Competitions, Awards & Opportunities
The National Biography Award, supported by the Nelson Meers Foundation, celebrates excellence in biography, autobiography and memoir writing. With a prize pool of $42,000 it is the nation’s richest prize for Australian biographical writing and memoir.
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.
The NSW Premier’s History Awards were first presented in 1997 to honour distinguished achievements in history by Australian citizens and permanent residents. Held annually, the awards assist in establishing values and standards in historical research and publication and encourage everyone to appreciate and learn from the work of our historians.
A poetry competition for all Australians. It is run by Hunter Writers Centre and sponsored by the University of Newcastle.
A short story competition run by Hunter Writers Centre for all Australians living here or abroad.
Each year, ten outstanding writers are selected to receive $15,000 each to develop their work. They are matched with a mentor and will work closely with them on bringing their writing to life, connecting them with peers, publishers and readers.
The annual Northern Territory Literary Awards have celebrated the unpublished work of Northern Territory writers for more than 35 years.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.
Welcomes entries from writers of all ages residents in Australia: short stories (2000-4000 words) in the theme of life in rural Australia.
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.
The Patrick White Literary Award was established to advance ‘Australian literature by encouraging the writing of novels, short stories, poetry and/or plays for publication or performance’ The award is presented each November following the consideration of nominations by a judging panel.
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.
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, poetry prize and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History celebrate the contribution of Australian literature and history to the country’s cultural and intellectual life. Awards are presented in six categories; fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, Australian history.
Make your work a published bestseller by building your author brand, marketing and business strategy. In this program, get your book ahead in the literary market by building your author brand, digital marketing and business strategy. Walk away with marketing content, a concept website and all the publishing resources needed to make your book a published bestseller. This intensive course is an absolute must for any author with an unpublished manuscript.
Publishable gives up to 25 emerging writers the chance to take part in a tailored Manuscript Development Program. Each writer will be given a personalised timetable designed to strengthen, refine, and polish their completed manuscript. Over a period of two weeks, writers can expect to work with published authors, QWC mentors, and industry experts to improve their craft and take their manuscript closer to publication.
The Queensland Literary Awards celebrate and promote outstanding Australian writers. State Library of Queensland proudly manages the awards in collaboration with sponsors, industry partners and the writing community.
Launched in 2002, the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award is an initiative of Queensland Theatre with the support of the Queensland Government, which is open to all Australian citizens and permanent residents who have an unproduced live-performance text requiring further development towards its production debut. The Award intends to develop new works that are an artistic response to, or reflection of, ‘Australian Society’ and expose audiences to this work.
Now in its seventh year, the Richell Prize is again open to unpublished writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction.
Right Left Write is run in conjunction with Queensland Writers Centre’s weekly newsletter, Pen & Pixel. Each month we announce a prompt word or theme in Pen & Pixel, then it’s over to you to create a short story of up to 500 words and right, left, write. Members can enter for free and non-members can enter for a $5 fee. One entry per person per month.
The Award encourages development of material (not necessarily religious) that conveys a message of faith, hope and love. A panel of judges are appointed annually by the Rodney Seaborn Playwright’s Trust. Preference is given to persons who have resided in Australia for at least one year.
Scarlet Stiletto Women’s Crime and Mystery Short Story Competition open to women residents of Australia. Young Writer’s Award open to women under 21. Short stories must contain an active woman protagonist and a crime or mystery theme and maximum 5,000 words. All entries original and unpublished works of the author. Maximum two stories per author.
Scriptable is Queensland Writers Centre’s program for emerging script or screen writers, whether just out of university/film school, still completing a degree, or just looking to enter the industry. Giving writers the opportunity to submit their manuscript, be assessed, participate in a workshop, and potentially be matched with an industry mentor, the idea is to form longer standing relationships with these industry mentors that reach far into the future.
Time to challenge yourself, dust off your writing skills, put pen to paper or fingers to keypads. The Society of Women Writers’ biennial National Writing Competition is open to female writers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, aged 18 years or over, members and non-members. Prizes awarded for categories of Short Story (Fiction), Short Story (Non-Fiction), and Poetry. Winning entries will also be considered for inclusion in The Society’s centenary anthology to be published in 2025.
Annual poetry award in association with Wollongong Art Gallery. Winners and highly commended to be published in the SCWC Anthology. Closes February. Submission information available at website. $1000 first prize, $100 second prize, $100 voucher Wollongong Art Gallery special award. Topic “ways to water”
The AIATSIS Stanner Award is presented biennially to the best academic manuscript written by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander author. Open to all Indigenous authors, scholars and academics.