Young Writer 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 chronlogoical 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:
- July: Songwriting Competition
- August: Flash Fiction Competition
Cost: 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. Little Black Dress Spooky Story Competition (KSP Writers Centre)
The brief: Write a story of up to 500 words on the theme of ‘change’. 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 goody bag; Youth (WA) second prize: $25, certificate and goody bag; Youth Interstate Award: $25 and certificate.
Closing date: 5.00pm AWST Friday 19 July 2019.
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.
3. Convict Children Competition
The brief: When Australia was a British penal colony, some of the convicts sent over were children, punished with transportation for crimes like theft. Write a journal entry describing life as a child convict. In your short journal entry (120 words max), make up a name, age, crime and sentence based on your knowledge of real convicts.
Open to: all residents of Australia who are 18 years or under.
Categories: primary and secondary.
Cost: free.
Prizes: The two prize winners will each win: history books to the value of (incl. GST): $50.00.
Closing date: Friday 26 July 2019.
More information: visit the ABC Education’s website. There you’ll find a Convict Children digibook packed full of information about this period in Australian history, and instructions on how to submit your entry.
4. HTAV Historical Fiction Competition
The Brief: Create a story based on historical events and people. You can write about any period of history as long as the entry has a convincing setting that is historically correct in time and place.
Open to: open to year 5 – 10 students in Victoria, and students from schools in other states who are members of the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria (HTAV).
Categories: years 5 and 6; years 7 and 8; years 9 and 10.
Cost: free.
Prizes: Winning students in each category will receive a cash prize of $150 and a certificate.
Closing date: Friday 2 August 2019.
More information: visit the HTAV website.
5. 2019 Fair Australia Prize
The brief: The Fair Australia prize encourages artists and writers of fiction, poetry and essays to explore the following questions: How does money, time, and power alter our daily lives, limiting some while others rise to the ‘top’? In our work, our lives, and our communities, how should things be? How might we change our collective future?
The theme for 2019 is ‘Strike’ – entrants are encouraged not to take the theme too literally. Think about the theme broadly and laterally; use it as a jumping off point for your own ideas (visit the competition page for some suggested prompts and further reading).
Categories:
- fiction (up to 3000 words)
- essay (up to 3000 words)
- poetry (up to 88 lines)
- cartoon or graphic (180 mm wide by 255 mm high)
- best overall entry by a migrant writer, artist or worker* (in any category)
- three best member entries (for NUW, MEAA and NTEU members only); these $1000 prizes are awarded to member entries in any of the above categories.
This year there are also two specific youth categories:
- best overall youth entry – 18 and under (in any category)
- best overall youth entry – 19 to 30 (in any category)
Cost: free.
Prizes: Among the $10,000 worth of prizes are two youth prizes of $1,000 each.
Closing date: Monday 5 August 2019.
More information: visit Overland’s website, where you will find submission guidelines and instructions on how to submit.
6. 2020 Premier’s Anzac Student Tour Competition
The brief: Prepare a written response of no more than 1000 words on the following topic:
Using a chosen form of writing for specific effect, explain the impact of the Anzac tradition on modern Australia by exploring a selected Western Australian individual, community or group and their significance to you.
Open to: school students in years 8 to 11 in Western Australia, who display a genuine interest in the Anzac experience; an appreciation of the study of history; excellent interpersonal skills and self-confidence; and a willingness to share their tour experiences (if selected) in their school and local community.
Categories: Schools conduct their own selection process and can nominate up to three students in each of the three categories of Years 8/9, Year 10 and Year 11.
Cost: free.
Prizes: Ten students will be selected to participate in this historical commemorative study tour to Darwin and Singapore from Thursday 16 April to Saturday 26 April. The tour follows in the footsteps of the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion. Selected students will be accompanied by three adult supervisors. The Western Australian Government will meet the cost of international airfares, official clothing, accommodation and the group’s meals when in Darwin and Singapore. Parents will be responsible for meeting passport and visa expenses, travel insurance, immunisations and personal out-of-pocket expenses.
Closing date: Friday 16 August 2019.
More information: visit the Education Department of Western Australia’s website.
7. Young Territory Author Awards
The brief: Create an original story and present it in book format.
Open to: Residents of the Northern Territory who are 18 years or under at the time of writing the story.
Categories: 8 years and under; 9-12 years; 13-15 years; 16-18 years; Regional areas; School Entries; Young Territory Author of the year.
Cost: free
Prizes: The Young Territory Author of the year receives $500; The School Entry winner receives $500 for the school; Regional area winners receive a $50 prize; Age Category winners receive $50 voucher to the Bookshop Darwin; Highly Commended in each age category receive a $30 voucher to the Bookshop Darwin; Encouragement Awards in each age category receive a $20 voucher to the Bookshop Darwin.
