Writing Competitions for Young Writers in Australia: July to December 2018
NB: The competitions in this post have now closed. For a list of new competitions for February to July 2019, check out this more recent post.
Are you a young writer?
Perhaps you’ve been scribbling down – or typing up – stories or poems or plays or songs for some time now. If you’re wondering what to do with your growing body of work, then you’ve come to the right place.
This blog post contains (at last count) 22 competitions for young writers for the second half of 2018. There is also an opportunity for young illustrators, and one for photographers. I hope you find several that appeal to you. And if you hear of an opportunities I’ve missed, please let me know and I’ll add it to the list.
NB: this list is in reverse order of closing date, so make sure you check the end of the list for those that are closing soon!
1. Redgum Young Writers Award
The brief: Create a children’s picture book of up to 250 words or a children’s short story of between 850 and 1000 words.
Open to: School children aged between 9 and 13 years of age; this includes students who are home-schooled.
Categories: The Children’s Picture Book category involves writing a short, structured story and can be fiction or non-fiction. The Children’s Short Story category requires students to create a work of short fiction. No illustrations are required for either category.
Cost: Free.
Prizes: The winner of each category will receive a $250 Redgum Book Club voucher; the winning story will be proofread, edited, illustrated and published by Redgum. The other four shortlisted entries in each category will receive a $150 Redgum Book Club voucher and a certificate.
Closing date: Monday 17 December 2018.
More info: Entry criteria and the entry form can be found on the Young Writers Award Website.
2. Somerset Storyfest National Poetry Prize
The brief: Write a poem on any subject to a maximum of 50 lines (excluding title).
Open to: Current secondary students who are Australian citizens or permanent residents attending school in Australia, including those who are home-schooled.
Cost: $15 per poem.
Categories: Junior Secondary (years 7-9); Senior Secondary (years 10-12)
Prizes: the winner in each category will receive $300 plus flights to attend Somerset Storyfest in March 2019. All winning and short-listed poems will be published on the Somerset Storyfest website.
Closing date: 7 December 2018.
More info: head to the Somerset Storyfest Poetry Prize webpage, where you will find the conditions of entry and the online submission form.
3. Somerset National Novella Writing Competition
The brief: Write a novella between 8,000 words and 20,000 words in length.
Open to: Current secondary students who are Australian citizens or permanent residents attending school in Australia, including those who are home-schooled.
Cost: $20 per entry.
Prizes: There will be monetary prizes awarded to all state winners, and one prize of $2,500 will be awarded to the National winner. State winners will have the opportunity to attend Somerset Storyfest in March 2019.
Closing date: 7 December 2018.
More info: head to the Somerset Storyfest Novella Writing webpage, where you will find the conditions of entry and the online submission form.
4. Around Australia Illustration Challenge
The brief: Create original illustrations to publish in a unique picture book, Around Australia in 30 Places, by the team at Wombat Books.
Open to: Australian school-aged students, aged 5 to 18.
Cost: The fee this year is to purchase a copy of a previous year’s book.
Prizes: Winning entries will be published in the book titled Around Australia in 30 Places, which is due for release in 2019. Illustrators will receive two free copies of the book and a $50 voucher to spend at Wombat Books. They will be acknowledged on the Wombat Books website as a rising illustrator.
Closing date: Friday 30 November 2018.
More info: Head to the Wombat Books website, where you will find further instructions on how to create your illustration and how to submit so that your work is considered.
5. KSP Non-fiction Competition
The brief: Write up to 1000 words (youth) or 2,500 (adult) on the theme of ‘Desire to Escape’.
Open to: Australian residents and citizens.
Categories: Youth (10 to 18 years) and Adult (18+)
Cost: Free for youth section; adult – 1 story $10; 2 stories $15; 3 stories $20.
Prizes: First place certificates with $300 prize for open (plus a one week residency at the KSP Writers’ Centre) and $100 for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; Mundaring National Young Writers encouragement award for under 14s with $25 prize. All winning entries offered publication in Swan Magazine and select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.
Closing date: Friday 5 October 2018.
More info: Go to the KSP Writers’ Centre competitions page for entry requirements, and to download an entry form.
6. The New England Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing
The brief: Write a story or article of up to 2,500 words, or a poem of up to 60 lines. All genres of crime fiction are eligible, from hard-boiled to comic, paranormal to rural, noir to cosy.
