Young Writers: Competitions
If you’re a young writer in Australia, and have been wondering about opportunities to submit your work, then look no further. This post contains a list of writing competitions for young writers in Australia, together with useful information such as word limits, closing dates and links to entry forms.
Be sure to check back regularly, though, because I’ll update the post whenever info about other competitions (or publishing opportunities) are released. You can also sign up for my monthly newsletter, in which I always include a list of opportunities for the coming month.
The competitions listed are in order of closing date, apart from the first one listed, as it has a different competition each month.
1. Write the World (ongoing monthly competitions)
Write the World describes itself as a ‘community of young writers (ages 13-18), hailing from over 80 countries’. Write the World holds monthly competitions, developed around a particular idea or genre of writing. The competitions encourage you to try out new genres and share your work with other readers, as well as offering the opportunity to receive peer and expert feedback, before submitting your final piece.
Upcoming topics include:
- May—food writing: sources of sustenance (drafts for expert review due Monday 10 May; submissions due Tuesday 18 May 2021)
- June—science fiction short story (drafts for expert review due Monday 14 June; submissions due Tuesday 22 June 2021).
- July—sports writing (drafts for expert review due Monday 12 July; submissions due Tuesday 20 July 2021)
- August—flash fiction (drafts for expert review due Monday 9 August; submissions due Tuesday 17 August 2021).
Entry fee: Free.
Prizes: Winning entrant receives $100. Runner-up and best peer reviewer are awarded $50. All three winners will be featured on their blog.
More info: For a more detailed information about each topic, including deadlines (for draft and final submissions) and prizes, head to the Write the World website.
2. Pulch Mag
The brief: Write about anything and everything, from politics, to culture, to identity, fictional short stories, poems, screenplays and experimentative writing. The editors are particularly interested in stories that include marginalised or minority voices and themes. You are encouraged you to keep your piece between 1000 and 2000 words, however we are open to longer or shorter pieces.
Open to: young people living in or from WA aged 26 or under.
Closing date: ongoing submissions accepted.
Further information: head to Pulch Mag‘s website.
3. Nan Manefield Young Writer’s Award
The Brief: Submit either a poem or short story of up to 750 words.
Open to: Sydney based young people, aged between 11 and 18 years of age, who are a resident of the Sydney NSW metropolitan area
Cost: free.
Categories: The competition is judged in five age categories by a panel of award winning authors.
Prizes: Prizes totalling over $2,000. All winners will also be offered the opportunity to attend a special writers masterclass.
Closing date: Friday 23 April 2021.
More information: entry conditions and online entry form can be found on the North Sydney Council website.
4. Playwriting Competition with Ursula Dubosarsky
The brief: Imagine you were putting on a play or puppet show inspired by Pierre’s Not There by Ursula Dubosarky, who is the current Australian Children’s Laureate. You can also include characters from Ursula’s other books. Write a scene that continues the characters’ adventures, sets the stage for their original story, or puts them in a new situation (no minimum length, but no more than 500 words). Show how you would perform your scene by including some puppet designs – draw them or make them with spare crafting materials.
Open to: Australian students in years 5 to 8.
Categories: Stage 3 (Years 5/6) and Stage 4 (Years 7/8).
Entry fee: free.
Prizes: One winner will be picked from each category to receive one copy of Ursula Dubosarsky’s Pierre’s Not There, signed by the author; one Booktopia voucher worth $75.00; and one virtual classroom visit from Ursula Dubosarsky. The winners’ school libraries will also receive a copy of Pierre’s Not There and the equivalent Booktopia voucher.
Closing date: Friday 30 April 2021.
More information: visit Reading Australia’s website, where you can also download Ursula’s playwriting tips.
5. Laura Literary Awards 2021 (Prose)
The brief: Submit a short story on a subject of your choice. Word limits vary depending on the writer’s age group.
Categories, word limits and prizes:
- Open—up to 1500 words, prize $200
- Young Adult(13-18 yrs—up to 1200 words, prize $50
- Junior (9-12 yrs)—up to 800 words, prize $25
- Junior Primary (5-8 yrs)—up to 500 words, prize $15.
Entry fee: no entry required for student entries ($10 per entry for adults).
Closing date: Friday 7 May 2021.
More information: visit the Rocky River ‘Riters website.
6. CJ Dennis Poetry Awards
The brief: Submit a poem up to 60 lines.
Categories and prizes:
- Open Poetry—prize $200
- Open Bush Poetry—prize $200
- Young Adult Poetry(13-18 yrs—prize $50
- Junior Poetry (9-12 yrs)—prize $25
- Junior Primary Poetry (5-8 yrs)—prize $15.
Entry fee: no entry required for student entries ($10 per entry for adults).
Closing date: Friday 7 May 2021.
More information: visit the Rocky River ‘Riters website.
7. UNSW Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing 2021
The brief: Write a 800-word essay on a given topic. Watch this space for the 2021 topic.
Open to: year 7 to 10 secondary school students.
Entry fee: watch this space.
Prizes: watch this space.
Closing date: Submissions will be OPEN from April 2021. A closing date has not yet been announced.
More information: visit New South Publishing’s website.
8. Future Leaders Writing Prize
The brief: Submit a piece of writing (800 to 1,000 words). The writing can be fiction or non-fiction and on any topic
Open to: Year 11 and 12 students in Australian secondary schools.
Entry fee: appears to be free to enter.
Prizes: the award winner will receive $1,000. Where there is more than one winner the prize money will be shared.The winners of the Future Leaders Writing Prize will have their work published.
Closing date: Monday 31 May 2021.
More information: visit the Future Leaders website.
9. The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award 2022
The brief: Submit a work of fiction, Australian history or biography between 50,000 words and 80,000 words.
