Writing Competitions in Closing Date Order:
31/08/2024
Alice Sinclair Memorial Writing Competition
Category A: Poetry
Size: 50 lines
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: First: $300 & Certificate, Second: $150 & Certificate, Third: $50 & Certificate
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Category B: Short Story
Size: 2,500 words
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: First: $300 & Certificate, Second: $150 & Certificate, Third: $50 & Certificate
31/08/2024
Jean Stone Poetry Award
Open to: Australian Residents
Theme: None
Accepts: Poetry
Size: 60 lines
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $500
31/08/2024
Olga Masters Short Story Award
Open to: Australian Residents
Theme: Life in rural Australia
Short Story
2,000 – 4,000 words
Entry Fee: $25, Members concession:$20
Prize: First: $1,500, Runner-up: $500, Supplementary prizes at the discretion of the organisers
31/08/2024
The Scarlet Stiletto Award
Open to: Women (inclusive of cisgender, transgender or intersex) citizens/residents of Australia
Theme: Crime & Mysteries with an active woman protagonist
Short Story
5,000 words
Entry Fee: $20 for Sisters in Crime Members, $25 for non-members
Prizes:
Swinburne University Award (First): $2,000 plus trophy,
Simon & Schuster Award (Second): $1,000,
The Sun Bookshop/Fremantle Press Award (Third): $750,
Allen & Unwin Award for Best Young Writer (for writers 18 or under): $1,000,
The Monash University Award for Best Campus Crime Story: $600,
Melbourne Athenaeum Library ‘Body in the Library’ Award: $1,250; runner up $750,
Every Cloud Productions Award for Best Mystery with History Story: $1,000,
HQ Fiction Award for Best Thriller: $1,000,
Clan Destine Press Award for Best Cross-Genre Story: $750,
Kerry Greenwood Award for Best Malice Domestic Story: $750,
Viliama Grakalic Award for Best Art and Crime Story: $750,
Cate Kennedy Award for Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue: $500
ScriptWorks Award for a Great Film Idea: $500,
Liz Navratil Award for Best Story with a Disabled Protagonist Story: $400
Writers Victoria Award for the Story with the Most Satisfying Retribution: Choice of online course (Value $220)
31/08/2024
Wildlife Fiction Short Story Competition
Theme: a native Australian species – shedding light on the challenges they face in a modern world
Short Story – Junior – aged 8 to 17 years old
500 – 1,000 words
Entry Fee: Nil
Prize: $250
Accepts: Short Story – Senior – aged 18 and over
Size: 500 – 1,000 words
Entry Fee: Nil
Prize: $750
27/09/2024
New England Thunderbolt Prize
Open to: Australian Resident
Theme: Crime
The New England Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Fiction
2,500 words
Entry Fee: $10, $5 for youth entries (Under 18)
Prize: $500
The New England Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Non-Fiction
2,500 words
Entry Fee: $10, $5 for youth entries (Under 18)
Prize: $500
The New England Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Poetry
Size: 60 lines
Entry Fee: $10, $5 for youth entries (Under 18)
Prize: $500
30/09/2024
Bridport Prize Memoir Award
UK COMPETITION
Open to: 16 and over
Theme: None
Accepts: Memoir
Size: Initially: 5,000 – 8,000 words of total work plus 300 word overview, If Long-listed: 15,000 words, If Short-listed: 30,000 words
Entry Fee: £24
Prize: First: £1,500, a year of mentoring, consultation with a literary agent, Opportunity to discuss with University of Exeter’s Creative Writing Department, Runner-up: £750, feedback, Opportunity to discuss with University of Exeter’s Creative Writing Department, Highly Commended x 3: £150, manuscript appraisal, invitation to an industry day, Opportunity to discuss with University of Exeter’s Creative Writing Department
30/09/2024
The Moth Nature Writing Prize
IRISH COMPETITION
Open to: Over 16
Theme: Nature writing
Accepts: Prose and Poetry
Size: 4,000 words
Entry Fee: €15
Prizes: First: €1,000 and a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France, Second: €500, Third: €250
17/10/2024
Peter Porter Poetry Prize
Poetry
Size: 60 lines
Entry Fee:
Online entry – Subscriber: $20,
Online entry – Non-Subscriber: $30,
Online entry & ABR Online Subscription: $100,
Online entry & Print subscription (Australia): $120,
Online entry & Print subscription (NZ and Asia): $200,
Online entry & Print subscription (Rest of World): $220
Prizes: First: $6,000, Shortlisted entries x 4: $1,000
13/10/2024
Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize
Open to: Over 18 years
Theme: The Bush
Accepts: Poetry
Size: 40 lines
Entry Fee: $35 ($25 for members of Ballarat Writers), $15 for each additional poem
Prize: First: $1,000, Second: $400, Third: $100
14/10/2024
Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize
Open to: Australian citizens or Permanent Residents of Australia
Theme: None
Accepts: Poetry
Size: 50 lines
Entry Fee: $8
Prizes: First: $3,000, Highly Commended x 2: $500
18/10/2024
MiNDFOOD Poetry Competition
Open to: Australian and New Zealand residents
Theme: None
Accepts: Poetry
Size: 100 – 400 words
Entry Fee: Nil
Prizes: Australian winner: $1,000, New Zealand winner: NZ$1,000
25/10/2024
The Writing Prize
Open to: Australians aged forty years and under
Theme: What should be the roles and responsibilities of Australian media in reporting on and responding to the real-life impacts of climate change?
Original writing
Size: 4,000 – 5,000 words
Entry Fee: Nil
Prize: $10,000
31/10/2024
Ernestine Hill Memorial Award
Open to: Permanent residents of Australia
Theme: Australian Country
Accepts: Short Story
Size: 4,000 words
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000
05/11/2024
Odyssey House Victoria Short Story Competition
Open to: All
Theme: “Regret” & reference to alcohol and/or drugs
Accepts: Short Story
Size: 1.500 words
Entry Fee: $10
Prizes: First: $1,000, Second: $100, Third: $50