Competitions, Awards & Opportunities
Manuscripts must be original works in English, not previously accepted for publication in Australia. Entries must not exceed 2,500 words. No email entries accepted. Only the story title, not the author’s name, is to appear on the manuscript. Include SSAE with entry for results. Check website to confirm competition dates and details or email competition organiser.
Accepting entries of stories and poems in three age groups: 10 years and under, 11-14 years and 15-18 years. Prizes awarded at an Awards Presentation and winning and short-listed entries published when funds are available.
Any form of humour will be accepted, in any style, but the content must be original and it has to make us smile. Anything from a limerick to a poem of 32 lines in length is accepted. The competition will be run quarterly; 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December.
Facilitated by Griffith University on behalf of the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts. Prize for 1000-3000 words of short prose. Please see website for more details.
Facilitated by Griffith University on behalf of the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts. Prize for poem or suite of poems up to 100 lines. Please see website for more details.
This competition is open to short fiction pieces from authors Australia-wide. Words: 1000 minimum – 3000 maximum. Visit the website for further information and all Terms and Conditions.
Internationally respected short story competition, now in its 33rd year. No genre or theme restrictions. Stories must be original unpublished fiction, typed and double-spaced, and may not exceed 3,500 words in length.Open to all U.S. and international writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation of 5,000 or more.
A prize for traditional verse, where ‘traditional’ is defined as any style or genre of poetry that has been popular for at least 50 years, including free verse, metrical verse, rhyming verse, but not prose poems.
Original poems on any theme, maximum line limit of 50 lines. Must not have been published or won a major prize before.
Mslexia.co.uk runs a number of writing competitions from novel, short, story, poetry and memoir. Check website for current competitions. Prize money awarded.
The competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over. Poems should be in English, unpublished, not accepted or submitted for publication elsewhere, and must be the entrant’s original work.
We are looking for an opening chapter up to 3,000 words, plus a one page synopsis outlining the balance of the story. Entry fee: £10 Optional Critique of Chapter and Synopsis: £25
Enter a single poem of no more than 100 lines. Guarantees winners wide exposure through publication in ABR. The guidelines, closing date and entry form are available on the ABR website.
Categories for poetry and short stories. Closing dates: 23 April, 31 October. Also mini-challenge every month, entry fee $1.20 in unused postage stamps. Contact the Editor for details.
Administered by the Australian Society of Authors, this program offers a one-week residency at Varuna, The Writers’ House, to an unpublished writer or illustrator under 30. Applicants must be Associate members of the ASA. The recipient is provided with a private working space to further develop a work-in-progress, as well as accommodation and meals. Travel expenses are not covered.
Ten minute play competition. Black box theatre style no longer than 1500 words. Radio plays, monologues, comedy, drama, youth plays encouraged.
The Bath Children’s Novel invites entries from children’s novelists of any nationality or perspective. All genres of chapter, middle grade and young adult novels are eligible – from funny to dark, fashionable to forever, fantastic to futuristic.The Bath Children’s Novel Award is a prize for unpublished and self-published novelists.
The Bath Novel Award is an annual £2,000 prize for prize for unpublished and self-published or independently published novelists in any genre written for adult or young adult (13+) readers. The award is open to writers of any nationality, genre and perspective and has a strong track record in helping emerging writers to further their writing careers. 2019 dates to be confirmed.
Varuna, the National Writers House invites writers living in New South Wales and the greater Sydney area to apply for a two-week residency at this historic home in the Blue Mountains. Residency dates for 2017 are 11-24 September. For full details of the program and to apply, see the website.
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is an opportunity for any young poet aged 11-17 to accelerate their writing career. Poems can be of any length and on any subject, but must be original and unpublished.
This contest is for haibun of 7-35 lines, with at least haiku included. Three entries are allowed. Please note: postal country is Japan. The award for the Grand Prix remains the same – a fine, full-size replica of a Hokusai ukiyo-e print – and smaller gifts will be sent to the An (Cottage) Prize-winners. The writers of all the decorated works will receive a certificate of merit.
The Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition has helped identify a new generation of Victoria’s writers. The annual fiction and creative non-fiction prizes are open to writers with no more than three stories or articles published in a recognised book, magazine or journal. Open to residents of Victoria only.
The Hill End Artists-in-Residence program has grown into one of Australia’s most sought after residencies. The Residency Program allows contemporary Australian and international artists the chance to experience and respond to the historically charged landscape of Hill End. Applicants should provide a current CV, and writers should provide a copy of up to two manuscripts/publications/extracts.
Since its early days, science fiction has played a unique role in human civilization. It removes the limits of what “is” and shows us a boundless vista of what “might be.” Its fearless heroes, spectacular technologies and wondrous futures have inspired many people to make science, technology and space flight a real part of their lives and in doing so, have often transformed these fictions into reality. The National Space Society and Baen Books applaud the role that science fiction plays in advancing real science and have teamed up to sponsor this short f…
The Miami University Novella Prize is awarded annually to a novella-length manuscript of original fiction (18,000–40,000 words). The winner receives $750 USD, a standard contract, publication and 10 copies of the book.