Prizes & Opportunities

Writing NSW is proud to offer a range of mentorships, grants, opportunities and fellowships that support and nourish writing talent in the state. Current programs include:

Cultivate Diverse Writers’ Mentorship Program
Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship
Boundless Indigenous Mentorship Program
Curlew Regional Writer’s Grant
First Nations and CaLD Writers’ Scholarships for Year of the Novel

Learn more about these opportunities by clicking below.

We also have a constantly updated list of writing competitions, prizes, awards and opportunities open for submissions for adult writers residing in NSW, Australia, which you can find below.

Looking for information about competitions for writers? At the top of the page you can subscribe to our free electronic newsletter, Newsbite, which will keep you informed about upcoming opportunities.

Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship Program

The mentorship is awarded annually to an unpublished Indigenous writer who has made substantial progress on a work of fiction or non-fiction.

Cultivate Mentorship Program

Up to five emerging writers from Indigenous or culturally-diverse backgrounds will be given the opportunity to work on a short piece under the guidance of award-winning author Huyen Hac Helen Tran with additional support from Writing NSW.

Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship Winners

The Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship is an annual competition open to members of Writing NSW. Winners receive a one week residential at Varuna in the Blue Mountains where they can develop their work, and meet and connect with fellow writers. 2024 J. Marahuyo won the Fellowship for her developing work of poetry, Disclosures of Violence. […]

Writing Competitions & Opportunities

A collection of writing competitions, prizes, awards, journals and opportunities open for submissions throughout the year for writers residing in NSW, Australia.

The Curlew Regional Writers Grant 2025

Supporting a regional writer to grow, connect, and create Supported by Brittany Riley, this grant offers regional NSW writers the chance to participate in a Writing NSW one-day workshop of their choice, with the aim of increasing access to professional development for writers living outside Sydney. The $1,000 grant is open to writers based at […]

First Nations & CaLD Writers’ Scholarships – Year of the Novel

Empowering emerging writers to develop their novels through mentorship, craft, and community. Writing NSW is proud to offer two scholarships for the 2026 Year of the Novel program: one for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander writer, and one for a writer from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) background. Each scholarship provides a fully […]