The Leaky Cauldron writes:

Thanks to all the readers who mailed about the new contest the Miami Herald is holding asking fans to write their own final chapter to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” In 300 words or less, submissions entered by June 21 from those 18 years and younger may be the winners of a free copy of the last Harry Potter book as well as free tickets to an advance screening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Along with Herald columnist Sue Corbett, the judge for this contest will be noted (and very funny) author Dave Barry. Good luck!

Link

There are three contest deadlines from the New Letters magazine coming up, each with a prize of $1,500 and publication in the magazine.

Entries must be postmarked by May 18 (this Friday).

Awards:
Alexander Patterson Cappon Fiction Prize: $1,500 for the best short story
New Letters Poetry Prize: $1,500 for the best group of three to six poems
Dorothy Churchill Cappon Essay Prize: $1,500 for the best essay

Link to the New Letters website for more information.

From This Is North Scotland:

Aberdeen University has been accused of dumbing down by allowing secondary pupils to use text language in a literature competition.

The What’s the Story competition asked them to enter stories in the language they felt most comfortable with, including abbreviated language used in text messages on mobile phones.

There were no entries entirely in text-message form, but some included phrases like "c u later".

Full story here.

• Entry fee: $5 for the first poem, $3 for each additional poem.
• Poems must not have been published in a nationally-distributed print publication.
• No entry form required. Put your name and address on each page (email and phone optional)
• Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for notification of the results.
(Outside U.S., just a self-addressed envelope. No IRC required.) No entries will be returned.
• Make checks payable to Atlanta Review. Checks in your national currency are acceptable
at the current exchange rate. We also accept uncancelled stamps from your country.
• Entries must be postmarked by May 11, 2007. (The postmark is all that matters.
Don’t waste money on express mail–buy a subscription instead!)

Despite having a site which sports one of the worst web designs I’ve seen in a while, the grand prize is a respectable sum of $2,007.

Link (via the Poets & Writers, inc. contest calendar)

The Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize will be judged by Wally Lamb this year. Lamb is the author of She’s Come Undone and Oprah Book Club selection I Know This Much Is True, and served as editor of the best-selling Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, an anthology of stories written by female inmates at Connecticut’s only maximum-security prison for women. The deadline for the Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize is June 1, 2007. The prize awards $1,000.00 and publication. For complete guidelines, click here.

Two honorable mentions also receive prizes of $100 each.  Entry fee is $15.

Via the Poets & Writers, inc. contest calendar

Writer’s Digest online is offering 101 people the opportunity to win great prizes in one of ten writing categories with their 76th Annual Writing Competition. Writers of children’s fiction, poetry, movie scripts and more will compete with their short entries for a chance to win $3,000 cash and a trip to New York.

Unlike other contests that offer just a few prizes, this one is offering 101! Your chances to get recognized are great, so don’t delay in polishing your entry.

Title: Writer’s Digest Writing Competition
Award: Grand-100th place prizes offer cash, a trip, critiques, certificates, and books
Deadline: May 15th, 2007
Entry Fee: $10-15 depending on entry
Length Limit: 2,000-4,000 words depending on entry
More information: https://www.writersdigest.com/contests/annual/76th/

The shortlist for the British National Short Story prize has been announced.  The prize, only in its second year, is the world’s richest short story prize, with £15,000 going to the winner, a prize of £3,000 for the runner-up and £500 going to each of the other finalists.
The five finalists are:

• ‘Slog’s Dad’ by David Almond
• ‘The Morena’ by Jonathan Falla
• ‘The Orphan and the Mob’ by Julian Gough
• ‘How to Get Away with Suicide’ by Jackie Kay
• ‘Weddings and Beheadings’ by Hanif Kureishi

The prize exists to raise the profile of the often-neglected short story in Britain.  The chair of the judges, Mark Lawson, said:

“This prize exists partly because many - perhaps even most - publishers and literary editors still regard the novel as the most important form of story-telling and are suspicious of short stories,” he said. “But this year’s selection makes very clear that there is no connection at all between word-count and the scale of subject matter or characterisation that can be achieved.”

Link to the Yahoo News article

Borders, Gather.com and Mitch Albom are teaming up to run a writing contest for this spring’s Mother’s Day.  The challenge is to write “an original story that relays a childhood memory of a particular moment in which their mother stood up for them.”

The first prize is a seven-day cruise for two.

Essays must be 300 words or less and will appear on Gather.com, where the top 10 picks will be selected. The winner, chosen by Albom, will be announced May 10 on “The Early Show.” The nine finalists each will receive a $100 Borders gift card.

Submissions will be accepted starting Wednesday, and continuing through April 25.

Link to the Yahoo News article