or style.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes (in each category): £150, £75, £50, 3 x £10.  Winners and runners-up will be published in Sentinel Champions magazine.
    Entry Fees: Poetry: £3 each, £12 for five.  Stories: £5 each, £9 for two, £12 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael
     I discovered your website last year and entered lots of comps - no prizes in 2008. This year I decided just to enter The Trowell and District Writers Trust competitions - again directed from your site and also in the hope of bettering my marks compared to my entries last year.
     I am delighted to say I went along to the Presentation yesterday and received 1st prize in the Open Poetry competition - a lovely certificate, a shield and some prize money.
     I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon which had a "Stand and Deliver" poetry competition as well as a raffle, refreshments, sales of Members poetry, and time to chat and get to know people.
     The comps are great - all entries receive a mark and a short critique - I found all these helpful and encouraging. I feel I have new friends and a lovely day to look back on.
                                                                                -  Kate Brumby

Lumen/Camden Poetry Competition 2012.  This charity contest from Ward Wood Publishing is for poems of up to 40 lines.  Poet Lauriate Carol-Ann Duffy will be judging.
    Closing: 14.2.12.
    Prize: Your poetry published in a short, 20-page collection, with 50 free copies.
    Entry Fee: £2.50 each, £10 for six.  All proceeds go to two London Homeless Cold Weather Shelters.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Norwich Writers’ Circle Open Poetry Competition.  The Man in the Moon, according to the old rhyme, was keen to get to Norwich, so there must be something interesting about the place, but unfortunately I’m bereft of the details.  That being the case, I will just say in conclusion that the contest is for poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing: 21.2.12.
    Prizes: £300, £150, £75.  Seventy poems will be chosen for the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Staffordshire Poetry Competition 2012.  This one from Staffordshire Libraries and Stafford District Arts Council is for poems of up to 40 lines.  These can be on any subject.  The contest is open to all ages and you don’t have to live in Staffordshire to enter.  Michael Hulse will be judging.
    Closing: 28.2.12.
    Prize: £1,000.  There is also a prize of £100 for the best poem with either the title ‘Arcadia’ or ‘Olympics’.
    Entry Fee: £4 for the first, £3 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Grace Dieu Writers’ Circle Poetry Competition.  This annual contest is for poems of up to 40 lines.  As the entry form (accessed from the competition page) doesn’t give the entry address, I’d better mention that all is revealed on the General Rules page.  Most of you will check all the rules automatically, I know, but believe it or not there are some misguided scribes who never do.  This is why you will sometimes see a chap in a frock collecting a prize at an awards ceremony after finding out from the congrats letter that the contest is for women only.  Others may be disqualified for stapling their manuscripts or not using the right sort of envelope.  Now and again these booby traps do turn up in the fine print, and I don’t always have time to seek them out when listing the contest.
    Closing: 28.2.12.
    Prizes : £500, £200, £100, £75, £50.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £12 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Anniversary Gifts by Year Poetry Competition. This annual contest is for happy anniversary poems.  Entries will be published on the website so that visitors can vote for their favourites.  The poems with the most votes win the prizes.
    Closing: 29.2.12.
    Prizes: $100, $50, $50.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael,
     Thanks for a very useful website. Since finding the contact details on your site, I've won the Txtlit competition twice, and the Write Invite competition four times. With the prize money I'm now entering other competitions. Thanks for keeping us writers posted!
     Best regards, Uta Coutts

