There are very many songwriting competitions around the world. However, many of this are fake, and you should be very cautious of which one you consider to participate in, if any. Terry Young has the best experience with the two contests listed below:

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest
More than just a contest, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest offers songwriters one of the most valuable commodities in the music industry. Beyond the substantial cash prizes, some winners will receive EMI Music Publishing Contracts and Yamaha Project Studio.

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream.
A dream we dream together is reality."

I hope this Contest will encourage, inspire and help the
songwriters of the world to share their dream with us.
Love - Yoko Ono Lennon

The USA Songwriting Competition
USA Songwriting Competition, the world's leading international songwriting event honours songwriters, composers, bands and recording artists everywhere. Winners will be selected by a Blue Ribbon committee of music industry judges including record label publishers, producers from Sony Music, Warner/Reprise Records.

Billboard Songwriting Contest
From the world's leading authority on music comes this year's biggest search for the best and brightest new songwriting talent. This could be your chance to be heard by some of the biggest names in the music business in a contest only Billboard could create!

The top 1500 songwriters will receive an honorable mention certificate.