Open to: anyone from anywhere in Australia.
Categories & prizes:
- Crime Fiction – first prize $500 for a story up to 2,500 words.
- Crime Non-fiction – first prize $500 for an article up to 2,500 words.
- Crime Poetry – first prize $500 for a poem up to 60 lines
- Youth Award – $150 for the best entry in any category by writers aged under 18.
Cost: $10 entry fee.
Closing date: Sunday 30 September 2018.
More info: See The New England Writers’ Centre website for more information, and to download an entry form.
7. Spark Creative Writing Competition
The brief: Write a short story of 750 – 1000 words (years 7 to 9) or 1,000 to 1,500 words (years 10 to 12). Incorporate the theme of ‘Connected’ OR use the photgraphic stimulus.
Open to: high school students who attend school in the Sutherland Shire (NSW).
Categories: Junior (years 7 – 9) and Senior (years 10 – 12).
Cost: appears to be free.
Prizes: 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in each category, ranging from $75 to $300.
Closing date: Sunday 30 September 2018.
More info: the best place for further details is on the Spark Creative Writing Facebook page, or by emailing sparkwritingcomp [at] gmail.com.
8. Patrick White Writing Competition
The brief: Create a poem, short story or play of up to 1500 words. Each entry must adhere to one of the following themes: ‘What have I done?’, ‘Swimming’ or ‘The Long Walk’.
Open to: All Indigenous Australian students in NSW schools, from Kindy to year 12.
Categories:
- K-12 individual short story
- K-12 individual play
- K-12 individual poem
- K-Yr 1 group short story
- K-Yr 1 group play
- K-Yr 1 group poem
- Yr 2-3 group short story
- Yr 2-3 group play
- Yr 2-3 group poem
Prizes: One major prize, and encouragement awards for poetry; one major prize and encouragement awards for short story or play in each age group.
Closing date: Friday 28 September 2018.
More info: Go to the Aboriginal Educational Council (NSW) website where you’ll find more information about the Patrick White award, as well as a downloadable entry form.
9. Donate Life WA: Young Writers Micro Fiction Competition
The brief: Slip inside the mind of someone touched by organ donation, for example, someone who:
- is waiting for a life-saving organ transplant
- has just received the call saying an organ has
- been donated
- has received a transplant which transformed
- their life, or,
- followed their loved one’s wish to donate their organs after they died.
Imagine how you would feel and what you could tell the world about your experience in 300 words.
Open to: high school students in Western Australia.
Cost: free.
Categories and Prizes: The total prize pool is $2,000 across numerous age group categories, including one for students for whom English is a second language.
Closing date: Friday 21 September 2018.
More info: Head to the Donate Life competition page, where you will find entry guidelines and a downloadable entry form.
10. KSP Poetry Competition
The brief: Write a poem of up to 50 lines on an open theme.
Open to: Youth section is open to all Australian residents aged 10 to 18 years.
Categories: Youth (10 -18 years) and Open (18 +), as well as an Annette Cameron Encouragement Award for WA-born or current WA residents over the age of 18, who have never published a full collection of poetry either in print or online.
Cost: Free in the Youth section; adults and Annette Cameron categories – 1 poem $10, 2 poems $15; 3 poems $20.
Prizes: First place certificates with $300 prize for open (plus a one week residency) and $150 for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; Mundaring National Young Writers encouragement award for under 14s with $25 prize.
Closing date: Friday 21 September 2018.
More info: Go to KSP Writers Centre Competitions page for entry requirements and to download an entry form.
11. ABC Heywire Competition
The brief: Tell a story (in any media: text, video, photography or audio)about an aspect of your life in Australia outside the major cities. This can be 400 words written text, 2-4 minutes on video, 10 photographic images OR 2-4 minutes of audio.
Open to: Australian residents aged between 16 and 22 who live outside Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth.
Cost: free.
Prizes: The winner will receive the opportunity to work with ABC staff to professionally produce the story. It will then be featured on ABC Radio and/or the ABC website. There will also be an all-expenses paid trip to the Heywire Regional Youth Summit.
Closing date: Sunday 16 September 2018.
More info: Head to the Heywire website.
12. The Scribe Nonfiction Prize
The brief: Submit a piece of writing between 5,000 and 10,000 words, in any nonfiction genre, including memoir, journalism, essay, biography and creative nonfiction.
Open to: residents of Australia who are 30 years of age or under.
