10 Writing Competitions for Kids in Australia: November/December 2016 (and into the new year)
[NB: These are writing competitions for November and December 2016. Head to 19 Writing Competitions for Young Writers: July to December 2017 for the most recent list of opportunties.]
If you’re a young writer (or know one) heading into the final weeks of the school year and wondering what to do as those warm days begin to spread out before you, perhaps some of these writing competitions will inspire your creativity. Some of these are due relatively soon, but others you’ll have the entire summer holidays to write (and occasionally draw); they’re listed in the order of closing date.
1. FAW Young Poet of the Year Award
The Brief: Write a poem on any theme.
Open to: Ages 8 to 16.
Cost: $8 per poem or $36 for 6 poems.
Prizes: Part A (entrants aged 8-12) – $150; Part B (entrants aged 13-16) – $250
Closing Date: 30 November 2016.
Further information and entry form: Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Victoria website.
2. FAW Ivy Hart Peace and Environment Rhyming Poetry Award
The Brief: Write a rhyming poem with the theme of peace OR the environment.
Open to: Students in years 3 to 6.
Cost: Free.
Prizes: Part A (entrants in years 3 or 4) – $100; Part B (entrants in years 5 or 6) – $100. One runner up in each category will receive $25.
Closing Date: 30 November 2016.
Further information and entry form: Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Victoria website.
3. FAW Michael Dugan Short Story Award
The Brief: Write a short story up to 3,000 words on any theme.
Open to: Ages 8 to 16.
Cost: $8 per story or $36 for 6 stories.
Prizes: Part A (entrants aged 8-12) – $100; Part B (entrants aged 13-16) – $150
Closing Date: 30 November 2016.
Further information, entry criteria and entry form: Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Victoria website.
4. FAW John Morrison Short Story Award
The Brief: Write a short story up to 3,000 words on any theme.
Open to: Ages 17 to 20.
Cost: $8 per story or $36 for 6 stories.
Prizes: First prize – $200; second prize – $100.
Closing Date: 30 November 2016.
Further information, entry criteria and entry form: Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Victoria website.
5. FAW Mavis Thorpe Clark Award
The Brief: Submit a collection of writing by an individual student, which can contain up to 10 pieces in any form of writing (poetry, short stories, non-fiction etc.) OR a collection of writing by a group of students at the same school, which can contain up to 15 pieces of writing.
Open to: Students, of any age, who are attending an Australian secondary school.
Cost: $10 for individual entry; $8 for group entry and $3 for FAW (Vic.) members.
Prizes: First prize for individual entry – $350; First prize for group entry – $200.
Closing Date: 30 November 2016.
Further information, entry criteria and entry form: Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Victoria website.
6. The 2017 Somerset National Novella Writing Competition
The Brief: Create a novella which is between 8,000 and 20,000 words.
Open to: All Australian secondary students, including those receiving home schooling. Students must be under 19 years of age.
Cost: $20 per entry.
Prizes: There will be monetary prizes for all state winners and one prize of $2,500 to the national winner. State winners will also receive personalised advice on their winning manuscripts from Penguin Random (Australia) and the opportunity to attend the Somerset Celebration of Literature.
Closing Date: 2 December 2016.
Further information and entry criteria: Somerset College Celebration of Literature website.
7. The Somerset National Poetry Prize
The Brief: Write a poem of no more than 50 lines (excluding title) on any subject.
Open to: All Australian secondary students, including those receiving home schooling. Students must be under 19 years of age.
Cost: $15 per entry.
Prizes: The winner in each category will receive $300 plus flights to attend the Somerset Celebration of Literature Festival.
Closing Date: 9 December 2016.
Further information and entry criteria: Somerset Celebration of Literature website.
8. 2017 Redgum Book Club Young Writers’ Award
The Brief: Create a children’s picture book of up to 250 words or a children’s short story of up to 1000 words.
Open to: Children aged between 9 and 13 years of age, and enrolled as a primary or secondary student, or home schooled.
Categories: The Children’s Picture Book category requires entrants to create a short story up to 250 words, which can be fiction or non-fiction. In the Children’s Short Story category, entrants create a work of short fiction between 850 and 1000 words. No illustrations are required for either category, as the winning story will be illustrated and produced as a hard copy book and in e-book format.
Cost: Free.
Prizes: Each shortlisted entry will receive a $150 Redgum Book Club voucher and Certificate of Achievement. The winner of each category will be published as a hard copy book and in e-book format.
Closing Date: Sunday 11 December 2016.
Further information and entry criteria: Young Writers Award website.
9. Wombat Books Illustration Challenge 2017
The Brief: Wombat Books is seeking original illustrations to publish in a picture book by children’s author Aleesah Darlison.
Open to: Australian school children between 8 and 17 years of age.
Cost: Free.
Prizes: Your illustration will be published in Yay! It’s Library Day by Aleesah Darlison.
Closing Date: 28 February 2017.
Further information and entry criteria: Wombat Books competition page.
10. notJack Writers’ Prize
The Brief: Submit a story up to 3,000 words or a poem up to 40 lines. The Prize welcomes submissions from all genres – including prose, essay, flash fiction, short story, poetry, biography, memoir, plays, screenplay – in which place, and writing from place, figure prominently.
Open to: Australian residents or citizens, including international students. The youth category is up to and including 18 years of age.
Categories: Open, youth (up to and including 18 years of age) and Baringhup. The Baringhup section is open to all Australian citizens and residents writing specifically from, or about, place within the Central Goldfields regions of Victoria, including but not limited to Mount Alexander Shire and Central Goldfields Shire.
Cost: Open and Baringhup category – $20 per submission; Youth category – $10 per submission
Prizes: Youth Mentorship Prize – the five top entrants for the Youth category are invited to a three hour masterclass with a prominent Australian writer, for group discussion and individual editorial advice on their submission. Open Category – $5000 Starving Writer Prize; the top entrant takes all. Visual Collaboration Prize – the top entrant for the Baringhup category will have their work interpreted by a visual artist, with the images reproduced in the notJack 2016-17 anthology. Images will be available to the entrant, within context, for the purposes of promoting their work.
Closing Date: Open and Baringhup categories – 15 November 2016; Youth category – 28 February 2017.
Further information and entry criteria: notJack Writers’ Prize website.
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