Whatever your writing goals are, you’ll find a range of opportunities in our round-up of literary prizes, competitions, fellowships, calls for submissions and more below.
Writing prizes are a great way to give yourself a deadline, build your publication credits, as well offering a potential financial incentive at any stage of your writing career.
Please note that inclusion on this page is not an endorsement. Writers should always carefully check terms and conditions for information on fees, rights, and eligibility.
Grants
Entries close
1 Sep 2026
Creative Australia: Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups
Funding of between $10,000 and $50,000 for a range of activities and projects, both national and international, across the following art forms and arts practice areas: First Nations Arts and Culture, Community Arts and Cultural Development, Emerging and Experimental Arts, Multi-Arts, Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts and Literature. Supported activities must take place between 9 June 2026 and June 2028. Funded activities may include: professional skills development, including mentoring and residencies, the creation of new work, practice based research, creative development, experimentation, collaborations and exchanges, touring, festivals, productions, exhibitions, performances, publishing, recording, promotion and marketing, market development activity, and activities that creatively engage communities.
Entries close
28 Sep 2026
CreateSA – Grants for Individuals, Groups, Organisations
This grant supports the development, production and presentation of new works by independent artists and groups across all art forms.
Funded activity may include playwriting, dramaturgy, creative development, manuscript draft and development and making work in the studio.
Literature applications for the preparation of work for self-publishing will be accepted where a compelling case for self-publishing can be made. This would include a strong track record of published work and a viable marketing/distribution plan.
Entries close
Various
City of Adelaide Arts & Cultural Grants
The Arts and Cultural Grants Program provides funding to the community to deliver fun, lively, and interesting arts and cultural experiences with presentation outcomes in the city that enable a vibrant, connected and inclusive community in line with the City of Adelaide Strategic Plan 2024-2028.
These grants enable a diverse year-round program that attracts visitors and connect the community to the city.
Entries close
Various
Country Arts SA Grants
Country Arts SA have a range of grants to support arts and cultural activities in regional South Australia. View the grants page for those currently open.
Currently closed
Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund
Through its Create Grants, the Fund provides a living allowance for Australian writers and visual artists at key stages of their career. Creative writers who have published one full-length creative work in Australia can apply to write their second book in the following literary genres: fiction, poetry, children’s literature, young adult literature, picture book illustration, graphic novels, playwriting, literary non-fiction and writing for performance (plays only).
Entries close
1 August
Independent Arts Foundation
IAF Small Grants for Young and/or Emerging Artists (individual and group) All art forms are eligible including (but not limited to): Creative Writing (fiction, non-fiction, screen plays, poetry), Music (composition, performance, recording & production), Performing Arts (acting, directing, circus, dance), Visual Arts (all media), Film & New Media, Multi Arts.
Fellowships & Scholarships
Currently closed
Copyright Agency Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers
The Copyright Agency Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers will support a writer aged 18-35 years to develop and write a new work of fiction.
Named in honour of the late Frank Moorhouse, the Fellowship will provide a genuine career development opportunity for a young fiction writer who has not yet published a full-length work of fiction.
Applicants must have previously published some short stories/work in literary magazines, journals or a curated/edited online site. Writers who have published a full-length work of any length, in fiction or any genre, are not eligible to apply for this Fellowship.
The Fellowship is essentially a living allowance to create a new work of fiction. It may also be used for mentoring costs; however, support for editorial costs before submitting the manuscript to a publisher/literary agent is not a priority for this Fellowship as publishers will usually edit the work once accepted for publication.
The Fellowship does not support the writing of young adult fiction, children’s fiction, including picture books, and graphic novels, or the creation of work for an academic or scholarly purpose and readership.
Applications close
31 July 2026
Deane Miller Fellowship
The Friends of the State Library of South Australia Deane Miller Fellowship is a new initiative supporting the research and development of an original and new work inspired by the State Library of South Australia’s collections.
The Fellowship is open to artists, writers, researchers and creatives working across disciplines.