Prizes: The winner receives $3,000, an editorial mentorship to develop their work and a selection of new-release Scribe books. Other short-listed writers will receive an invitation to a masterclass with some of Australia’s best nonfiction writers, personalised feedback on their entry and a selection of new-release Scribe books.
Closing date: Sunday 9 September 2018.
More info: Further details, including submission criteria and online entry portal can be found on the Express Media website.
13. KSP Short Fiction Awards
The brief: Write a short story on any theme up to 2,000 words (youth) or up to 2,500 words (adult).
Open to: Australian residents and citizens.
Categories: youth (10 – 18 years) and adult.
Cost: Youth (free); Adult (1 story $10; 2 stories $15; 2 stories $20).
Prizes: First place certificates with $300 prize for open (plus one week’s residency at the KSP Writers’ Centre) and $100 for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; Mundaring National Young Writers encouragement award for under 14s with $25 prize. All winning entries offered publication in Swan Magazine and select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.
Closing date: Friday 7 September 2018.
More info: Go to the KSP Writers’ Centre Competition page to find out more and download an entry form.
14. Outstanding LGBTIQA+ Short Story Competition
The brief: Write a short story of 750 words or less on the theme, ‘Next Big Thing’. Stories should have relevance to the broader Australian or New Zealand LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer +) community.
Open to: Writers based in New Zealand and Australia.
Categories: There is an under 25 category as well as an open category.
Cost: Free.
Prizes: includes a youth prize of $500 for a writer aged 25 or under.
Closing date: Saturday 1 September 2018.
More info: Head to the Outstanding website, where you can find competition rules and entry form.
15. Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition 2018
The brief: Write a story, poem, song lyrics, limerick or blog of up to 1,500 words (junior students) or up to 2,000 words (senior students and adults). The theme is ‘Imagine’. Submissions may be in hard-copy braille, word document, simbrailie or a duxbury-readable file.
Open to: a resident of Australia who is either legally blind, or has low or no vision.
Categories: junior students (12 years or under); senior students (13 – 17 years); adult (over 18 years).
Cost: $5 per entry for junior students and $10 per entry for senior students and adults.
Prizes: details of results and prizes will be announced on the QBWA website, and in writing to the winners .
Closing date: Friday 31 August 2018.
More info: head to the Braille House website for futher information, and to download guidelines and entry forms.
16. 2018 Hilarie Lindsay Young Writers Poetry Competition for Australian School Children
The brief: Write a poem. Maximum number of lines depends on the age group (see categories below).
Open to: Australian school children.
Categories: Section 1 – years 10, 11 & 12 (maximum 60 lines); section 2 – years 7, 8 & 9 (maximum 40 lines); section 3 – years 5 & 6 (maximum 40 lines); section 4 – year 4 and under (maximum 20 lines).
Cost: $3 per entry.
Prizes: Section 1 – $200; section 2 – $175; section 3 – $175; section 4 – $50.
Closing date: Friday 31 August 2018.
More info: Visit the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) NSW for more information, as well as an entry form and guidelines.
17. Just Kidding Australian Writing Competition
The brief: Use your awesome storytelling skills to create a 500-word short story of your own.
Open to: young writers between 7 and 12 years of age.
Categories: 7 – 8 years; 9-10 years; 11-12 years.
Prizes: The winner in each category will receive signed copies of their mentors’ books and a personalised congratulatory video also from their mentor. The winning story in each category will be turned into a physical book for you to keep (ten copies per winner). Each winning story will be published in Just Kidding magazine alongside an interview. There will also be prize packs from Penguin Random House, containing some of this years’ best reads, and a Penguin Random House book pack for your school library.
Closing date: Friday 31 August 2018.
More info: head to the Just Kidding website.
18. Around Australia Illustration Challenge
The brief: Wombat Books are seeking original illustrations from Australian school-aged students (aged 5 – 18) to publish in a unique picture book. Choose one or multiple places from Around Australia in 30 Places to illustrate. Use an A4-size page for each illustration. Each place must have a separate illustration (no double-page spreads).
Open to: Australian school-aged students, aged 5 – 18 years of age.
Prizes: Winning illustrations will be published in the book titled Around Australia in 30 Places which is due for release in 2019. Illustrators will receive two free copies of the book and a $50 voucher to spend at Wombat Books on other titles. They will be acknowledged on the Wombat Books website as a rising illustrator.