Thynks Publications Poetry Pamphlet Competition.  This is for collections of up to 25 pages (max 40 lines per page) on the theme of Memories.
    Closing: 29.2.12.
    Prizes: 1st - Publication of the winning collection plus £25.  2nd & 3rd - £25.  A selected poem from each of the winning submissions will be published in the Bards of Blidworth 2012 Anthology.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Prole Laureate Poetry Competition.  This one from Prole, a print magazine that publishes high quality prose and poetry, is open worldwide and is for poems in any form and on any subject (also any length).
    Closing: 1.3.12.
    Prizes : 1st - £130.  Runners-up (2) - £25.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £5 for two, £7 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Cardiff International Poetry Competition.  A poem of up to 50 lines could earn you some useful spending money in this annual event, but they do get rather a lot of entries, so don’t book that celebratory cruise just yet.  For those of you who care about such things, the contest carries a certain amount of prestige in the snooty world of poetry.  Judges this year are Sinead Morrissey and Patrick McGuinness, with Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch doing the filtering.
    Closing: 2.3.12.
    Prizes: 1st - £5,000.  2nd - £500.  3rd - £250.  Runners-up - 5 x £50.  A selection of winning poems will be published in New Welsh Review.
    Entry Fee: £6.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Christopher Tower Poetry Prize 2012 .  This annual contest from Christ Church, Oxford, is open to full- or part-time UK students between the ages of 16 and 18.  It is for poems of up to 48 lines on the theme of Voyages.
    Closing: 2.3.12.
    Prizes: £3,000, £1,000, £500.  The school/college of each winner will also receive a cash prize.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Jane Martin Poetry Prize.  To enter this one from Girton College, Cambridge, you submit up to four poems covering in total no more than four sides of A4 paper.  They do not explain their own particular definition of ‘covering’ but I suspect it does not mean covering the page from edge to edge in 4-point Squinty Condensed.  In my expeience Judges, like editors, prefer to see decent margins and are not keen on reading through magnifying glasses.  I will say no more.
    Closing: 16.3.12.
    Prize: £1,500 plus the opportunity to give a reading at a high-profile poetry event where the prize will be awarded.  If you choose not to take part in this reading event/ordeal, the prize money will be converted into alcoholic beverages and consumed by the students, most of whom will be expelled for outrageous behaviour.  Do you really want that on your conscience?
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Fish International Poetry Competition.  This annual contest from Fish publishing in Ireland is for poems of up to 200 words on any theme and in any style.
    Closing: 30.3.12.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  2nd - A week at the Anam Cara Writers’ & Artists’ Retreat in West Cork, Ireland, with 300 euros travelling expenses.  The best ten poems will be publishing in an anthology and the writers will receive five complementary copies.
    Entry Fee: Online - 14 euros.  Postal - 16 euros.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dor Kemmyn Poetry Competition.  Dor Kemmyn is a visionary proposal for an interfaith centre in Cornwall whose aim will be to bring people together from different faiths and find common ground for the future well-being of all.  The contest theme is Belonging - but entries must not be long.  There is a limit of 40 lines.  Anyone aged 15 or over can enter.
    Closing: 31.3.12.
    Prizes: 1st - £100.  There will be a second and third prize, but these are as yet unspecified (probably Cornish pasties).
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Entries to: info@dorkemmyn.org.uk
    Comp Page: Click Here.

PSSMS Olympics Micropoetry Competition.  This is for micro poems about your favourite microwave oven.  Oh no it isn’t.  The subject is the Olympics.  Poems must not exceed 160 characters including spaces.  ‘PSSMS’, incidentally, stands for ‘Poetry Society for Social Media and SMS’.  Bet you’ve never heard of that before.
    Closing: 31.3.12.
    Prizes: 1st - A Kindle ebook reader.  Runners-up (2) - prizes to be announced.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  Your can enter up to five poems.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Awel Aman Tawe Poetry Competition.  Poet Lauriate Carol Ann Duffy, one of the judges for this contest from Wales, is quoted as saying, ‘Climate change is what everyone needs to be focussing on.’  Couldn’t have put it better myself.  Well, I could.  I could have said, ‘Everyone needs to be focussing on climate change.’  But let’s not quibble.  Climate Change is the theme, and you should focus on this until you have produced up to 40 lines.  You may write your thoughts in English or Welsh.  If you write in the latter, your work will be judged by someone called Elin ap Hywel.  You’ve probably never heard of him (or her), and if you insist on writing in Welsh, no one will ever have heard of you.  On the other hand, if you write in English, you will be judged by Carol Ann Duffy.  Jeeze, you can’t win, can you?
    Closing: 31.3.12.
    Prizes: Adult (for each language) - £500, £100, £50.  Children (for each language) - £50, £30, £20.
    Entry Fee: Adult - £3 each, £10 for four.  Children - £1 each, £3 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael
     I spent a year or so reading all those comments on your website from people who, since consulting your list, seem have won just about every competition going. I read it and thought it must be too good to be true – but worth a try. Then, on my third submission, I have actually gone and won the Yeovil Literary Prize for Poetry. I am absolutely over the moon, unable to believe it, etc.  Thank you so much.
                                                                                   -  Andy Miller