Honouring the legacy and generosity of Deane Miller, the Fellowship supports new research and creative practice that engage with the depth and diversity of the State Library’s collections and South Australian stories. It enables the creation of new creative work to be shared publicly.
The Fellowship includes:
- $15,000 funding to support research at the State Library and development of a new creative work
- In-kind support from Library staff, including supported access to collections
- Access to workspace (where available)
- Promotion and documentation of the Fellowship
- A public announcement event (October 2026)
- A public presentation of the completed project (October 2027)
- Three years’ membership of the Friends of the State Library
To be considered, applicants must:
- Demonstrate the capacity to undertake research using State Library collections and develop a new creative work over a 12 month period
- Propose a new creative work (not previously completed or already in progress)
- Be able to meet the Fellowship requirements and timeline.
- Be an Australian resident. Preference may be given to applicants with a demonstrated connection to South Australia.
If you are considering ideas or shaping a concept, the State Library can assist with:
- Identifying relevant collections and material
- Navigating catalogues and archives
- Exploring how your project might connect to the collections
Applications close
2 August 2026
Copyright Agency-UTS Indigenous Writers’ Fellowship 2026/2027
Emerging and early career Indigenous Australian creative writers are invited to apply for the Copyright Agency-UTS Indigenous Writers’ Fellowship 2026/2027.
Delivered through the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund in partnership with the UTS Creative Writing Program, the fellowship will support two Indigenous Australian creative writers to develop their creative practice while building leadership skills and professional networks in a supportive and collegial environment.
Running from August 2026 to July 2027, the fellowship combines activities at UTS with online participation, making it accessible to First Nations writers based anywhere in Australia.
The program will be tailored to the successful applicants and includes:
- Two one-week writing residencies with support from Creative Writing staff and UTS Indigenous creatives to focus on new creative projects.
- Monthly mentoring sessions with UTS writing academics.
- A leadership development workshop with Indigenous academics.
- Networking opportunities with publishers, editors, and literary journals.
- Participation in the Indigenous Studies Conference at UTS on 28-29 October 2026, providing a national platform for Indigenous academics and creative practitioners.
Successful fellows will receive a $15,000 stipend each, along with dedicated desk space within the Indigenous Studies discipline area at UTS. Part of the stipend may be used to support accommodation and travel to Sydney for the residency periods.
As part of the fellowship, participants will also promote the Copyright Agency-UTS Indigenous Writers’ Fellowship and the UTS Creative Writing Program, and deliver one writing workshop for Indigenous creative writing students.
Applicants must be:
- First Nations Australians. This is an identified opportunity for First Nations Australian applicants only.
- An emerging or early career writer with at least five professional publications of creative work in literary journals, magazines, or anthologies, and be working towards a first or second book.
- A permanent resident of Australia at the time of application.
- Willing and able to travel to Sydney for two one-week residencies.
- Available to participate in the Indigenous Studies Conference on 28 and 29 October 2026.
Applications close
17 August 2026
Copyright Agency’s Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing
The Copyright Agency’s Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing will support an Australian author to create a significant new work of literary non-fiction.
One Fellowship will be awarded each year to create a significant new work. Applicants must submit a description of their intended project accompanied by a writing sample from the proposed Fellowship project to demonstrate their literary merit.
Applications will be accepted for the following literary genres: memoir, biography, autobiography, history, criticism and review, arts/science writing, political analysis, writing on the environment; and other genres which contribute to the national discussion/polemic.
Projects should start after Monday 2 November 2026. The project should span up to 12 months. A project of one or two months is not regarded as a substantial Fellowship activity.
To be eligible to apply for this $80,000 grant, applicants must:
- Have previously published at least two full-length books of their own creative writing (of which one book may be self-published)
- Secured a contract from an Australian-based book publisher OR a letter of interest/intent to publish from an Australian-based book publisher
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Any overdue Cultural Fund grants must be acquitted
Applications close
17 August 2026
Copyright Agency’s Author Fellowship
The Copyright Agency’s Author Fellowship will support an established Australian author to create a new work for publication or performance and is open to novelists, playwrights, poets, children’s and young adult writers, picture book illustrators and journalists.
