SouthWest Writers stays active in the writing community by sponsoring annual contests and events that support, encourage, and reward writers of all experience levels.
Annual Writing Contest
SouthWest Writers holds a competition every year which challenges writers to create outstanding prose and poetry. Winners receive cash awards and the opportunity to be published in our annual Contest Anthology.
The 2026 SouthWest Writers Annual Writing Contest closed for submissions on June 8. Judges are hard at work scoring entries. Finalists will be informed of their status after judging has been completed. Awards will be presented during SWW’s annual business meeting on Saturday, October 10, 2026, and the winner’s anthology will be available for purchase at that time. Winners’ names will be posted on the SWW website after October 10.
ONGOING Monthly Sage News Challenges:
Every month Sage News, the SouthWest Writers newsletter, offers a challenge for SWW members to hone their skills in various writing styles. The results are published monthly on our website. Anthologies containing these stories, poems and other writing advice are created every few years with the best of the Sage. The 2024 anthology Kaleidoscope features prose pieces from 2019-2024.
To read Sage Challenge entries or participate in the challenges, check the Sage Challenge page the first week of each month.
Past Annual Contest Winners and Information
2025 Contest, 2024 Contest, 2023 Contest, 2022 Contest, 2021 Contest, 2020 Contest, 2019 Contest
Past SWW Writing Competitions/Challenges
2004–2014 Annual Writing Contests
2010–2015 Bimonthly Writing Contests — short stories and poetry