14 creative awards and competitions you can still enter this year

Location: Global
Deadline: 14 July 2025
Fee: Free to enter
Prize: Up to £1,000

Founded in 1903, The Burlington Magazine is a leading art publication dedicated to contemporary art. Its annual art writing prize aims to discover talented writers with no more than six published pieces – so it’s definitely geared towards aspiring creatives. To apply, entrants should submit one unpublished review of a contemporary art exhibition that took place within the last six months. There’s no age limit and it’s free to enter.

Location: UK
Deadline: 14 July 2025
Fee: From £15
Prize: Up to £700

Want a springboard to help you progress your photographic career? The Association of Photographers has an award for you. Whether it’s stills or moving images, the AOP Emerging Talent Awards welcomes a wide range of works from photographers and image makers who have been practising their craft for less than three years. The prize includes a tailored AOP membership package, one-to-one portfolio reviews, a showcase exhibition and a feature in the AOP’s collectable awards book.

Location: UK
Deadline: 18 July 2025
Fee: Free to enter
Prize: £20,000 cash prize, £30,000 commission

Stonewater, a housing provider in the UK, launched the Blunden Prize to find creatives that could produce public artwork as a focal point for their new housing developments. This year, they’re calling for artists from all disciplines to put forward their ideas for an art installation in Northamptonshire. Winners will receive a cash prize of £20,000 and be allocated a budget of £30,000 to produce their piece.

Location: Global
Deadline: 20 July 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Showcase

Our sister publication, It’s Nice That, is as passionate about championing the next generation of creatives as we are. That’s why they’ve launched their Ones to Watch showcase: a curated line-up of emerging creatives making their way into the industry. They’re looking for people who have been in the industry professionally for a year or less – specifically, those working with visual arts and multidisciplinary mediums. It’s completely free to apply and winners will be showcased on It’s Nice That’s platform.

Location: UK
Deadline: 21 July 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: A Kindle Paperwhite, vouchers and memberships

In celebration of the poet Benjamin Zephaniah, Birmingham City University is back again with its Future Writers Award. This year, the theme centres on the environments, the impact of nature on their everyday life and the importance of looking after the planet. Winners will have their poems featured as part of a nature trail at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and get features in the Future Writers Winners Anthology.

Location: Global
Deadline: 21 July 2025
Fee: £10
Prize: Showcase and portfolio reviews

Ever colourful and intriguing, the Cheltenham Illustration Awards is open to submissions about the strange, the surreal and the shadowy. “Tales of the Uncanny” calls for illustrators to give their best visual interpretations of uncanny narratives – be it ghost stories, twisted folklore or imaginative unease. The competition has been running for 18 years now by the University of Gloucestershire’s Pittville Press and winners will get the chance to have their portfolios reviewed by industry specialists on top of being part of an exhibition showcase.

Location: UK
Deadline: 25 July 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Publishing contract

Imagine being under the wing of the same imprint that publishes Stephen Fry, Marian Keyes and Jamie Oliver. Well, that could very well happen if you enter Penguin Michael Joseph’s Undiscovered Writers’ Prize. The imprint of Penguin Books is in the third year of this competition, which aims to find new authors from underrepresented backgrounds. This year, they’ll be awarding a publishing contract to an aspiring horror author – so get spooky!

Location: Gloucestershire
Deadline: 31 July 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Up to £1,000

The Laurie Lee Prize for Writing is for anyone who has not previously published a full-length work and who resides – or was born in – Gloucestershire. Created by Gloucestershire novelist Katie Fforde in association with Stroud Book Festival, it honours the work of poet Laurie Lee and is open to writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. This year’s theme is on “Journeys” and prize-winners will be recognised at the Stroud Book Festival.

Location: UK
Deadline: 11 August 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Up to £2,000

Open Doors Gallery’s ethos is all about discovering, promoting and showcasing early career photographers. Returning for its fifth year, this competition continues that mission by focusing on uplifting emerging artists working within the first ten years of their practice. Winners receive a cash prize, a listing amongst the gallery’s roster of artists for at least a year and a showcase at a group exhibition in London.

Location: Global
Deadline: 15 August 2025
Fee: £10
Prize: Up to £1,000

Submissions are open for the Bournemouth Writing Prize, an annual international short story and poetry competition run by Bournemouth University. They’re looking for passionate storytellers and original poets, but they’re open to hybrid forms and experimental innovations too. Plus, for their 10th anniversary, they’re tripling the prize money on offer.

Location: UK
Deadline: 29 August 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Up to £500

Do you enjoy classical music? The RPS Young Classical Writers Prize would love for you to tell them why. Created to encourage young people to delve into classical music, it aims to provide people with a platform to express themselves freely and imaginatively. You don’t have to have prior experience in music writing to apply and they even have a set of tips to guide you along, so go on and give it a shot.

Location: Dorset
Deadline: 31 August 2025
Fee: From £15
Prize: Up to £500

Dorset Visual Arts, in partnership with Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, has launched a brand-new major open art competition. It calls for submissions from artists and makers across all disciplines and wants to see work that either captures the essence of the Dorset region or explores their relationship to the area. Selected finalists will have their work exhibited in a professionally curated show at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery.

Location: UK
Deadline: 1 September 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Showcase

Yay! The Young Animator of the Year (YAY) competition is back. The contest strives to discover the best animators in the UK aged 11 to 22 and has three categories: stop motion, hand drawn and computer animation. The theme this year is “Unexpected” and winners will be announced at Manchester Animation Festival.

Location: Global
Deadline: 28 August 2025
Fee: £29
Prize: Showcase

The Shiny Awards aim to provide new and diverse filmmakers with the visibility, connections and confidence to get into advertising. Entries are welcome from up-and-coming directors based anywhere in the world – and while entries can be of any genre (including TikTok videos!) each should be under five minutes. Previous winners have gone on to make hit feature films, primetime TV dramas and large-budget commercials.

Location: Hackney
Deadline: 5 September 2025
Fee: Free
Prize: Up to £2,000

This one is for you East Londoners: Kingsland Shopping Centre is getting a fresh new look and they’re calling on Hackney residents to help reimagine its visual identity. To enter, applications have to create a new logo and original lettering that reflects the spirit of the area. The winning designer will receive £2,000 and have their work featured prominently in this iconic East London destination.