One Fellowship will be awarded each year to create a significant new work (or a series of books if writing for children and young adults). For this year, applicants must submit a detailed description of their project accompanied by a writing sample from the proposed Fellowship project to demonstrate their literary merit.
Projects should start after Monday 2 November 2026. The project should span up to 12 months. A project of one or two months is not regarded as a substantial Fellowship activity.
To be eligible to apply for this $80,000 grant, applicants must:
- Have previously published/performed at least five full-length works of their own creative writing (of which two books may be self-published)
- Secured a contract from an Australian-based book publisher OR a letter of interest/intent to publish from an Australian-based book publisher/theatre company
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Applicants must have acquitted any overdue Cultural Fund grants
July
Closes 1 Jul
Competition
The ACU Prize for Poetry
Inspired by the Catholic Church’s longstanding tradition as a patron of the arts, the ACU Prize for Poetry has become one of Australia’s most prized poetry awards since its inception in 2013.
The prize has as its aim the simple goal of supporting the emergence of new and dynamic Australian poets and poetry.
An initiative of our university’s Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Catholic Mission), the ACU Prize for Poetry receives hundreds of entries each year from across Australia.
The theme for the 2026 ACU Prize for Poetry is Witness.
“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”
-Elie Wiesel
First prize: $10,000
Second prize: $5,000
Third prize: $3,000
Highly commended: $750
Read more here
Closes 1 Jul
Competition
Rockingham Writers Centre National Short Story Award
For a short story with ‘A Twist in the Tale’, open to writers across Australia.
$500 first prize
$100 second prize
Read more here
Closes 12 Jul
Competition
Newcastle Short Story Award
Since 2012, the Newcastle Short Story Award has attracted Australia’s brightest storytelling talent, offering both emerging and established writers the chance to showcase their work. Each year, esteemed judges, skilled in the short story form, choose the most compelling entries to craft an anthology that celebrates and showcases the diversity of Australian storytelling. Winning the Newcastle Short Story Award marks a writer’s achievement in the art of short fiction.
The Newcastle Short Story Award is open to Australian citizens and permanent residents aged 18 years or older. Each year, we invite submissions of original, unpublished short fiction.
Shortlisted stories are published in the Newcastle Short Story Award anthology, and prizewinners are announced at an awards celebration in November.
Maximum 2,000 words, including title and any subheadings.
First Prize: $3,000 Second Prize: $1,500 Third Prize: $500 Members Prize: $500 (for current members of Hunter Writers’ Centre)
Highly Commended: $250
All non-award winning stories published in the anthology receive a $75 publication fee.
Read more here
Closes 13 Jul
Competition
The Richell Prize
Hachette Australia, together with the Richell family, established The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers in partnership with The Guardian Australia and The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF). The Prize was launched in 2015 in memory of Hachette Australia’s CEO, Matt Richell, who died suddenly in July 2014.
Designed to help guide new talent towards publication with financial and mentoring support, the Prize is open to unpublished writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction. Writers do not need to have a full manuscript at the time of submission, though they must intend to complete one.
The winner receives $10,000 in prize money, donated by Hachette Australia, and a year’s mentoring with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers.
Read more here
Closes 17 Jul
Competition
2026 Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards Short Story Competition
The Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards are an initiative of the Whitsundays Writers Festival, a national celebration of Australian literary and artistic excellence. More than a competition, this suite of awards honours the craft and courage of storytelling in all its forms – from the raw power of an unpublished manuscript to the visual poetry of a book cover. The Heart Awards are a testament to the festival’s deep commitment to the future of Australian literature and its creators.
The Heart Awards recognise the power of storytelling and will feature two categories: Open Age and Under 18, giving both emerging and established writers the opportunity to showcase their work.
Winners will be announced at the 2026 Whitsundays Writers Festival, to be held on 13 September at the Whitsunday Marine Club in Airlie Beach, where the event will spotlight the talent and creativity of local authors. Significant cash prizes of $1,000 and $500 will be awarded in both categories, making the Heart Awards one of the region’s most exciting opportunities for short story writers.
