Competitions, Awards & Opportunities
This award is made in a five year category cycle: Creative Prose, Drama, Visual Arts, Script Writing, Poetry. The Award is open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creative artists. In 2021, the $20,000 award celebrates the best book of fiction by an Indigenous author published in the preceding five years.
This prize celebrates the life of poet Martha Richardson. Prize for original unpublished poem of open theme to 40 lines. Offered biennially. Guidelines and entry forms online.
The Miles Franklin Literary Award was established in 1957 through the will of writer Stella Miles Franklin. The bequest came as a surprise to the literary world as Franklin had told nobody – save her trustees – of her plans. Her will stipulates that ‘[the] prize shall be awarded for the Novel for the year which is of the highest literary merit and which must present Australian Life in any of its phases …’.
The annual Northern Territory Literary Awards have celebrated the unpublished work of Northern Territory writers for more than 35 years. It is part of a special program of annual events at Library & Archives NT that celebrate the achievements of established and emerging writers, storytellers and prominent Territorians.
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.
Awards consist of two sections: the Australia-wide Open Short Story section, for stories of any subject up to a maximum of 1,500 words; and the Tom Black Memorial Poetry Prize for non-rhyming poetry (limit of 50 lines).
The Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious recognition honouring published crime fiction and true crime writing. All nominations are made by publishers. The Ned Kelly Awards are presented in three categories: Best Fiction, Best First Fiction and Best True Crime Book. Authors and Publishers must be members of ACWA.
Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks outstanding poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name. It remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets, and is open to poets anywhere in the world.
The Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism celebrates the unique contribution of critics to our cultural landscape, and the specialist, detailed knowledge they draw on to contextualise works of art.
This fellowship, worth up to $15,000, is awarded annually to writers in the non-fiction fields of biography, autobiography and life writing to further a work in progress. The winner will be supported in their work by the prize and access to facilities from the Faculty of Arts.
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.
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 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].
Since 1984, the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards has given school children ages K-12 the opportunity to express their poetic voices. Entries for the historic competition open every year, so get those keyboards and imaginations ready! See website for competition details, terms and conditions and entry information.
The Australian Shadows are the annual literary awards presented by the AHWA and judged on the overall effect – the skill, delivery, and lasting resonance – of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian.
The Barrow Street Press Book Contest award will be given for the best previously unpublished manuscript of poetry in English. See website for full details.
The British Australian Community, an incorporated association, was established in 1967 to represent the interests of Australian residents of British Isles descent. The award is for an essay of up to 800 words on the theme of the positive heritage of British culture in Australia.
The Bronze Swagman Award is Australia’s most prestigious award for written bush verse, running annually since 1972. Poems to be traditional Australian bush verse form with an Australian theme. Poems must not have previously won a first, second or third prize in any written competition prior to the announcemant of the winner.
The Scholarships are awarded annually to candidates who show great promise in the arts and literature, with nine scholarship categories available, offered over alternate years: Acting, Architecture, Ballet, Instrumental Music, Painting, Poetry, Prose, Sculpture and Singing. Scholarship funds can be used to assist with study programs, professional training courses and/or mentor programs.
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.
Celebrating the very best in Australian stage and screen writing the AWGIE Awards recognise and reward the outstanding achievements of Australian storytellers and their contribution to Australia’s cultural landscape. These prestigious awards are the only industry awards given by writers to writers judged exclusively on the basis of the writer’s own vision, the script.
The award honours Bruce Dawe and is for an original unpublished poem of not more than 50 lines. No theme.
The Children’s Peace Literature Award is a biennial award to one or more Australian authors and/or illustrators of books for children that encourage the peaceful resolution of conflict or promote peace at the global, local or inter-personal level. Nominations can be made by publishers and by authors or illustrators.
The KSP Writers’ Centre is proud to support the development of literary work by hosting a number of annual residencies and fellowships. Offers placements in the categories of Established; Upcoming; Emerging; Scholarship; Established; and Fellowships.
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.