Closing date: Friday 31 August 2018.
More info: Further details about what is required, including entry forms, can be found on the Wombat Books website.
19. Lane Cove Literary Awards 2018
The brief: Write a short story of up to 3,000 words, a theatre script of no more than 10 pages/10 minutes performance time or a poem with a maximum of 50 lines.
Open to: Australian citizens or permanent residents 16 years and over.
Categories: short story prize; theatre script prize; poetry prize; Lane Cove Resident Prize and Senior Prize. Among these categories is also a youth prize (16 to 24 years of age).
Cost: Appears to be free.
Prizes: ranging from $500 to $2,000 depending on the category.
Closing date: Wednesday 22 August 2018.
More info: see the Lane Cove Council Library website for further details, and to download an entry form.
20. 2018 Toolangi Cj Dennis Poetry Competition
The brief: Create a poem with an 80-line limit, and which has a good rhyme and metre, or a 500 word short story.
Open to: all writers in Australian and New Zealand.
Categories: Primary school students – prep to grade 6 and Secondary school students – years 7 – 12 (plus Open poetry; open short story; poems written by adults for children).
Cost: student entries are free (but adult entries are $10) plus $3 in unused stamps.
Prizes: a range of prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category.
Closing date: Wednesday 15 August 2018.
More info: Download further details and the entry form.
21. Trudy Graham/Julie Lewis Literary Award
The brief: The competition has an open them and entrants may submit prose up to a maximum of 2,000 words.
Open to: anyone residing in Australia
Categories: open; novice and youth (12 to 17 years).
Cost: $7 entry for youth entries. For adults, the cost is $15 for one entry, $25 for two and $35 for three entries.
Prizes: 1st prize – $200; 2nd prize – $100; 3rd prize – $50; Novice Writer Award – $50; Judge’s Encouragement Award for Youth – $50.
Closing date: Friday 10 August 2018.
More info: Go to the Peter Cowan Writers Centre competition page, where you’ll find links to an information flyer and an entry form.
22. Write Around the Murray Nano Stories
The brief: Write a story in exactly 50 words, which includes the word life. (or live, living, lived, lives, lively).
Open to: entrants who live within a 150 km radius of Albury, NSW.
Categories: years 3 – 4; years 5 – 6; years 7 – 8; open.
Cost: Free.
Prizes: First prize (student categories) – $50 book voucher; highly commended (in each category) – $25 book voucher.
Closing date: Tuesday 31 July 2018.
More info: can be found on the Write Around the Murray website, where you’ll also be able to read the conditions of entry and find an online entry form.
23. 2018 Monash WordFest Short Story Competition
The brief: Write a short story. Word limit depends on age group: 12-14 years (500 words max); 15-17 years (1,000 words max); Adult (2,000 words max). Exceeding the word limit will result in disqualification.
Open to: Participants must reside, work or study in the City of Monash, or be a member of the Monash Public Library Service (MPLS).
Categories: A (12 – 14 years); B (15 – 17 years) and C (adult).
Prizes: Category A (12-14 years) – 1st Prize: $200; 2nd Prize: $100; 3rd Prize: $75
Category B (15-17 years) – 1st Prize: $300; 2nd Prize: $150; 3rd Prize: $100
Category C (Adult) – 1st Prize: $500; 2nd Prize: $250; 3rd Prize: $150
Closing date: Saturday 28 July 2018.
More info: Conditions of entry and online form are available on the Monash Public Library Service website.
24. SnapStory Competition
The brief: The SnapStory Competition is a celebration of visual storytelling in the medium of photography. It is open to all members of the Monash community between the ages of 12-18 years.
Open to: Participants must reside, work or study in the City of Monash, or be a member of the Monash Public Library Service.
Categories and prizes: Category A (12-15 years) – 1st Prize: $500; 2nd Prize: Voucher valued at $100. Category B (16-18 years) – 1st Prize: $500; 2nd Prize: Voucher valued at $100
Cost:
Closing date: Saturday 28 July 2018.
More info: Head to the WordFest 2018 website where you will find further details and an online entry form.
25. Ipswich Feast International Poetry Competition
The brief: Write a poem on a theme, form and length of your choice, although some constraints exist for the open categories.
Open to: anyone writing in English. Although based in Australia, this is an international competition.
