Competitions, Awards & Opportunities
A new award for middle grade fantasy and science fiction authors.
The Peter Porter Poetry Prize is one of Australia’s most prestigious prizes for a new poem. The Prize – open to all poets writing in English – is named after the great Australian poet Peter Porter (1929–2010).
The ACT Government offers an ACT Book of the Year Award for excellence in literature, valued at $10,000 for the winner, $2,000 for any highly commended book and $1,000 for each shortlisted book. The Award aims to support the development of ACT-based writers, promotes writing in the ACT, and contributes to a positive writing culture for the ACT.
The aim of the ACT Publishing Awards is to recognise, reward and promote writing by ACT region authors that has been published by small publishers or self-published. The Awards are administered by the ACT Writers Centre, in recognition of the excellent writing published locally.
Inspired by the Catholic Church’s long-standing tradition as a patron of the Arts, the ACU Prize for Poetry has established itself since its inception in 2013, as one of Australia’s most prized poetry awards. The Prize has as its aim the simple goal of supporting the emergence of new and dynamic Australian poets and poetry.
Each year the Williamstown Literary Festival is delighted to convene the Ada Cambridge Biographical Prose Prize, Poetry Prize and The Young Adas which are named after one of Australia’s finest colonial writers, Ada Cambridge.
Adaptable seeks material for film or television adaptation. Open to writers across Australia and New Zealand, the contest accepts any genre, fiction or non-fiction, published or unpublished. Queensland Writers Centre also identifes several early career unpublished/emerging writers to pitch their work to screen creatives, with these writers receiving mentorship and advice prior to the pitching sessions.
The State Library of South Australia, together with the South Australian Government, is pleased to host the 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. The awards offer a total prize pool of $167,500 across six national and five South Australian categories, including the coveted Premier’s Award worth $25,000 for the overall winner.
Aesthetica is looking for the best new writing talent. The international literary prize is open to poetry and short fiction submissions on any theme, celebrating innovation in content, form and technique.
The Age Book of the Year Awards are annual literary awards presented by Melbourne’s The Age newspaper.
Horror stories, tales that frighten, yarns that unsettle us in our comfortable homes. All themes in this genre will be accepted, from the well-used (zombies, vampires, ghosts etc) to the highly original, so long as the story is professional and well written. No previously published entries will be accepted – all tales must be an original work by the author. Stories can be as violent or as bloody as the storyline dictates, but those containing gratuitous sex or violence will not be considered.
The Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize is open to all unpublished full-length manuscripts in the crime or thriller genres written by residents of Australia and New Zealand
Every two years, the team at Hardie Grant Egmont opens the Ampersand Prize and puts out the call for manuscripts by unpublished writers. The Ampersand Prize aims to find brilliant debut novels by writers of young adult and middle-grade fiction.
The Anne Edgeworth Writer’s Fellowship is provided to an emerging writer in the Canberra Region. The Fellowship is worth up to $5,000 and is to be used to advance the recipients’ development in the craft of writing.
With prize money of $100,000, the ARA Historical Novel Prize gives Australian and New Zealand historical novelists the chance to be recognised in a class of their own, with the most significant prize purse for any genre-based prize in Australasia.
The Arts Queensland Poet in Residence Program is designed to develop Queensland’s poetry culture by providing a residency for a high-profile poet or spoken word artist to engage directly with Queensland poets and poetry community in a meaningful and collaborative way.
The winner of this award receives a cash prize and publication of the winning manuscript by Wakefield Press. The award recognises the importance of new writing to a vibrant literary culture. Part of the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature.
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Emerging Writers’ Mentorship Program provides winners with the opportunity to develop their early draft manuscript to a publishable standard with professional mentors. Applications are assessed on literary and artistic merit and developmental potential.
The ASA Medal is awarded biennially to an Australian author or illustrator who has made an outstanding contribution to Australian culture as both a creator and an advocate. The recipient will have a significant body of work, and, in addition, will have strived to encourage and support their peers, having mentored and fostered emerging writers and/or illustrators.
Each year, the Australian Society of Authors awards a two-week residential fellowship to a writer under the age of 35 who is as yet unpublished.
The Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature acknowledges the achievements of eminent literary writers who are 60 years of age and over who have made outstanding and lifelong contributions to Australian literature.
Annual medal for the most outstanding index to a book or periodical compiled in Australia or New Zealand, if one of sufficient quality is submitted. The index should be substantial in size, have complex subject matter, and language, form and index structure should demonstrate the indexer’s expertise. Index should serve the needs of both text and reader. Confirm closing date with competition organisers.
The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) celebrate the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Australian books to readers.
The Family Therapist’s Award Committee presents two awards for outstanding Australian children’s literature: one for Children’s/Youth Literature and one for Young Readers/Picture Book Award. Contact organisers for full information. Alternative email: [email protected].