A collection of writing competitions, prizes, awards and opportunities open for submissions throughout the year for adult writers residing in NSW, Australia.
JANUARY
11 January: The Parramatta Play Project
The Parramatta Play Project is a collaborative, place-based playwriting project that brings together 8 playwrights to create a new, full-length play inspired by Parramatta’s layered histories, contemporary identities and future aspirations. Playwrights keen to collaborate, experiment and create a new work that speaks to place, identity, culture in Western Sydney are encouraged to apply.
19 January: 2026 MVICW Fellowships
MVICW’s fellowships include full tuition and lodging to their Summer Writers’ Conference in Martha’s Vineyard. Their Queer Writer Fellowships are open to all queer-identified writers ages 18+, and this year they also have full fellowships for Parent-Writers, Writers of Color, Teachers & Educators, and two brand new fellowships for Full-time Caregivers and Emerging Writers.
23 January: Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
Choose a team and write a 500-word story based on your team’s prompts to compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes and print publication. Then stick around for the podcast afterparty, where the judges will unpack the competition stats and read the top stories!
27 January: 31st MPU International Poetry Competition 2025/26
Submit unpublished poems of up to 50 lines to win up to $1500 AUD.
27 January: Writers in Residence: Botanic Gardens of Sydney
Two Australian writers will be chosen to create new works inspired by the Gardens, with behind-the-scenes access granted to the institution’s unique sites, staff, collections, and world-leading science facilities during a three-month residency in 2026.
27 January: Adaptable – Turning the Page to Screen
Adaptable: Turning the Page to Screen seeks material for film or television adaptation, and accepts submissions of books and manuscripts across a broad range of genres and formats, published and unpublished. Successful applicants to the program are given the opportunity to pitch work to producers, showrunners, screenwriters and industry professionals.
30 January: Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition and Festival
Budding film makers and storytellers aged 12 years and over are invited to enter the Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition 2025/26. This year, each entry needs to add the key feature of birds – which can be included as an object, an overall theme, or something else! The ‘best of’ films will be screened at the Creative Wollongong Short Film Festival and will be in the running for a range of exciting prizes including cash and industry vouchers.
30 January: 2026 ASA/HQ Fiction Prize
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and HQ, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, are thrilled to announce that the 2026 ASA/HQ Fiction Prize is now open for submissions. The biennial prize is offered to the author of the best unpublished manuscript, and the winner will receive a publishing contract with HQ, with a $10,000 advance against royalties. The runner-up will receive $500 and a year’s membership with the ASA.
30 January: Short Story Competition 2025
Odyssey Victoria’s annual Short Story Competition is open for 2025. This year’s theme is “Summer Holidays” and must include a reference to alcohol or other drugs. First place wins $1000 and a one year membership to Writers Victoria. Open to writers of all ages and experience.
31 January: Live Storytelling: The Library That Made Me
All The Best are seeking EOIs from writers with an existing short story that has a thematic connection to libraries and that can be adapted for a live storytelling evening in Sydney on April 21. Selected stories will also be recorded for broadcast on the All The Best podcast and community radio stations across the country. A $200 artist honorarium will be provided. Please send EOIs to catarina@allthebestradio.com by 31 January.
31 January: 2026 Davitt Awards
For the best Australian women’s crime and mystery books of 2025. Six Davitt Awards will be presented at a gala dinner and awards ceremony in Melbourne in August 2026.
FEBRUARY
1 February: Powerhouse Young Writers’ Challenge with Andy Griffiths
NSW primary school aged children are invited to produce a creative story, inspired by objects selected by Andy Griffiths from the Powerhouse Collection. Submit your story and you will be invited to a Powerhouse Young Writers’ Challenge event.
1 February: Stringybark Open Award 2026
Enter Stringybark Stories’ flagship short story award. This is an open-themed award although your short story must have a link to Australia (no matter how small and inconsequential – a passing koala is fine). They have an award pool of over $1420 in cash.
1 February: Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship
EOIs open on 15 December for The Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship which enables selected Arts Fellow to travel to Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic or Southern Ocean. Travel to and from Antarctica, and meals and accommodation while in Antarctica are covered by the fellowship. Travel to Antarctica must be essential to the project.
