Annual Writing Competitions for Young Writers in Australia
Although I keep a list of upcoming competitions and other publishing opportunities, I usually wait until I have definite details and closing dates, which often don’t happen until a particular competition is launched in any given year.
However, I have kept track of the competitions that seem to reoccur each year and the month they usually close for those who want to plan ahead. Please note that these are subject to change, although I will try to update the details when I come across them.
Please note that most links will take you to the main competition page; however, in some cases, only the link to the 2024 competition was available.
I will continue to add more detailed information about each competition in 2025 on my main page as soon as I know them.
January
No information available.
February
No information available.
March
Little Black Dress Spooky Story Competition 2023
Write a story on a given theme that also contains significant elements of eeriness/spookiness and a clear connection to the theme. Open to 8 to 17 years (as well as adults). More information: visit the KSP Writers’ Centre website.
Calanthe Collective Prize for Unpublished Poetry
Submit up to three poems up to 50 lines. Open to high school age (as well as adult category). More information: visit the Calanthe Press website.
April
Peter Cowan 600 Short Story Competition
Write a short story with a maximum of 600 words. Open to 12 to 17 years (plus adult categories). More information: Peter Cowan Writers Centre website.
Nan Manefield Young Writers Award
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. More information: North Sydney Council website.
The Illustration Station & CYA Award
Submit a colour illustration suitable for a book, based on a given theme. Open to all writers aged between 8 and 18 years of age. More information: CYA Writers & Illustrators Conference website.
CYA Hatchlings competition
Submit a picture book or chapter book. Open to all writers aged between 8 and 18 years of age. More information: CYA Writers & Illustrators Conference website.
May
Future Leaders Writing Prize
Submit a fiction or non-fiction piece of writing (800 to 1,000 words) on any topic. Open to Year 11 and 12 students. More information: Future Leaders website.
2024 Banjo Paterson Writing Awards
Submit stories up to 1,000 word or poetry up to 30 lines (for writers 16 years and under). For writers over 16, word limits are 3,000 words for short stories and 200 lines for poetry. More information: CentralWest Libraries website. (web page will be out of date once 2025 competition is announced)
Laura Literary Awards
Write a short story or poem. Open to ages 5 to 18 (plus categories for adults). More information: Rocky River ’Riters Blog.
Slinkies Under 30s
Submit prose in any form under 10,000 words. Open to writers younger than 30. Further information: Spineless Wonders website.
What Matters?
Submit fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose of up to 600 words on an issue of significance to you. Open to students from Year 5 to Year 12. More information: the What Matters Writing Competition page.
Boroondara Literary Awards
Submit prose and poetry. Open to the youth category is open only to young people who live, work or study in Boroondara. More information: visit Boroondara Council’s website.
John Gavin Writing Competition
Drawing on the trial of John Gavin and the historical resources provided, create a story that explores John Gavin’s story while touching on the theme Lost Worlds. Use any form or genre. Open to WA students, including home-school students, in years 5 to 10. More information: Fremantle Roundhouse’s website.
June
Make Your Own Storybook Competition
Create a picture book or story book that tells an original story, using original text and illustrations. Open to Western Australian students from pre-primary to year 8. More information: the Make Your Own Story Book Competition website.
South Perth Young Writers Award
Submit stories up to 1,500 words. Open to students from Year1 through to Year 12 who live in or attend school within the City of South Perth. More information: City of South Perth’s website.
RD Walshe Memorial Writing for the Environment Prize
Submit a fictional piece of prose up to 800 words on a given theme. Open to writers who are under 19, 19 to 25 years and over 65. More information: the Sutherland Shire Environment Centre’s website.
Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards
Submit poems up to 80 lines. There is usually an optional theme. Open to young writers from kindergarten to year 12. More information: Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards website.
AAWP/Express Media Sudden Writing Prize 2024
Submit short-short fiction, “sudden” fiction, “sketchy” stories, creative non-fiction, poetry, as well as hybrid forms. Open to writers under 25 years of age. More information: AAWP’s website or Meniscus Literary Journal‘s submittable portal.
July
Randolph Stow Young Writers Award
Submit prose and/or poetry. Open to young Writers in years 3 to 12 from the Midwest and Gascoyne Region of Western Australia. More information: City of Greater Geraldton Regional Library’s website.
The Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers
Submit fiction or non-fiction may be up to 3,000 words and/or poetry up to 100 lines in length. Open to secondary school aged students (between the ages of 12 and 18 inclusive). More information: Express Media’s website.
Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for Young Indigenous Writers
Alternates between poetry and short fiction each year. Open to Indigenous writers who are 35 years or younger. More information: Overland‘s website.
KYD School Writing Prize
Submit short fiction, essays, personal reflections, memoir and biography, genre pieces (fantasy, sci-fi, historical, romance, crime) on a given theme. Open to KYD School Members and their students in years 7 to 12. More information: KYD’s website.