Writers are invited to submit original short stories of up to 3,000 words. Entries are encouraged to demonstrate imagination, originality, and strong storytelling craft.
While authors may use modern writing tools in the development of their work, the festival emphasises that entries must remain primarily the writer’s own creative work, and submissions will be subject to AI usage checks to ensure fairness and authenticity.
Entry fees apply.
Read more here
Closes 19 Jul
Submissions Open
Woollahra Digital Literary Award 2026
Entries are now open for the 2026 Woollahra Digital Literary Award, celebrating outstanding Australian writing shaped for digital platforms.
If you’ve published work online in fiction, non-fiction or poetry, this is your chance to be recognised on a national stage. If you’re developing something new, the reimagined Digital Innovation prize invites you to take it further.
Read more here
Closes 30 Jul
Submissions Open
Heroines Anthology & Women’s Writing Prize
Submissions are open for the 7th Heroines Anthology and the Heroines Women’s writing prize.
Heroines Anthology publishes literary writing by women. The anthology focuses on telling women’s lost history, untold stories, and myths, fairy tales, folklore, or legends reimagined from the perspective of their women characters. This will be the Heroines Anthology’s seventh edition. Before submission, we strongly advise writers to read a previous volume of Heroines Anthology to get a feel for what the editors are looking for and to check the stories and myths have already been covered. All submissions are considered for the Heroines Women’s Writing Prize.
Read more here
Closes 31 Jul
Competition
The Next Chapter
Applications are now open for The Wheeler Centre’s landmark writing development program, The Next Chapter – one of Australia’s most significant and generous opportunities for emerging writers to develop their work and find their place in the publishing landscape. The Next Chapter exists to elevate Australian stories that aren’t being published and to nurture a new generation of writers.
Each Next Chapter writer will receive a $15,000 stipend and be paired with a handpicked mentor to work closely with them over 12 months as they progress a major writing project.
Participants will also be invited attend a residency at Varuna, The National Writers’ House, and an end-of-year publishing intensive at The Wheeler Centre, offering selected writers genuine, practical pathways into the industry alongside the time and support to develop their work.
As part of the application, writers will need to include a 10,000-word writing sample from the project they wish to work on during The Next Chapter.
Read more here
Closes 31 Jul
Competition
The International Dark Poets Prize
The International Dark Poets Prize returns for its fifth edition, and for the first time in Dark Poets Club history, three poets will receive major cash awards as part of our largest and most ambitious competition yet.
Open to poets worldwide, Dark Poets Prize V invites you to submit your finest dark poetry exploring the beauty, complexity and intrigue found within darkness. Whether your work is gothic, melancholic, macabre, unsettling, surreal or quietly haunting, we want to read it.
With a prize fund of £1,800, publication opportunities and international recognition, this year’s competition marks a new chapter for the Dark Poets Club community.
Previously published work is welcome. We believe great poetry deserves to be celebrated regardless of where it has appeared before.
Read more here
Closes 31 Jul
for early bird entries
Competition
The Hope Prize
Early bird deadline: 31 July 2026
Final deadline: 31 October 2026
The Hope Prize is a global short story competition open to writers from anywhere in the world. They accept prose short stories only – either fiction or narrative nonfiction (including memoir). They do not accept poetry, essays, or academic writing.
The total prize pool for The Hope Prize is $13,000 AUD, with winning entries and selected highly commended stories published in an anthology by Simon & Schuster Australia.
Genre, style, and subject matter are open (they encourage bold self expression and boundary pushing). They are looking for thoughtful engagement with the themes of hope, courage, or resilience. Stories that help us to understand the human experience in all its forms; love, daily grit, small wins, massive triumphs and living through what life throws at us.
They passionately welcome writers at all stages of their journey. The best way to understand what the judges are looking for is to buy a copy of the 2024 Hope Prize Anthology, Tomorrow There Will Be Sun. 100% of royalties from the sale of this book go to mental health charity Beyond Blue.