2 February: Ernest Scott Prize
The Ernest Scott Prize is awarded annually for original published research that contributes to the history of Australia or New Zealand, or to the history of colonisation. Up to $15,000 is available and only one award will be offered from this amount. Award payments will be made as a single lump-sum.
3 February: 2026 Calibre Essay Prize
The Calibre Essay Prize – now worth a total of AU$10,000 – is open to all essayists writing in English. The winner will receive $5,000. The second prize is worth $3,000 and the third prize is worth $2,000.
3 February: Red Room Fellowship
The Red Room Fellowship is an opportunity encouraging poets to undertake an intensive period of creative development including a residency at Varuna or remotely, mentorship, as well as a poetic commission to be published as part of Poetry Month in August. All six poets will be in residence simultaneously, establishing a community of practice, and encouraging new poetic connections.
6 February: The 2026 CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program
The ASA is pleased to announce that thirteen CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program mentorships will be awarded in 2026 to help Australian writers and illustrators develop their work to a publishable standard and build the skills they need to establish sustainable careers.
10 February: Whitlam Essay Residency
Six fellowships are available for two-week-long residencies at the Whitlam Prime Ministerial home, at 32 Albert Street Cabramatta, with a focus on essay writing. Applicants can be Western Sydney University students, staff or alumni, and/or Varuna alumni.
14 February: NH Summer Short Story Competition
Submissions are open for Ninth Heaven‘s anonymously judged short story competition for emerging and established writers, with a $1,000 prize pool and publication in Ninth Heaven.
14 February: The Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2026
The prize is for short stories up to 3,000 words having an island, or island-resonant, theme. The winning entry receives a cash prize of $500 and all finalists’ stories will appear in the Forty South Short Story Anthology 2025.
15 February: Griffith Review 93 – Into the Archive
Griffith Review is looking for submissions of fiction and non-fiction of no more than 4,000 words. This edition of Griffith Review goes on the record to reveal the secrets and surprises of the archive.
16 February: The Sheila Malady Short Story Competition
The Sheila Malady Short Story Competition is open for entries! This year their short story theme is ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. Writers of fiction are warmly invited to submit stories of up to 2000 words for consideration by the judging panel. All genres of short stories are welcome.
26 February: Next Generation Short Story Awards
Have your short story considered for cash prizes, awards, exposure, and recognition as one of the top short stories written this year! Three grand prize winners selected from all entries are awarded $500, $300 and $200 based on the order of win and are invited to attend the Indie Book Awards gala ceremony.
27 February: Hilarie Lindsay Prize
Hilarie Lindsay Prize is an open competition that challenges women writers nationally to submit an unpublished work of fiction or non-fiction on the subject of social justice. The winner will receive a prize of $2,000.
28 February: The Young Writers Award
The Young Writers Award is a competition for young people aged 11 – 18 years to submit a piece of writing, either a poem or short story, for their chance to win a share in prizes including a cash pool of $3500, book vouchers, loot bags with bookish goodies provided by sponsors, a publisher experience, and a free writing masterclass with one of their judges (to run during the July holidays).
28 February: Sutherland Shire Literary Competition
Australian residents over 18 years of age are invited to submit their individual, original works in the following categories; traditional verse (max 80 lines), free verse (max 80 lines), and short story (max 2,000 words). Major prizes offered in each category are; winner: $1,000 and highly commended: $500.
MARCH
1 March: Sorrento Creative Writing Prize 2026
The Sorrento Creative Writing Prize celebrates the annual Sorrento Writers Festival and its mission to bring writers and readers together. The winner will receive $5,000 and their writing featured at the 2026 Sorrento Writers Festival. The prize is open to Australian citizens and residents over 18, who have not had their work published by a commercial publisher.
3 March: 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 all arts practices.
9 March: Copyright Agency Create Grants
The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund supports Australian creative writers and visual artists with grants to create new work. Create Grants provide a living allowance for 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 certain literary genres.