Onward Writing Competition.  This annual contest in support of Theatre Royal Onward, (a registered charity concerned with the restoration and running of an Edwardian theatre in Hyde, Cheshire), is for stories of up to 1,200 words and poems of up to 40 lines.  It is open to anyone aged 16 or over.
    Closing: 1.4.12.
    Prizes: £50, £30, £20.  Winners will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £5 for two, £9 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Buxton Poetry Competition.  This annual contest from the High Peaks, presented by Buxton Festival and the University of Derby, is for poems of up to 40 lines on the subject of ‘Welcome to Britain’.  I think you are meant to take a positive stance on this rather than an ironic one, as it’s intended to celebrate the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  One of the patrons is ex-Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion who used to judge these things before he got his knighthood.  Now, presumably, he is too busy waving at the cheering crowds as he glides by in his cheuffeur driven Rolls.
    Closing: 6.4.12.
    Prizes: Open Category (19 and over) - £300, £200, £100.  Young People (12 - 18) and Children’s categories - book tokens.  The 15 finalists will be invited to an Awards Event at the Devonshire Dome during Buxton Festival 2012.  Their entries will be displayed at the Dome throughout the Festival (7 - 25 July 2012).
    Entry Fee: Open Category (19 and over) - £5.  Young People and Children - free.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Fylde Brighter Writers Circle Short Story & Poetry Competition.  I spent a couple of years of my childhood living on the Fylde coast, so I can tell you with confidence that this contest comes from Lankisheer.  It is for stories of up to 2,500 words and poems of up to 60 lines.  In the previous contest two years ago they invited poems of any length.  They are probably still ploughing through some of them.
    Closing: 28.4.12.
    Prizes: Stories - £200 plus trophy, £50, 3 x £25.  Poetry - £100 plus trophy, £50, 2 x £25. Winners will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fees: Stories - £5 each, £10 for three.  Poems - £3 each, £5 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Ver Poets Open Poetry Competition.  Here is another familiar face in the competitions crowd.  It comes from a poetry group in St Albans.  Anything goes as far as the subject is concerned, but confine your efforts to 30 lines or fewer.
    Closing: 30.4.12.
    Prizes: £600, £300, £100.  Winners and other selected poems will be published in the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three, £2 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Poetic Republic Poetry Prize.  This contest, which is supported by Arts Council England, is for poetry (or ‘prose poetry’) of up to 42 lines on any subject.  Entrants are required to judge the competition themselves, as detailed on the website.  Unfortunately you don’t get to judge your own entry.  No, hang on, maybe you do.  It says that in the third round everyone reads the 12 shortlisted poems, so it seems that if you are on the shortlist, you assess your own poem along with the other eleven.  Will twelve poems tie for first place?  We’ll have to see.
    Closing: 30.4.12.
    Prizes: Single Poem - £2,000.  Portfolio (two entries) - £1,000.  The best work from the contest will be published in an ebook.
    Entry Fee: £7 per poem.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The Rialto/RSPB Nature Poetry Competition .  This one from independent poetry magazine The Rialto is for nature poetry of up to 40 lines.  The term ‘nature poetry’ will, they say, be given a very wide interpretation by the judges.  One of these judges is none other than former Poet Lauriate Andrew Motion.
    Closing: 30.4.12.
    Prizes: £1,000, £400, £300.
    Entry Fee: £6 for the first, £3 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2012.  This annual postal contest from California (actually a lane in Baldock, Hertfordshire) is for poems of up to 50 lines.
    Closing: 30.4.12.
    Prizes: £500, £200, £100.   Best Sonnet: £100
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for 4, £2.50 thereafter in the same submission (cheques payable to 'Ware Poets Competition').
    Entry Address: The Competition Secretary, Ware Poets Competition 2012, Clothall End House, California, Baldock, SG7 6NU.

Thynks Publications International Open Poetry Competition.  For this one it seems there is no limit on length other than the one imposed by a need not to bore the nether garments off the judges.
    Closing: 30.4.12.
    Prizes: £100, £50, £25.  Winners will be published on the website.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Southport Writers’ Circle International Poetry Competition.  I used to live just up the road from Southport.  It was a cultural void back then, often referred to as the poor man’s Blackpool.  But not any more.  These days, in addition to its renowned flower show (‘a horticultural hotbed’) it has a writers’ circle and an international poetry contest.  Some are now calling Blackpool the poor man’s Southport, although admittedly not many.  The contest requires poems of up to 40 lines.  Alison Chisholm will be judging.
    Closing: 30.4.12..
    Prizes: £200, £100, £50.  Humour Prize - £25.  Local Prize - £25.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Grey Hen Press Poetry Competition.  Women who are prepared to admit to being over sixty can enter this one from Grey Hen Press with a poem of not more than 40 lines.
    Closing: 30.4.12.
    Prize: £100.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

