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Onkaparinga Writing and Poetry Competition 2025
Wordfest is back for 2025! #onkaparingawordfest
The theme for this years competition is:
Community, place and belonging
Entries open Thursday October 9 and close Tuesday 9 December for residents of South Australia. You can submit one story or piece of poetry per eligible category up to 500 words based on this years theme and it must connect to people or places within the City of Onkaparinga council area.
Categories:
- Flash Fiction: Open to ages 18 and above.
- Poetry: Open to ages 18 and above.
- Youth: Open to ages 12-17.
Prizes
One winner will be selected from each competition category.
Each category winner will receive a prize of $100 AUD.
Enter here from 9am October 9 2025
This competition is facilitated by Onkaparinga Library and judged by Writers SA
Terms and Conditions
Categories and Age Requirements
Flash Fiction: Open to ages 18 and above.
Poetry: Open to ages 18 and above.
Youth: Open to ages 12-17.
Entry Limit
Participants may submit one entry per person per eligible category.
Word Limit
Submissions for any category must not exceed 500 words. Entries exceeding this word limit will be disqualified from the competition.
Judging
The competition will be managed, judged, and winners selected by Writers SA. The decisions of Writers SA are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
Eligibility
Must be a South Australian resident.
Employees of the City of Onkaparinga and their household members are ineligible to win.
Parental Consent
Participants under the age of 18 must have consent from a parent or guardian to enter the competition. Additionally, a parent or guardian must be available to accompany the minor when collecting any prizes.
Prizes
One winner will be selected from each competition category. Each category winner will receive a prize of $100 AUD.
Prizes must be accepted as offered and cannot be varied.
Liability
The City of Onkaparinga is not liable for any loss, damage, or injury arising out of or in connection with this promotion and/or the prize.
The City of Onkaparinga will not be liable for any loss, damage, injury, or death suffered or sustained in connection with this prize draw or the acceptance or use of
any prize.
Competition Period
The competition opens at 9am on Thursday 9 October 2025 and closes at 5pm on Tuesday 9 December 2025.
Announcement of Winners
Winners will be announced and contacted by Onkaparinga Libraries during the week beginning Monday 12 January 2026.
Promotional Consent
By entering the competition, participants consent to the City of Onkaparinga using their first name, suburb, age, and photograph for promotional purposes indefinitely, including on Onkaparinga Libraries’ website, Facebook and Instagram pages.
AI Policy
All entries for the Onkaparinga Libraires’ writing competition must be the author’s own original work that the author must hold the copyright and/or IP rights for. We do not accept entries created using generative AI and if a suitable AI detector flags suspicious content, your entry will be disqualified at the discretion of the judging panel. Similarly, if a piece of work contains clear copyright infringements (example, using song lyrics, unattributed work of another writer that exceeds fair use, or trademarked content), it may also be disqualified.
Campbelltown Writer’s Competition 2025
The annual Campbelltown Writer’s Competition is on again and writers from across South Australia are invited to submit their original stories inspired by the theme of Community. Entries can be fiction or non-fiction but must not exceed 2,500 words and must have a link to the Campbelltown area, a Campbelltown resident or references to the City of Campbelltown. All genres and styles welcome.
Entries open NOW! and close 11pm Sunday 14 September 2025.
This competition is facilitated by Campbelltown City Council and judged by Writers SA.
Community
The theme for 2025 is Community. From finding strength in your local community through sports, volunteering, shared experiences or more to building or joining an online community that shares your interests or hobbies, this theme speaks to the heart of Campbelltown, which is our community!
Terms and Conditions
By entering the Campbelltown Writer’s Competition, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
The writing competition is open to all forms of writing including short stories, factual articles, memoirs and poetry.
You do not have to live in the Campbelltown area, but must be a South Australian resident.
Your story must relate to the theme of Community.
For the Open Writer category, your story must have a reference to the Campbelltown area. For the Junior and Youth Writer categories, a reference to Campbelltown is preferable, but not essential.
Entrants must be unpublished (people with academic publications and self-publications online are still eligible to enter).
The entry must be the authors original work and submitted in English.
Any person under 18 must have parental or legal guardian approval to enter.
One entry per person only.
The entry must not exceed 2,500 words.
Entries must be submitted as a word document through the online portal – hardcopies will not be accepted.
The author’s name should not appear on the entry itself.
Once an entry is submitted, the entry is final. The entry may not be withdrawn or alterations made.
The judges’ decision is final. Judges’ reserve the right to not award prizes.
Prizes will consist of Coles Group & Myer Gift Cards to the value of: Junior Writer: 1x S100 and 2x $50 Youth Writer: 1x $150 and 2x $75 Open Writer: 1x $200 and 2x $100
By entering your work, entrants grant Campbelltown City Council and Writers SA a non-exclusive, personal, perpetual, royalty free licence to publish (including electronically), broadcast, edit and adapt the awarded entry.
Copyright is retained by the author.