Categories: 5 to 7 years; 8 to 10 years; 11 to 13 years; 14 to 15 years; 16 to 17 years; plus open categories.
Cost: free for young poets (5 – 17 years); $5 for open categories.
Prizes: For a detailed list of prizes in a range of categories, head to the Poetry Feast website.
Closing date: Friday 27 July 2018.
More info: Head to the Poetry Feast website, where you will find further details about what’s required and how to enter.
26. Cambridge Youth Network Young Writers Comp
The brief: Write an original short story of 2,000 words or less on the theme ‘The First Step’.
Open to: young writers aged between 12 and 25, and who can demonstrate a connection to the local area, either as a resident, or because you attend school or socialise in the Town of Cambridge, or surrounding areas.
Categories: 12 – 14 years; 15 – 17 years; 18 – 25 years.
Prizes: Prizes will be awarded to winners in three age categories (12 – 14 years, 15 – 17 years and 18 – 25 years). Notable entries will be included in a small printed anthology.
Closing date: Friday 20 July 2018
More info: Head to the Town of Cambridge website for further details, including links to a competition flyer and entry form.
27. Little Black Dress Ghost Story Competition (KSP Writers Centre)
The brief: Write a story of up to 500 words on the theme of ‘night’. The theme is open to interpretation, as long as the piece contains significant elements of eeriness/spookiness and a clear connection to the theme.
Open to: The adult section is open to Western Australian residents only, but the youth section is open to both WA and interstate writers.
Categories: Adult and Youth categories.
Cost: free.
Prizes: Youth (WA) first prize: $100, certificate and chocolates; Youth (WA) second prize: $25, certificate and chocolates; Youth Interstate Award: $25 and certificate.
Closing date: Friday 13 July 2018. Shortlisted entrants will be notified mid-August, and winners will be announced on Saturday 25 August 2018.
Further information: For further details, including about the theme, access to the on-line entry form, and a reading of last year’s winner, head to the KSP Writers Centre website.
28. City of Rockingham Short Fiction Awards
The brief: Write a story of between 1,000 and 4,000 words that is inspired by, draws upon, or uses the theme of the artwork “Two Children at Beach” by Delon Govender (2003). An image of this artwork can be found on the entry form.
Open to: everyone.
Categories: young writers (10 – 17 years), open and over 50s.
Cost: free.
Prizes: Prizes for the young writers category are 1st prize: $700; 2nd prize: $400 and 3rd prize: $200.
Closing date: Friday 13 July 2018.
More info: Head to the City of Rockingham website to download an information pack, which includes an entry form.
Over to You
Which of these competitions grab your attention? I’d love to know if you go ahead and enter any of them.
Just one quick note: if you do enter a competition, take time to read the guidelines carefully to ensure you’re entry meets the requirements, and is therefore accepted. If you’d like some guidance on what to look out for, then take a look at an earlier post of mine, Writing Competitions: What You Need to Know Before Entering.
What are you waiting for?
Start writing – and keep writing!
thanks Melinda. My nine year old daughter is a quiet girl. She loves writing and drawing. i’m looking for something to encourage her. i believe these competition is what i need and maybe one day will be her starter point.
Hi Helen, thanks for taking the time to comment – there are also a few posts with writing prompts in them, and my monthly newsletter always has a section for young writers. Please feel free to email me there’s anything I can do to encourage her further, or if there is a particular subject/idea/interest she would like to explore – perhaps I could base a new set of writing prompts around what she would like to write about. Your daughter is very lucky to have someone who wants to encourage her in her creative pursuits.
Hi Melinda! My daughter is twelve years old and she loves writing! Do you know any writing competitions that has the theme ‘fantasy’? Thank you!
Hi Katherine, I don’t know of any current competitions that are specifically on the theme of ‘fantasy’, but I know a couple of fantasy/sci-fi writers, and I will check in with them to see if they know of anything. In the meantime, perhaps she could submit to a competition that doesn’t have a specific theme, such as the Andy Griffiths one?
Hello! My name’s Daisy and I am a fourteen year old homeschooler. I love writing stories and am currently working on a series based on mystery and adventure. I was wondering if you had any 2019 competitions of any sort that I could take a shot at? It doesn’t matter what genre or word count it is.
Cheers! ?
Hi Daisy, my task over the next couple of weeks is to compile a list for the first half of 2019. So keep an eye out – or send me an email at contact@melindatognini.com.au and I will keep you updated!