Closing date: Friday 23 August 2019.
More information: Visit the City of Darwin website.
8. Boroondara Literary Awards
The brief: Write a short story or poem. Word limits depends on age group (see categories below for specific word limits).
Open to: The open category is open to all Australian residents. The young writers’ categories are only open to young people who live, work or study in Boroondara, Victoria.
Categories:
- Young Writers’ Competition: Junior Category (years 5 and 6)
- Prose length: between 300 and 500 words
- Poetry length: less than 100 lines
- Young Writers’ Competition: Middle Category (years 7, 8 and 9)
- Prose length: between 500 and 900 words
- Poetry length: less than 200 lines
- Young Writers’ Competition: Senior Category (years 10, 11 and 12)
- Prose length: between 900 and 1,300 words
- Poetry length: less than 200 lines
- Open Short Story Competition (all Australian residents)
- Between 1,500 and 3,000 words
Cost: Appears to be free to enter.
Prizes: includes more than $5,000 in prize money across various age groups in the Young Writers’ category.
Closing date: Friday 30 August 2019.
More information: visit the Boroondara Literary Awards webpage.
9. City of Vincent Local History Awards (Geoffrey Bolton Award)
The brief: Write a story, up to 2,000 words, that enhance our knowledge of people, places and events in the Vincent area, past and present. Written entries can be in the form of memoirs and autobiographies, biographies, essays, historical narratives based on historical research or original research of any kind.
Open to: everyone, including non-residents.
Categories: As well as the Geoffrey Bolton award, there are two photographic categories, although no specific youth category in these.
Cost: free.
Prizes: Youth Award (Schools or individuals 18 years and under): $100 (plus other prizes for the adult categories).
Closing date: Friday 30 August 2019.
More info: visit the City of Vincent Library and Local History Centre website.
10. Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition 2019
The Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition is a national literary competition for children and adults who are blind or have low vision. This year, for the first time, there is a special “People’s Choice” award that will be open to anyone (even if you are sighted). All entries in this category will be published on the Braille House website and the audience will get to choose the winner.
The Brief: Pen a short story, article or poem on the theme of freedom.
Open to: To be eligible for categories 1-5, a participant much be a resident of Australia who is either legally blind, or has low or no vision. Category 6 is open to all Australians.
Categories: 1. Adult short story; 2. Adult poem/song lyrics/limerick; 3. Adult article/opinion; 4. Senior student creative category (e.g. story, poem, song lyrics, limerick, blog); 5. Junior student creative category (e.g. story, poem, song lyrics, limerick, blog); 6. People’s choice category (short story).
Age groups: Junior student (12 years or under); Senior student (13-17 years); Adult (over 18 years).
Format: Submissions should be in hard-copy Braille, a Word document, Simbraille or a Duxbury-readable file.
Cost: Adults and Senior students, $10 per item; Junior students, $5 per item. People’s Choice Category: $10 per item for all entrants.
Prizes: $350 first prize per category and $150 second prize per category.
Closing date: Postmarked by Friday 30 August 2019.
More information: Visit the Braille House website where you can download submission guidelines and an entry form.
11. Sisters in Crime Australia’s 26th Scarlet Stiletto Awards
The brief: Write a short story up to 5,000 words with a female main character (hero or anti-hero) and a crime/mystery theme.
Open to: women residents and citizens of Australia.
Categories: There are a number of categories available to enter, but the one most relevant to young writers is the Elephant Tree Publishing Award (for Best Young Writer under 19).
Entry fee: Entry fee: $25/$20 Sisters in Crime members.
Prizes: the prize for the Elephant Tree Publishing Award is $500.
Closing date: Saturday 31 August 2019.
More information: please visit the Sisters in Crime website, where you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions, as well as details on how to submit your story.
12. 2019 Hilarie Lindsay Young Writers Short Story Competition
The brief: Write a short story up to 1500 words (up to year 6) or 2500 (for years 7 to 12).
Open to: Australian school children.
Categories, prizes and word limits:
- Section 1: Years 10, 11 & 12. Up to 2500 words. Prize $150
- Section 2: Years 7, 8 & 9. Up to 2500 words. Prize $150
- Section 3: Years 5 & 6. Up to 1500 words. Prize $100
- Section 4: Year 4 and under. Up to 1500 words. Prize $50
Cost: $3.00 per entry.
Closing date: Saturday 31 August 2019.
More info: visit the Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW website for terms and conditions, and an online entry form.
13. The Deakin University Nonfiction Prize
The brief: Entries between 5,000 and 10,000 words are welcome across all nonfiction genres, including memoir, journalism, essay, and creative nonfiction. They may be excerpted from a longer work but should preferably also function as stand-alone pieces.