Read more here
August
Closes 2 Aug
Competition
The KYD Poetry Prize
The KYD Poetry Prize is a new initiative dedicated to creating new space for the beauty, experimentation and radical linguistic potential of verse. Seeking previously unpublished poems of up to 80 lines from new, emerging and established Australian poets. You must be a KYD Member to enter.
The first prize winner will receive $1000, and two runners-up will both receive $500.
Read more here
Closes 7 Aug
Competition
Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition
Open to short stories (maximum 1000 words) with powerful beginnings, rising tension, and a climax that resonates, that address the theme of I’m Glad You Called.
That simple phrase – I’m Glad You Called – can hold relief, dread, gratitude, humour, or even regret, depending on who says it and why. Perhaps you’ll consider stories where the call changes something – perhaps it interrupts a life-altering decision, reconnects estranged people, delivers unexpected news, or arrives from someone the caller never expected to hear from. You might explore different genres: a suspenseful late-night call that prevents a disaster, a romantic reconnection sparked by a wrong number, a speculative tale where the call comes across time or from beyond, or a quiet, emotional story where the act of reaching out is the true turning point. Focus on the emotional shift contained in that one sentence – what it meant before the call, and how everything feels after it’s spoken.
Prizes include cash, and membership to the Queensland Writers Centre. Winners don’t have to be Queensland-based to enjoy the membership benefits of the QWC. The top 40 stories will be published in an anthology, with published entrants receiving a free digital copy.
An entry fee applies.
Read more here
Closes 14 Aug
Competition
2027 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards (VPLAs) were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. Administered by The Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Victorian Government, the VPLAs are one of Australia’s most prestigious and lucrative literary prize suites – championing excellence across Fiction, Non-Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Indigenous Writing, Humour Writing, Children’s Literature and Writing for Young Adults.
Entries are sought for the following categories for 2027, within the eligible publishing period indicated:
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, John Marsden Prize for writing for young adults, children’s literature, Indigenous writing – Books published between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 are eligible for these awards.
Drama – Theatre and musical theatre scripts first produced in Australia by a professional theatre company for an audience between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 are eligible for this award.
The John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing – accepts works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry published between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026.
The winners of each Prize receive $25,000, and will go on to contest the major prize, the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature. This is the single most valuable literary award in the country.
An entry fee applies.
Read more here
Closes 31 Aug
Competition
Scarlet Stiletto Awards 2026
The Scarlet Stiletto Awards, now in its 33rd year, is designed to encourage and support women and girls to find their voice through storytelling. It is Australia’s premier short story awards for crime fiction written by women, whether cisgender, transgender, or intersex, who are citizens/residents of Australia.
The Awards offer $13,500 in prize money. The first prize winner takes home $2000, sponsored by Swinburne University of Technology, plus the coveted stiletto trophy: a scarlet stiletto shoe with a steel stiletto heel plunging into a mount. Second and third prizes will also be awarded, and 11 additional category prizes, including: Body in the Library, Cross-genre, Great Film Idea, Most Satisfying Retribution, Forensic Clue, and others. Winners will be published in an anthology and may have their story narrated for a podcast.
Several former winners have gone on to establish highly successful careers, including Dervla McTiernan, Tara Moss, Aoife Clifford, Cate Kennedy and Anna Snoekstra.
Read more here
Closes 31 Aug
Submissions open
Witty Wicklow Writers Contest
The Witty Wicklow Writers Contest invites writers from around the world to submit original work for consideration in Witty Wicklow Writers Magazine – Issue 1.
Originality, literary quality, strong voice and fresh perspectives are encouraged.
Genre: Poetry, Short Fiction, Memoir, Creative Non-Fiction, Flash Fiction, Hybrid Forms
Length:
* Poetry: up to 1 poem per entry
* Prose: maximum 1,000 words
An entry fee applies.
Read more here
Closes 31 Aug
Submissions open
Bundyi Writing Prize
Seeking compelling and original works of adult non-fiction that celebrate First Nations voices. This Prize is awarded to an outstanding unpublished manuscript by an emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writer (a writer who maybe have appeared in anthologies and literary journals but is yet to have a full length manuscript published).
