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. IndigoTeen Magazine
The brief: submit short stories, essays and novellas, memes, and comics, fan fiction and poetry, graphic design and artwork.
Open to: young people from 13 to 19 years old.
Entry fee: free to submit.
Closing date: rolling.
More information: visit IndigoHub’s website.
2. Write the World (ongoing monthly competitions)
Write the World describes itself as a ‘community of young writers (ages 13-19.5), 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:
August 2025 —flash fiction: a story in your pocket (opens on Monday 4 August; draft for optional expert review due Monday 11 August; closes on Monday 25 August).
November 2025 — fiction: hit and run (opens on Monday 3 November; draft for optional expert review due Monday 10 November; closes on Monday 24 November)
January 2026 — fairy tales and myths: re-imagine the past (opens on Monday 5 January 2026; draft for optional expert review due Monday 12 January; closes on Monday 26 January)
February 2026 — op-ed competition: your voice matters (opens on Monday 2 February 2026; draft for optional expert review due Monday 9 February 2026; closes on Monday 23 February 2026)
March 2026 — to be revealed: competition genre to be announced a month prior (opens on Monday 2 March 2026; draft for optional expert review due Monday 9 March 2026; closes on Monday 23 March 2026)
April 2026 — poetry and spoken word competition: joy and pain and wonder (opens on Monday 6 April; draft for optional expert review due Monday 13 April 2026; closes on Monday 27 April 2026)
May 2026 — to be revealed: competition genre to be announced a month prior (opens on Monday 4 May 2026; draft for optional expert review due Monday 11 May 2026; closes on Monday 25 May 2026)
June 2026 — personal essay competition: build a bridge (opens on Monday 1 June; draft for optional expert review due Monday 8 June; closes on Monday 22 June 2026)
July 2026 — to be revealed: competition genre to be announced a month prior (opens on Monday 6 July 2026; draft for optional expert review due Monday 13 July 2026; closes on Monday 27 July 2026)
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.
3. KSP Poetry Prize
The brief: Submit a poem of up to 50 lines.
Open to: Australian residents (Western Australian resident for the Annette Cameron Encouragement Award).
Categories: Youth KSP Poetry Awards (10 to 17 years); Open KSP Poetry Awards (18 years plus); Annette Cameron Encouragement Award (for current West Australian residents over the age of 18 who have never published a full collection of poetry either in print or online).
Entry fee: free for youth; $10 for other categories.
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; Annette Cameron Award for an Unpublished WA Poet: $150; 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: Sunday 26 October 2025.
More information: visit KSP’s website.
4. KSP Short Fiction Competition
The brief: submit fiction on an open theme.
Open to: Australian residents.
Categories and word limits: youth (up to 1,000 words per entry); adult (up to 2,500 per entry).
Entry fees: youth (up to 17 years)—Free, limit of one entry per person; adult (18 plus): $10 per entry, no limit on entries.
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.
Closing date: Sunday 26 October 2025.
More information: visit the KSP Writers’ Centre’s website.
5. Storyfest National Novella Writing Competition
The brief: submit a novella of no less than 8,000 words and no more than 20,000 words.
Open to: secondary students, including those receiving home schooling. Entrants must be under 19 years of age at date of close of entries.
Entry fee: $20.
Prizes: $100 each per finalist; $300 for the national winner.
Closing date: Friday 5 December 2025.
More info: Somerset Storyfest’s website.
6. Storyfest National Poetry Prize
The brief: submit poems up to 50 lines excluding the title, on any subject.
Open to: secondary students including those receiving home schooling.
Categories: Junior Secondary – Years 7 to 9; Senior Secondary – Years 10 to 12.
Entry fee: $15.
Prizes: one winner will be selected from each category and at the discretion of the judges, up to five short-listed highly commended runners up will be selected. The winner in each category will receive $300.
Closing date: Friday 5 December 2025.
More info: Somerset Storyfest’s website.
7. The Golden Pen
The brief: submit a creative work up to 2,000 words in any form (e.g. fiction, non-fiction, graphic novel). Illustrated submissions should be a maximum of 6 x A4 pages.
Open to: Western Australian students in years 4 to 12.
Categories:
Entry fee: free to enter.
Prizes: Golden Pen winners from each age category will win an e-reader valued up to
$249, and a Scribblers book pack.
Closing date: Tuesday 3 March 2026.
More info: visit the Scribbler’s Festival website.
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!