Open to: residents of Australia who are 30 years of age or under as of the closing date (Sunday 1 September 2019).
Cost: free.
Prizes: The winner receives a cash prize of $3000, and an editorial mentorship to develop their work from Managing Editor at Black Inc and Express Media Board Member Julia Carlomagno. Shortlisted writers will receive an invitation to an exclusive craft development masterclass with some of Australia’s best nonfiction writers; personalised feedback on their entry from the judges; and a generous selection of new-release books from publishers including: NewSouth Publishing, Black Inc and Scribe Publications.
Closing date: Sunday 1 September 2019.
More information: visit the Express Media website, where you will find submission guidelines and instructions on how to enter.
14. 2019 Toolangi CJ Dennis Poetry Competition
The brief: The CJ Dennis Poetry Competition seeks to celebrate the work of CJ Dennis and relate to an Australian subject. Enter a poem with a good rhyme and metre, or a short story up to 500 words.
Categories and prizes: Primary school students: preps to grade 6 (first price $30, second prize $20 third prize $10; Secondary school students: years 7-12 (first prize $50, second prize $30, third prize $20). There is also a category for adults entering.
Cost: free to student entries and $10 per adult entry, plus $3 in stamps.
Closing date: 7 September 2019.
More information: Download the submission guidelines and entry form.
15. Red Room Poetry: Poetry Object
Poetry Object aims to ignite imaginations by inviting young writers (Years 3-10) and their teachers to create poems inspired by treasured, curious or talismanic objects.
The brief: Create poems of no more than 20 lines, that are in some way inspired by a curious, special or talismanic object. You can explore Red Room Poetry’s curriculum-aligned learning resource for stimulus activities, examples of special object poems, and editing guides to spark inspiration and help develop your poem.
Open to: young people (Years 3-10) and their teachers, across Australia and New Zealand. All types of mainstream schooling systems are eligible to register, as well as home schools, GAT programs, special needs groups, alternative education and individual young writers.
Categories: There are three age categories for prizes: primary, secondary and teacher. In each category, several prizes will be awarded (first place, highly commended, etc.). There is also a multimedia installation category, open to classes or groups.
Cost: free.
Prizes: a list of prizes totalling over $10,000 can be found on the competition’s prize webpage.
Closing date: Friday 27 September (5pm AEST).
More information: Visit the Red Room Poetry website, where you’ll find learning resources, entry conditions and instructions on how to submit (which includes registering your school).
16. KSP Short Fiction Competition
The brief: Write a short story up to 1,000 words on an open style and theme.
Open to: Australian residents and citizens.
Categories: youth (10 to 17 years); adult (18 and over – the word limit for the adult category is 2,500)
Cost: free for the youth category.
Prizes: First place $300 prize for open plus weekend residency at the KSP Writers’ Centre (non-transferable, $300 value) and $100 first place prize 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; Select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.
Closing date: Friday 27 September 2019.
More information: visit the KSP Writers’ Centre Competition page, where you will find submission guidelines and instructions on how to submit your entry.
17. Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing 2019
The brief: Write a short story up to 2,500 words or a poem up to 60 lines. All genres of crime writing are eligible, from hard-boiled to comic, paranormal to rural, historical to contemporary, noir to cosy.
Open to: all Australian residents.
Categories: There are six awards on offer for crime writers, with one of these being specifically for youth (The Youth Award for writers under 18). There is also an The Emerging Authors Award for the best entry in any category from new, unpublished writers over 18 only.
Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for youth
Prizes: The Youth Award has a first prize of $150. The Emerging Authors Award has a first prize of $250.
Closing date: Monday 7 October 2019.
More information: visit the New England Writers’ Centre website.
18. KSP Poetry Awards
The brief: Write a poem up to 50 lines in length.
Open to: Australian residents and citizens.
Categories: Youth KSP Poetry Awards (10 to 17 years); Open KSP Poetry Awards (18 years plus); Annette Cameron Encouragement Award (open to WA residents over 18 who have never had a poem published before.).
Cost: free for the youth category.
Prizes: First place $300 prize for open plus weekend residency at the KSP Writers’ Centre (non-transferable, $300 value) and $100 first place prize for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; Up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; First place $100 prize for Annette Cameron Encouragement Award for an unpublished WA poet; Up to three commended certificates for Annette Cameron Encouragement Award;
Mundaring National Young Writers encourgement award for under 14s with $25 prize; Select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.
Closing date: Friday 11 October 2019.
More information: visit the KSP Writers’ Centre Competition page, where you will find submission guidelines and instructions on how to submit your entry.
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!
