What Winning Writers does

Winning Writers is a privately held, founder-operated literary services company founded in 2001 and headquartered at 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, Massachusetts (despite firmographic metadata listing the United Kingdom). The company operates a portfolio of four annual international writing contests — the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest (23rd year), the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest (33rd year), the North Street Book Prize for self- and hybrid-published books (11th year, $23,500 in cash prizes, $10,000 grand prize), and the free-to-enter Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest — serving poets, fiction and nonfiction writers, and self-published authors globally. Winners in 2025 were drawn from at least ten countries including the USA, UK, China, Japan, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and Belgium.

The platform is a web-based contest management and content system with a curated newsletter product, The Best Free Literary Contests, which provides subscribers free access to a database of over 200 vetted free poetry and prose contests and a parallel scam-busting resource. Paid critique services (priced at $299 for books/manuscripts and $109 for shorter works, with a children's picture book SKU) are delivered by an in-house editorial bench including a managing editor and a roster of MFA-credentialed assistant and final judges based in the US and Poland. Revenue is generated through contest entry fees, unit-priced critique services, and third-party advertising/sponsorship from publishing services firms (Gatekeeper Press, BookBaby, Atmosphere Press, Duotrope, etc.) whose logos and offers appear on the website and prize packages.

Winning Writers is bootstrapped, with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent company ownership. The leadership team comprises President Adam Cohen (formerly Circulation Director at The Atlantic), Vice President Jendi Reiter (editor of the Best Free Literary Contests newsletter and an award-winning author), and Managing Editor Annie Mydla, supported by a small US-based leadership group and a five-person operations staff in Poland. The company has been continuously recognized by Writer's Digest on its 101 Best Websites for Writers list since 2005 and operates with minimal external visibility on technology, AI, or platform automation — its core assets are brand trust, editorial curation, and a 24-year archive of winners and contest history.

Name

Winning Writers

Legal name

Winning Writers

Website

https://winningwriters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Winning Writers is a privately held, bootstrapped literary services company founded in 2001 that runs four annual international writing contests, sells manuscript critique services, and maintains a free database of vetted literary contests, serving poets, fiction/nonfiction writers, and self-published authors worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Contests and Writer Services

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing) (MPAJAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Literary Arts & Writing Organizations (BPAGAHAK), Fiction Writing Workshops (Short Story, Novel) (EDAMAMAA), Genre Writing Workshops (Sci‑Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror) (EDAMAMAG), Creative Nonfiction & Memoir Workshops (EDAMAMAC)

Keywords

• Literary contests
• Writing competitions
• Manuscript critique services
• Poetry contests
• Writer resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Northampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Contest Entry Fees: Revenue from entry fees for literary contests including North Street Book Prize, Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, and Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. Fees vary by contest.
2. Critique Services: Paid critique services for books, manuscripts, and shorter works. Books and manuscripts critiqued for $299, shorter work for $109.
3. Advertising: Revenue from advertising on the website, including banner ads from publishers and writing-related services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Winning Writers operates a platform of annual literary contests and writer resources. Its core offerings include four international poetry and prose competitions (Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, North Street Book Prize, and the free Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest), a free newsletter/database of over 200 curated free literary contests, and paid professional critique services for books, manuscripts, and shorter works. The contests award significant cash prizes, and the business earns revenue through contest entry fees, critique service fees, and website advertising.

Product overview

Winning Writers operates a platform of literary contests and writer resources. The core offerings consist of four annual poetry and prose competitions: the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, the North Street Book Prize for self-published books, and the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee). These are complemented by The Best Free Literary Contests newsletter/database and paid Critique Services for manuscripts and shorter works. The contests award cash prizes totaling over $50,000 annually and are judged by literary professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Best Free Literary Contests: A free email newsletter and database of high-quality poetry and prose contests with no entry fees, edited by Jendi Reiter.
• North Street Book Prize
• Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest
• Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
• Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Products and services

• Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Quantifiable outcome

• Winners receive up to $10,000 cash plus thousands in marketing and publishing services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Gatekeeper PressminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvertising sponsor on Winning Writers website; provides developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading services for North Street Book Prize winners
• BookBabyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBook publishing services sponsor providing credits to North Street Book Prize winners
• DuotropeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsor of Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest and Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest; provides two-year gift certificates to winners
• Carolyn Howard-JohnsonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAuthor of The Frugal Book Promoter; provides marketing analysis and phone consultations to contest winners
• Atmosphere PressminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublisher sponsor providing public author interviews, blurb matchmaking, and lodging benefits to North Street Book Prize Grand Prize winner
• Book Award ProminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides Pro service subscriptions and account credits to North Street Book Prize winners
• Laura Duffy DesignminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBook cover designer providing consultation and custom merchandise design services to North Street Book Prize winners
• ProLiteracyminorOthersWorld's largest adult volunteer literacy organization; Winning Writers promotes literacy awareness and directs users to support adult literacy programs

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Reedsy: Reedsy is a marketplace connecting authors with editors, designers, and marketers, plus a discovery platform for self-publishing services and writing contests. It operates at broader scale than Winning Writers and offers competing editorial/critique services and contest listings targeting the same self-published author segment.
• Writer's Digest: Writer's Digest is a major literary media brand and competition organizer running multiple writing contests, publishing instructional content, and maintaining resource directories for writers. It operates at broader scale across media and education and has awarded Winning Writers' inclusion on its 101 Best Websites list since 2005.

Others

• BookBaby: BookBaby is a self-publishing services provider offering editing, design, printing, and distribution. It is an active sponsor of Winning Writers' North Street Book Prize, providing publishing credits to winners, and serves the same self-published author customer base.
• Gatekeeper Press: Gatekeeper Press is a hybrid self-publisher offering developmental editing, copyediting, and design services to authors. It is an advertising and prize sponsor on Winning Writers and operates in the same self-publishing ecosystem that Winning Writers' North Street Book Prize targets.

Direct peers

• Submittable: Submittable is a SaaS submission management platform used by literary magazines, contests, and publishers to collect and review writer submissions. It serves the same writer and contest-organizer ecosystem that Winning Writers operates in, with overlapping free-tier contest discovery functionality.
• Writer's Relief: Writer's Relief is a manuscript preparation and submission service helping writers format and submit work to literary markets. It competes directly with Winning Writers' critique services and targets the same poetry and prose writer customer base.
• Poets & Writers: Poets & Writers is a nonprofit literary organization that publishes a magazine, maintains a comprehensive database of writing contests and grants, and runs programs for poets and writers. It competes with Winning Writers for the same primary audience of poets, fiction writers, and self-published authors seeking recognition and resources.
• The Writer (magazine): The Writer is a long-running literary magazine offering craft instruction, market listings, and occasional writing contests for freelance and book authors. It overlaps with Winning Writers' content resources, contest offerings, and writer education value proposition.
• Duotrope: Duotrope is a literary market database and submission tracker for writers, offering searchable listings of contests, magazines, and publishers. It is an active co-sponsor of Winning Writers' Tom Howard and Wergle Flomp contests and competes directly for the same writer audience via subscription-based contest discovery.

Emerging players

• FundsforWriters: FundsforWriters is a niche newsletter and resource site curating grants, contests, and publishing opportunities for writers. It overlaps with Winning Writers' Best Free Literary Contests database offering and serves a comparable audience of contest-seeking writers.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/WinningWriters
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Winning-Writers/162296717154461
• Instagraminstagram.com/winningwriters
• TikToktiktok.com/@winningwriters
• Xx.com/winningwriters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Winning Writers