The Bundyi Writing prize winner will receive a cash prize of AUD$10,000 sponsored by Simon & Schuster Australia and includes manuscript development with a First Nations editor. The winner will also have the opportunity to receive a standard book publishing contract with the Bundyi Imprint in relation to their Manuscript, in eBook, print and/or other format.
Submissions must include a digital copy of your non-fiction manuscript which must be a minimum of 70,000 words and a copy of a Confirmation of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Descent/Letter of Confirmation with a common seal from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander incorporated community organisation.
Read more here
September
Closes 1 Sept
for early bird entries
Competition
Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Awards
Early-Bird Deadline: September 1, 2026
Deadline: October 1, 2026
We’re looking for personal essays! Think you can write a winning essay in 2,000 words or fewer? Enter the Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Awards for your chance to win $2,500 in cash, get published in Writer’s Digest magazine, a coveted pitch opportunity with one-on-one attention from editors or agents, and a paid trip to our ever-popular Writer’s Digest Conference!
An entry fee applies.
Read more here
Closes 22 Sept
Competition
The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize 2026
The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize welcomes submissions from Australian poets in any walk of life. Now in its 27th year, the Prize honours the legacy of Bruce Dawe OAM. Whether you are a new or an established poet, you may submit up to five original, unpublished poems for a chance to win $3,000 (winner) or one of two $500 highly commended awards. The competition is open for entries up until 22 September.
Read more here
Closes 23 Sept
Competition
Nature Writing Prize
Nature writing creates connection and connection can inspire action. Writing can change the way people see the world. A powerful piece of nature writing can transport readers to places they may never visit, reveal hidden beauty in familiar landscapes, and create emotional connections that statistics and headlines alone cannot. In a time of growing environmental challenges, storytelling has an important role to play in helping people reconnect with nature, understand what is at stake, and feel inspired to protect it.
The Nature Writing Prize invites Australian writers to help bring the wonder, beauty and fragility of nature to life through storytelling – deepening our collective appreciation for the natural world and inspiring more people to care about its future.
Now in its eighth instalment, the Nature Writing Prize has become an established and respected platform for exceptional Australian nature writing. Presented by The Nature Conservancy Australia in partnership with Australian Book Review, the prize brings together literary excellence and environmental storytelling.
Eligible Participants are invited to submit an entry between 3,000 to 5,000 words in the theme Writing of Place and explore a connection, reflection or response to the Australian environment, landscape or seascape. Each Essay must be set in the Australian landscape.
Major Prize: $8,000 and winning essay published in January / February 2027 issue of Australian Book Review.
Highly Commended: Rosina Joy Buckman Award – $1,000.
An entry fee applies.
Read more here
Closes 30 Sep
Competition
Rhiza Edge Short Story Competition
We’re looking for short stories with the theme of “Hidden Creatures”. We are open to stories of fantasy, horror, sci fi, action, and crime. With a focus on cryptids / cryptozoology we invite exciting stories that embrace folklore, mystery, speculation…and all the shadowy places in between.
Think Yetis and Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, megalodons, mermaids, sea serpents, yowies, werewolves, and more. We’re looking for fresh and exciting spins on well known cryptids, or feel free to plumb the depths of your creativity and invent a new ‘hidden creature’ – the only limits are your imagination.
Story setting can be as diverse as the theme. Contemporary or historical fiction, or set in another world or planet – the choice is yours. While we welcome cryptids and mythology from all corners of the world, we ask you be respectful and mindful of different cultures and cultural representation when crafting your stories.
Stories are aimed at readers aged 12+ so should be clean and suitable for school sales.
Chosen short stories will be edited and published as part of an anthology called Hidden Creatures Edited by Rebecca Fraser and Bethany Loveridge
Read more here
And Beyond…
Closes 1 Oct
Competition
Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Awards
Early-Bird Deadline: September 1, 2026
Deadline: October 1, 2026
We’re looking for personal essays! Think you can write a winning essay in 2,000 words or fewer? Enter the Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Awards for your chance to win $2,500 in cash, get published in Writer’s Digest magazine, a coveted pitch opportunity with one-on-one attention from editors or agents, and a paid trip to our ever-popular Writer’s Digest Conference!