AI Policy: All entries for the Campbelltown writers’ competition must be the author’s own original work that the author must hold the copyright and/or IP rights for. We do not accept entries created using generative AI and if a suitable AI detector flags suspicious content, your entry will be disqualified at the discretion of the judging panel. Similarly, if a piece of work contains clear copyright infringements (example, using song lyrics, unattributed work of another writer that exceeds fair use, or trademarked content), it may also be disqualified.
Campbelltown Writer’s Competition 2024
From a journey through our beautiful council parks and reserves to your families journey to reside in Campbelltown, this theme elicits the exploration of the Campbelltown area.
The annual Campbelltown Writer’s Competition is on again and writers from across South Australia are invited to submit their original stories inspired by the theme of Journey. Entries can be fiction or non-fiction but must not exceed 2,500 words and must have a link to the Campbelltown area, a Campbelltown resident or references to the City of Campbelltown. All genres and styles welcome.
Entries open 9am, Monday 1 July 2024 and close 11pm Monday 30 September 2024.
Onkaparinga Library’s Wordfest 2024
See the website and full program lineup here.
Introducing the Mayor’s Poetry and Writing Competition
Entries open September 13 for residents of South Australia. You can submit one story or piece of poetry per eligible category up to 500 words with the theme ‘This Place I call Home’ and must connect to people or places within the City of Onkaparinga council area.
Categories:
- Flash Fiction: Open to adults aged 18 and above.
- Youth: Open to youths aged 12-17 and can be flash-fiction or poetry.
- Poetry: Open to adults aged 18 and above.
Prizes:
- Flash Fiction Prize: Includes a one-year Adult Writers SA membership and a 3-hour Writers SA workshop, valid for 12 months. Total prize value: $240.
- Youth Prize: Includes a one-year Writers SA membership and a Teen Writers Club term membership (8 x 1.5-hour sessions on Saturday mornings during one school term, facilitated by a local author), valid for 12 months. Total prize value: $260.
- Poetry Prize: Includes a one-year Adult Writers SA membership and a 3-hour Writers SA workshop, valid for 12 months. Total prize value: $240.
Enter here – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wordfestonkaparinga2024
Terms and conditions:
Entry Limit:
- Participants may submit one entry per person per eligible category (for example, one adult could enter both the flash-fiction category and poetry category with different pieces).
Word Limit:
- Submissions must not exceed 500 words. Entries exceeding this word limit will be disqualified from the competition without correspondence.
Judging:
- The competition will be managed, judged, and winners selected by Writers SA. The decisions of Writers SA are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
Eligibility:
- You must be a resident of South Australia to participate.
- Employees and household members of the City of Onkaparinga and Writers SA (and Writers SA board members) are not eligible for this competition.
Age Requirements:
- Flash Fiction: Open to adults aged 18 and above.
- Youth: Open to youths aged 12-17 and can be flash-fiction or poetry.
- Poetry: Open to adults aged 18 and above.
Parental Consent:
- Participants under the age of 18 must have consent from a parent or guardian to enter the competition. Additionally, a parent or guardian must be available to accompany the minor when collecting any prizes.
Prize Conditions:
- Prizes must be accepted as offered and cannot be varied, extended, transferred, or exchanged for cash.
Additional Costs:
- Any additional products or services not included in the prize, but required by the winner, must be arranged, and paid for by the winner.
- Membership renewal after expiry is the responsibility of the winner.
Liability:
- The City of Onkaparinga is not liable for any loss, damage, or injury arising out of or in connection with this promotion and/or the prize.
- The City of Onkaparinga will not be liable for any loss, damage, injury, or death suffered or sustained in connection with this prize draw or the acceptance or use of any prize.
Competition Period:
- The competition opens at 9 am on Friday, 13 September 2024, and closes at 5 pm on Thursday, 31 October 2024.
Announcement of Winners:
- Winners will be announced and contacted by Onkaparinga Libraries during the week beginning Monday, 25 November 2024.
Promotional Consent:
- By entering the competition, participants consent to the City of Onkaparinga using their first name, suburb, age, and photograph for promotional purposes indefinitely, including on Onkaparinga Libraries’ Facebook and Instagram pages.
Previous projects
2022: October 7th at Parks Library as part of Nature Festival and Living Landscapes, you’ll find workshops by Roanna McClelland, Charlie Archbold, Sumudu Narayana and Shane Meyer! Learn about writing, editing and self-publishing. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased by clicking on the tiles below.
Writers SA is proud to partner with local councils and their libraries to bring you festivals, workshops and events such as:
- The 2023 Campbelltown Writer’s Competition, with prizes across three categories
- The Campbelltown Writers Festival – November 2021 (includes a writing competition with a cash prize with the theme ‘Illuminate’)
- Adelaide Hills Council together with Fabrik for InSite: Portrayals of a Pandemic
- The Salisbury Writers Festival
- City of Port Adelaide Enfield workshop program, Living Landscapes Writers’Festival & Writing competition (2023 writing competition closes end of Feb!)
- City of Charles Sturt writers’ workshop series
- City of Adelaide festivals and events at City Library and the Hutt St Library including the winter Context festival and for monthly ideas and brainstorming meetings – Think Tank
If you have an event you’d like Writers SA to plan or be involved with, please contact our Operations Manager Katherine Woehlert at [email protected].