August
The Golden Pen Storytelling Competition
Submit fiction, poetry, memoir, comics, graphic novels, picture books or song lyrics on a given theme. Open to Western Australian writers in years 4 to 12. More information: Scribbers Festival website.
Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers
Submit an original piece of prose writing, no more than 2000 words in length. Open to Western Australian school students in years one to twelve. More information: Subiaco Library’s website.
FAW Tasmania Beatrice Clarke Award for Young Poets 14 and under
Submit poems up to 40 lines. Open to young writers 14 and under. More information: Fellowship of Australian Writers Tasmania website.
The Best Australian Yarn
Submit short stories up to 2,500 words. Open to everyone 12 years and over. More information: Best Australian Yarn’s website.
UNSW Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing
Write a 800-word essay on a given topic. Open to year 7 to 10 secondary school students. More information: New South Publishing’s website (webpage address will change for the 2025 competition).
Hilarie Lindsay Young Writers Poetry Competition
Submit poetry. Open to primary and secondary students. More information: Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW Inc.
September
Heywire Competition
Submit true stories about an aspect of your life. Stories can be in any format: text, video or audio — whatever form suits you best. Open to young people aged between 16 and 22 in regional, rural and remote Australia. More information: ABC’s website.
New England Thunderbolt Prize
Submit fiction & non-fiction up to 2,500 words and/or poems up to 60 lines. All genres of crime writing are eligible. Includes a Youth Award (Under 18 years), which is the best entry in any category by writers aged under 18. The other categories include fiction, non-fiction and poetry. More information: New England Writers’ Centre website.
Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition 2023
Submit stories and poems on a given theme. Categories 1 to 5 are open to Australian residents who are either legally blind or have low or no vision. Category 6 is open to all Australian residents. More information: Braille House’s website (webpage address will need to be updated in 2025).
Poem Forest 2023
Submit poems up to 20 lines that are linked to the theme of nature. Open to Australian students and teachers. More information: Red Room Poetry’s website.
KSP Short Fiction Competition
Submit short fiction on an open theme. Includes a youth category (up to 17 years) and an adult category (18 plus). More information: KSP Writers’ Centre website.
KSP Poetry Competition
Submit poems up to 50 lines. Open to poets aged 10 and above. More information: KSP Writers’ Centre website.
Canberra Youth Theatre’s Emerging Playwright Commission
The commission offers a successful emerging playwright or writing team $16,500 to develop a full-length script suitable to be performed by actors aged anywhere between 7 and 25. The commissioned playwright will receive dramaturgical support and a creative development workshop on their script in Canberra with the Artistic Director and Resident Artists. Open to emerging Australian playwrights aged under 35 who have created a modest body of work, but have not yet been professionally produced by a major theatre company. More information: Canberra Youth Theatre’s website.
October
Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Writing
Submit a short story on a given theme, or a piece of memoir up to 2,500 words. Includes a youth category. More information: Nillumbik Shire’s website.
The Ethics Centre Young Writer’s Competition
Submit essays by choosing to answer one of several questions. Open to Australian residents aged between 13 and 29 years of age. More information: The Ethics Centre’s website.
November
No information available.
December
Storyfest National Novella Writing Competition
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. More information: Somerset Storyfest’s website.
Storyfest National Poetry Prize
Submit poems up to 50 lines excluding the title, on any subject. Open to secondary students including those receiving home schooling are eligible to enter. More information: Somerset Storyfest’s website.
Ongoing/varies/unknown
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. More information: Write the World’s website.
Little Stories. Big Ideas Competition
Submit flash fiction that is 100 words or less on a given theme. Any literary style is welcome – short-story form, poem, haiku, limerick, song – but entries must be in English. Open to secondary school students. A new competition runs each school term. More information: the Little Stories, Big Ideas website.
Submit to Voiceworks
Submit fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art and comics on a given theme. Open to writers and artists who are under the age of 25 (that is, 24 and under) at the time of submission. More information: visit Express Media’s website.
Write a Book in a Day
Write a Book in a Day is not your usual competition. As the title suggestions, the idea is to write a book in a day—with a team (between 5 and 10 people). Your team can nominate any 12-hour time period between the competition 1 June and 31 August to complete the challenge. Using the unique parameters, and random words provided, craft your narrative and illustrations. Start writing at 8am and be sure to complete your book by 8pm that evening. Be sure to submit your book by 9pm! More information: head to the Write a Book in a Day website.
Over to You
As you can see, there are numerous opportunities for young writers to enter competitions and submit their work in Australia.
Do you know of any other competitions or publishing opportunities for young writers in Australia? If so, please let me know, and I will add them to this list?
One final note: although competitions can be exciting to enter, it is also worth remembering that each competition has a limited number of winners and finalists. Judging can also be subjective. So, even if your name isn’t included in the winners’ list, it’s not necessarily a reflection on the quality of your work.
So regardless of the outcome, always remember what it is you enjoy about creating the work in the first place, whatever your preferred form, and never give up. xx