An entry fee applies.
Read more here
Closes 31 Oct
Competition
The Hope Prize
Early bird deadline: 31 July 2026
Final deadline: 31 October 2026
The Hope Prize is a global short story competition open to writers from anywhere in the world. They accept prose short stories only – either fiction or narrative nonfiction (including memoir). They do not accept poetry, essays, or academic writing.
The total prize pool for The Hope Prize is $13,000 AUD, with winning entries and selected highly commended stories published in an anthology by Simon & Schuster Australia.
Genre, style, and subject matter are open (they encourage bold self expression and boundary pushing). They are looking for thoughtful engagement with the themes of hope, courage, or resilience. Stories that help us to understand the human experience in all its forms; love, daily grit, small wins, massive triumphs and living through what life throws at us.
They passionately welcome writers at all stages of their journey. The best way to understand what the judges are looking for is to buy a copy of the 2024 Hope Prize Anthology, Tomorrow There Will Be Sun. 100% of royalties from the sale of this book go to mental health charity Beyond Blue.
Read more here
Opens Nov
Competition
The KYD Creative Non-Fiction Prize
The KYD Creative Non-Fiction Prize celebrates experimentation in essay writing, encouraging writers to push the boundaries of the form with imagination and intellectual rigour.
We’re seeking creative non-fiction essays between 2500 and 3500 words, on any subject and in any style (such as memoir, commentary, cultural criticism, reportage, etc.). The winner will receive a prize of $2500, with two runner-ups winning prizes of $1000 each. All essays will be published by KYD.
The prize will open for submissions in late 2026. You must be a KYD Member to enter.
Read more here
Closes 10 Nov
Competition
Aurealis Awards
The Aurealis Awards are Australia’s premier literary prizes for speculative fiction. They recognise and celebrate the incredible achievements of Australian creators working in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. From epic world-building to spine-chilling suspense, these awards honour the absolute best of our nation’s imagination.
Any work of speculative fiction – science fiction, fantasy and horror – written by an Australian citizen or permanent resident and published for the first time in English between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 is eligible to be entered. Traditionally published, independently published and self-published works (including works published on online platforms), whether available via purchase or freely available, are eligible. Unpublished work is not eligible.
Awards are presented across 16 distinct categories. Shortlisted entrants will be publicly announced in the Pen & Pixel email newsletter and online. Winners will be announced at GenreCon in Brisbane in February 2027 and publicly announced shortly thereafter.
Entry fees apply, with discounted rates are available to all members of the National Writers Centre Network (which includes Writers SA).
Read more here
Monthly and Ongoing Opportunities
Entries close
monthly
Submissions
Short Australian Fiction
KYD now accepts short fiction submissions from members year-round, with a minimum payment of $1000. (Writers who aren’t yet KYD members are welcome to join here and submit.)
Entries close monthly
Writing challenges
Furious Fiction
On the first Friday of the month, you are invited to submit a short story up to 500 words, referencing the monthly theme, with only 55 hours to write.
Entries close monthly
Submissions
Cult Following Magazine
Get published in a monthly non-profit arts magazine promoting solidarity, kindness and respect over toxic competitiveness and corporate values. We publish most forms of creative writing (3000 words max) and do not charge for submissions.
Entries close quarterly
Competition
Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
Choose a team and write a 500-word story based on your team’s 3 prompts to compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes & print publication. Then stick around for the podcast afterparty where your judges will unpack the competition stats and celebrate the top stories!
Entries close monthly
Competition
Right Left Write
QLD Writers Centre’s monthly short fiction competition Right Left Write is a great opportunity to get your writing published. Winning entries are published in the newsletter, on their website, and in an annual print anthology edition.
Ongoing
Submissions open
Social Alternatives
Social Alternatives is an independent, not-for-profit peer-reviewed journal publishing practical and theoretical articles on relevant topics, as well as reviews, short stories, poems, graphics, commentaries and critiques.