Open to: writers aged under 35 years of age on 31 May 2021 (i.e. born after 31 May 1986).
Entry fee: $25.
Prizes: $20,000 plus publication by Allen & Unwin with an advance against royalties.
Closing date: Monday 31 May 2021.
More information: please visit Allen and Unwin’s website.
10. Make Your Own Story Book Competition
The brief: Create an original story book or picture book. Individual and school based entries will be accepted.
Open to: all WA students from Pre Primary to Year 8.
Entry fee: free.
Closing date: Friday 11 June 2021.
More information: can be found on the CBCA WA’s website, where you can also download an entry form and watch author Sean E. Avery in a series of videos talking about to create a storybook or picture book.
11. KYD School Writing Prize
The brief: submit entries of between 1000 and 1500 words, in either fiction and non-fiction, in response to a current social or political issue.
Open to: KYD School Members and their students.
Entry fee: free to KYD School members and their students.
Prizes: the winner receives a $500 cash prize, editorial support and publication in KYD.
Closing date: Friday 18 June 2021.
More information: visit KYD‘s website.
12. Adelaide Plains Poets Poetry Competition 2021
The brief: submit poems up to 60 lines on the theme of recovery.
Categories: Open Class – poets 18 years & older; Junior sections – Primary School student (one poem only), Secondary School student (one poem only).
Entry fee: Open class – $10 for first poem, $5 for every poem entered thereafter. Junior classes – no entry fee, only one poem per student.
Prizes: 1st, 2nd & 3rd cash prizes, plus Highly Commended & Commended certificates as awarded by judge. Total prize pool over $700.
Closing date: Friday 2 July 2021.
More information: visit Carolyn Cordon’s website (Carolyn is the president of the Adelaide Plains Poets Inc.).
13. Randolph Stow Young Writers Awards
The brief: Submit prose or poetry (word limits below). You may enter both categories, but only one entry is permitted for each category.
Open to: all students in Years 3 to 12, who are studying in the Midwest as designated by the Department of Education, Western Australia.
Categories and word limits:
- Lower Primary – Years 3 & 4: Prose – maximum 1200 words; Poetry – no minimum stipulation
- Upper Primary – Years 5 & 6: Prose – maximum 1200 words; Poetry – no minimum stipulation
- Lower Secondary – Years 7 & 8: Prose – maximum 1500 words; Poetry – no minimum stipulation
- Middle Secondary – Years 9 & 10: Prose – maximum 1500 words; Poetry – no minimum stipulation
- Upper Secondary – Years 11 & 12: Prose – maximum 2000 words; Poetry – no minimum stipulation
Entry fee: free.
Closing date: Saturday 3 July 2021.
More information: can be found on the the City of Greater Geraldton Library website.
14. 2022 Premier’s Anzac Student Tour Competition
The brief: Apply for a once in a lifetime experience exploring the journey of our Anzacs by preparing an extended written response of no more than 1000 words on the following topic:
What would it have been like to grow up in a family affected by war?
In response, consider the impact on women, the community, and the expectations and responsibilities of people your own age by drawing on a selected Western Australian individual, community or group as evidence.
Open to: Western Australian students who are currently in years 8 to 11.
Categories: Schools conduct their own selection process and can nominate up to three students in each of the two categories of Years 8/9 and Year 10/11.
Entry fee: free.
Prizes: 10 students will be selected to take part in an Anzac Tour around Anzac Day in 2022.
Closing date: Friday 13 August 2021.
More information: can be found on the WA Department of Education’s website.
15. Poem Forest Competition
The brief: Submit a single poem no more than 20 lines and linked to the theme of nature.
Open to: Australian students and young people (aged 18 and under), an accredited teacher or a parent/guardian.
Categories: lower primary (F–Year 3); upper primary (Years 4–6); lower secondary (Years 7–9); upper secondary (Years 10–12); accredited teacher (All ages); threatened Species (F–12); the Australian Botanic Gardens local prize (F–12).
Entry fee: free.
Prizes: All POEM FOREST entries will be published and in the running for $5,000 worth of prizes, including $500 cash for each category, book packs from Copyright Agency and Magabala Books, as well as Garden tours, trees and publication opportunities.
Closing date: Friday 17 September 2021.
More information: head to Red Room Poetry’s website.
16. Wombat Books Illustration Challenge 2021
The brief: submit original illustrations from for the creation of the picture book Screen Free Holiday. Pick on of the spreads provided in the picture book text (on the Wombat Books website) and illustrate something that matches, leaving room for the text to go when printed. You are free to illustrate just one or multiple spreads.
Open to: Australian school-aged students, aged 5-18.
Entry fee: a previous purchase of one of Wombat Books’ other illustration challenges.
Prizes: winning illustrations will be published in a new book which is due for release in 2022. Illustrators will receive two free copies of the book. They will also be acknowledged on the Wombat Books website.
Closing date: Tuesday 30 November 2021.
More information: head to Wombat Books.
17. Writing Tournament
The brief: submit up to 500 words in and genre and style on the theme of ‘border reivers’. The Border Reivers were “a lawless population of raiders, murderers and thieves. They flourished in the 16th century on the borders of England and Scotland, but were wanted by neither country.” You may submit a maximum of one entry per month until the closing date.
Open to: anyone aged 8 to 16.
Categories: 8 to 12 & 13 to16.
Entry fee: free.
Prizes: Various including publication (see the competition’s website for details).
Closing date: Tuesday 28 September 2021.
More information can be found on William J. Kite’s website, where you will also find details and links relating to the Border Reviers as well as ideas to get you started writing.
Over to You
Just a quick note: if you do enter a competition, take time to read the guidelines carefully to ensure you’re entry meets the requirements, so that it’s accepted. This can include seemingly minor details such as size, font and spacing of your text.
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, keep writing – and let me know how you go!