East Grinstead Jubilee Literary Competition.  This one from East Grinstead Town Council is open to anyone who lives or works in, or has a connection to, Sussex.  It is for poems and short stories.  Poems can be humorous or serious and should extend to no more than 40 lines.  The theme should be something connected to Sussex or the Queen’s Jubilee and should contain one of the following words: service, reign, queen, soldier, sixty, Sussex, England.  The stories have a word limit of 1,000 and should begin with one of the first lines shown on the comp page, one of which is the unlikely: ‘She had no umbrella, so the Queen caught up her collar, glad to hide her face from the rain and from the few stragglers lingering in the thin drizzle ...’  To which you might add, ‘Where’s that chap I pay to carry the brolly?’ she muttered.  ‘I’ll sack the useless bugger when I find him.’
    Closing: 1.5.12.
    Prizes (in each category): 1st - £100 and a commemorative Jubilee plaque.  2nd - £50 and commemorative Jubilee plaque.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Bridport Prize.  This is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.  Everyone in the trade whose mind is not addled by drugs has heard of it, and they will be impressed if you can claim to have won it.  The good news is that winning it is easy.  All you have to do is submit the best poem or short story, the former having no more than 42 lines, the latter running to no more than 5,000 words.   For those who find 5,000 words too tiring to write there is now a flash fiction category for stories of up to 250 words (if that’s too much, consider becoming a poet).  This year’s judges are Gwyneth Lewis (poems) and Patrick Gale (stories).  Writers from beyond the veil should note that the Bridport rules forbid posthumous entries.  Shame: the awards ceremony would be so much more interesting with a couple of ghosts in attendance.
    Closing: 31.5.12.
    Prizes: In each of the main categories (Short Stories, Poems) - £5,000, £1,000, £500.  There are also ten runners-up prizes of £50.  These are called ‘supplementary prizes’ to make you feel less like an also-ran.  There is in addition a special prize of £100 and a perpetual trophy for the highest placed writer from Dorset.  Prizes in the Flash Fiction category are £1,000, £500, £250, plus three supplementary awards of £25.  The top 13 short stories will be entered for the National Short Story Prize worth £15,000, and the Sunday Times Short Story Award worth £30,000.  The top four poems will be entered for the Forward Prize.  All winners will be invited to an awards ceremony on October 14 at the Bridport Open Book Festival.
    Entry Fees:Poems - £7.  Short Stories - £8.  Flash Fiction - £6.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Yeovil Literary Prize.  This is the ninth of these international contests from Yeovil, the literary capital of the West Country where even the sheep appreciate poetry.  I once read out some of my verses on a Yeovil sheep farm and the verdict was ‘Baaa!’ - which in sheepspeak means ‘brilliant’  I got some of my best reviews that day.  The contest has three categories: Short Story, Poetry, Novel.  The stories can run to 2,000 words, while the poems should be no more than 40 lines.  Novels have a limit of 15,000 words for the opening chapters and synopsis.
    Closing: 31.5.12.
    Prizes: Short Story - £500, £200, £100.  Poetry - £500, £200, £100.  Novel - £1,000, £250, £100.  In addition there is the Western Gazette Best Local Writer Award someone living in Dorset or Somerset.  It isn’t worth moving down there however as the prize is only £100 plus a trophy.
    Entry Fee: Short Story - £5.  Poetry - £5 each, £8 for two, £10 for three.  Novel - £10 each.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Frogmore Poetry Prize 2012.  This annual contest is run by Frogmore Press which was founded in 1983 in the Frogmore tearooms in Folkestone.  Well, what else can you do in Folkestone?  I know: you can fall in the sea, a feat I managed at the age of 8.  Will I ever forget that day?  Unlikely, for I had the misfortune to be rescued by my two sisters.  ‘No, no - let me drown!’ I cried.  ‘I’ll never be able to face my mates again.’  But I had the ice cream money in my pocket and my pleas were ignored.  I later wrote a poem about the shame of it all but it would have been too long for this contest because it ran to 360 lines.  The line limit here is 40.
    Closing: 31.5.12.
    Prize: 1st - 200 guineas.  Classy.  You also get a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers .  2nd - 75 guineas and a year’s sub to the Papers.  3rd - 50 guineas and a year’s sub.  Shortlisted poets will receive selected Frogmore Press publications (Frogs.  More Frogs.  Even More Frogs. Frog Recipes.  Stop.  Come back.  I’m joking.  They publish poetry - and none of it about frogs).
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

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Notes: Unless otherwise stated in the rules, poetry should be single-spaced.  It is sometimes the case that your name shouldn’t appear on the manuscript. Check the rules.  If you put your name on there after being told not to, you’re out.  Don’t use coloured paper or fancy fonts.  The colour and pizzazz to make you stand out from the crowd should be in the words.  Plain white A4 80gsm paper is the stuff to use, with plain black typing or print.  My preferred font for poetry manuscripts printed on an inkjet or laser printer is Gill Sans in 12 point (13 if I’m not pressed for space).  This gives a clear, dark print that’s easy to read.  Although publishers and agents sometimes demand the feeble Courier font, which comes out on my printers like something produced by a typewriter with an antique ribbon, I’ve never known competition organisers to express any preference.  But as always, check the rules.  Finally, write on one side of the sheet only - unless asked to put your address, etc, on the back.
 

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Disclaimer

For other types of writing competitions, see the full list of literary contests on my Writing Comps page.