10 March: The Good Dog! International Film Festival
Good Dog! is a story festival that celebrates our unique relationship with dogs. Entries must be 5,000 words or less. Prize is currently $100 but will increase depending on the number of entries. All profits are distributed to Australian dog charities.
12 March: The Peter Carey Short Story Award
The Peter Carey Short Story Award returns for its tenth year in 2026. The competition is for stories between 2000 and 3000 words, and is open to all Australian residents. The winner receives $2000, and the runner-up $1000. The top two stories will be published by Overland literary journal.
22 March: SCWC 2026 Poetry Award
The South Coast Writers Centre invites submissions to the SCWC 2026 Poetry Award responding to the theme states. First prize is $1000; followed by $100 for second prize, the Ron Pretty SCWC Member Award and the Wollongong Art Gallery Ekphrastic Award. All winning entries will be published in the South Coast Writers Centre’s 2027 Anthology.
31 March: The American Association of Australasian Literary Studies (AAALS) Creative Writing Competition
The American Association of Australasian Literary Studies (AAALS), together with the American Australian Association, welcomes submissions to their annual creative writing competition, opening on 1 March. They invite entries of poetry, creative prose, Indigenous Writers Poetry and Indigenous Writers Creative Prose. The winner of each prize will be awarded US$1000, plus publication in the journal Antipodes.
APRIL
13 April: Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition
Griffith Review is looking for original submissions of fiction and creative non-fiction from 3,500 – 5,000 words. Up to four winning entries will be selected by judges Melanie Ostell (Melaine Ostell Literary), Margot Lloyd (Pink Shorts Press) and Sharlene Allsopp (author) as well ad Griffith Review’s editorial staff. The winners will share a prize pool of $20,000 and have their work published in an edition of Griffith Review.
GENERAL JOURNAL & MAGAZINE SUBMISSIONS
Babyteeth Journal
Accepting submissions across many artforms, including poetry, prose and scripts.
Cordite Poetry Review
A quarterly Australian and international journal of poetry, criticism and research. Regularly open for submission of unpublished poems from Australian and overseas-based writers.
Frankie Magazine
A bi-monthly magazine welcoming submissions from writers that have their own individual voices, speaking their minds.
Griffith Review
Open four times each year, accepting submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and occasional special projects.
HEAT Literary Magazine
Welcoming submissions of fiction, essays, hybrid forms and translated works, HEAT is published five times a year in a slim, intimate format, that throws sharp focus on the work of the featured authors.
Island Magazine
A not-for-profit premium Australian literary magazine of fiction, poetry, nonfiction and arts features. Looking to provide opportunities for new, emerging and established writers from Australia, New Zealand and Australians living abroad.
Kill Your Darlings
KYD now accepts short fiction submissions from members year-round, with a minimum payment of $1000. (Writers who aren’t yet members are welcome to join and submit.)
Mascara Literary Review
Currently accepting fiction and non-fiction up to 3000 words and reviews 1200-1500 words.
Meniscus
An online, free access literary journal publishing high quality, innovative poetry, short fiction, and creative essays in English, or in other languages with a good parallel translation. Meniscus publishes two issues a year: in April, and in October.
Overland Magazine
Accepting submissions of completed fiction and non-fiction articles and poems, 3000 words or less.
Quadrant
Accepts unsolicited, previously unpublished articles that fit within its general profile of a journal of ideas, essays, literature, poetry and historical and political debate.
Southerly
One of Australia’s oldest literary journals, Southerly accepts short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and academic essays from Australian and New Zealand citizens, or residents of Australia.
The Human Writers
The Human Writers began as an Australia-based webzine but is now seeking previously unpublished non-fiction contributions from writers aged 50+ from all around the world. Writers 50+ can send stories of 1000 words or fewer, including a photo with their piece, and where they live.
Westerly
Publishes short stories, micro-fiction, poetry, memoir and creative non-fiction, artwork, comics, essays and literary criticism.
Writing NSW publishes these free listings in good faith but does not endorse or warrant the accuracy of any information.
Find out more about getting published and submitting your writing to journals with our information sheets.