Authors are invited to submit short stories with no particular theme. The collective firmly recognises the ability for literature to comment on range of social issues and act as vehicle for social change. Fiction is by definition transformative, allowing us to reveal and re-imagine ourselves.
Short stories can be up to 1000 words.
Ongoing
Competition
The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction, Poetry, & Books
The Letter Review Prize is an internationally celebrated event, offered every four months in the categories of Short Fiction, Poetry, and Books. The Letter Review publish winners, maintain shortlists, submit to The Pushcart, and award over $16,000 USD annually to writers, meaning the prize is among the highest paying literary prizes administered by a literary journal in the world.
Open to anyone in the world with no genre or theme restrictions. Seeking entries of prose of up to 5000 words or poetry up to 70 lines, or excerpts (fiction and nonfiction: the first 5000 words, poetry: the first 15 pages) of book-length new works including novels, novellas, short story collections, nonfiction, and poetry collections, which are unpublished, self-published, or indie-published.
An entry fee applies.
Entries close monthly
Writing challenges
Monthly Poet
The Monthly Poet was built for anyone who believes that acts of creativity still matter and that sharing them matters even more.
Each month four words are released and anyone can write a 16-line poem using them. There is no competition or judging panel, and every poem is published. Writers can participate from anywhere in the world.
It doesn’t have to be perfect; it doesn’t have to rhyme; it just has to be yours.
The four words for July 2026 are:
Align – Sepia – Entry – Scoop
Entries close monthly
Competition
The Wakefield Weekly Writing Competition
An exciting monthly challenge for authors Australia-wide. Each month, Wakefield Press release a new prompt for authors to respond to. The prize includes gift vouchers and the publication of winning entries on the Wakefield Press blog.
Ongoing
Submissions open
InReview
Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.
Ongoing
Submissions open
34thParallel Magazine
34thParallel Magazine was launched in 2007 by Martin Chipperfield in Adelaide and Tracey Swan in Los Angeles (34th parallel north and south) and is seeking submissions of “Good Stories”.
Fiction or not, short or long, unAI essay or artisanal journalism, free verse versus autocratic slop. Purchase of the magazine is required to submit.
View sample pieces here
Submit here
Ongoing
Competition
Bath Flash Fiction Award
An international flash fiction writing competition with three rounds held per year: March to June, July to October, and November to February. There is a 300 word limit, with cash prizes for winners. Winners and 50 longlisted entrants are offered publication in the end-of-year print and digital anthology. Entry fees apply.
Submit here
Free download: writing submission tracker
As a writer, spreadsheets are your friend. No really. They’re the perfect way keep track of your writing, whether it’s a catalogue of your pitches to literary journals or publications, queries to agents and publishers, or competition submissions.
If you’d rather spend your time writing than in Excel, we’re here for you.
We’ve designed the ultimate spreadsheet submission/ story/ pitch tracker template, so you can get organised and focus on the words. Whether you’re a freelancer, poet, novelist, creative or non-fiction writer, it will help you to manage deadlines, track your submissions, keep a record of your stories and more.
Why keep track of your submissions?
- Get organised. What are my best opportunities for submission right now? What open calls am I interested in? What stories are pending and when will I likely hear back? Which of my stories are available for publication? Keep notes on different journals, competitions, and deadlines all in one place.
- First impressions count. Don’t send out the same pitch or story to the same place twice. You’ll have a one-stop record of all of your past submissions.
- Manage your budget. How much are you spending on entering competitions or residencies? Manage it all in one place.
- Understand your confidence level. How often are you sending your work out there? Do you need to focus on submitting more frequently, or is it time for revising, editing, or creating the work?
- Refine your skills and get your words out there. You’ve written the story – now get it out there! A systematic approach to publishing will not only help you think of yourself as a professional writer, it can also help you to focus on making sure your words find the right home before you move onto your next idea. You can also see quickly and easily what worked – and what didn’t – to help refine your future approach.
*To save to your Google Docs: select File, and then Make a Copy and hit OK
*To download it to your computer: select File and then Download As and select Microsoft Excel.
We’ve created a blank template for you to change to edit to suit your specific needs. Happy writing!
