A collection of writing competitions, prizes, awards and opportunities open for submissions throughout the year for adult writers residing in NSW, Australia.
DECEMBER
1 December: Think+DO Tank Foundation’s Weekend Writers’ Residency 2026
Are you a writer from Greater Western Sydney who wants to grow your craft and connect with others? Apply for the opportunity to perform, publish or engage in Think+DO Tank Foundation’s programs, and have special guest appearances from other authors to provide tips and inspiration to keep going over a five-month residency.
2 December: Creative Steps – New Work
Opening 23 October, receive from $10,000 to $100,000 to support creative development and presentation of new work by individual artists, arts and cultural workers. Applicants are encouraged to drive and develop partnerships with arts and cultural organisations to support their new works.
5 December: Somerset Storyfest National Writing Competitions
The Somerset Storyfest National Novella and Poetry Writing Competition are open to all Australian high school students. They are a wonderful opportunity for serious student writers, encouraging them in their literary growth – and there are also some fantastic prizes on offer!
7 December: Newcastle Poetry Prize
Proudly presented in partnership with the University of Newcastle, the Newcastle Poetry Prize offers one of Australia’s most significant opportunities for poets, with a $15,000 first prize and publication in the annual anthology.
9 December: Ann Moyal Non-Fiction Fellowship
Encouraging excellence in non-fiction writing, this prestigious three-week fellowship at Varuna with travel cost included supports established writers who are developing an original work founded on research, in the broad fields of the humanities and social sciences.
12 December: Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize
The Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize is valued at $3,500. The Hawkeye Prize Winner receives Author Coaching, a Structural Edit and a Line Edit with the structural edit, and line editing and author coaching sponsored. All manuscripts longlisted and shortlisted are announced on their website and enews, and receive judges’ comments!
15 December: The 69th Blake Poetry Prize
Liverpool Powerhouse, in collaboration with WestWords, are honoured to present the 69th Blake Poetry Prize. The Blake Prize is an open poetry prize that challenges poets, both national and international, in conversations concerning faith, spirituality, religion and/or belief.
15 December: Createability Internship Program
Up to 16 creative practitioners with disability or who are d/Deaf will be selected for internship opportunities covering everything from technical TV production and puppet making to theatre programming and graphic design.
15 December: Penguin Literary Prize
The Penguin Literary Prize was established to find, nurture and develop new Australian authors of literary fiction. It offers the winner $20,000 and the opportunity to publish with Penguin Random House.
15 December: The 7th Annual Story Foundation Prize
The seventh annual Story Foundation Prize is now open! The winner will receive $1500 and publication in their summer 2026 issue for a single short story.
22 December: Lake House Artist Residency
Apply for a Lake House Artist Council-funded Residency valued at $2000, including accommodation plus a modest per diem of $150 per day. It offers artists, curators and creatives the space and time to create and develop new work.
25 December: MidnightSun Publishing Picture Book Prize
Open to picture book writers of all experience levels, MidnightSun Publishing encourages authors to submit their picture book manuscripts for the chance to win a publishing contract for their entry.
31 December: Wet Tropics Residency 2026
Apply for your chance to spend 11 days in Queensland’s Wet Tropics in July 2026 – with stipend, travel, accommodation and food covered by Creative Australia World Heritage Area Residency funding. Two emerging writers will also receive mentorship.
31 December: WordDrop
Have your work seen by a wider audience through short stories to café customers via QR codes on tables. WordDrop is primarily seeking short-form pieces of up to 3,000 words. Each featured piece will appear on their website (currently under development) and will be showcased for one week across all participating venues. Writers’ names and social media handles will be included so readers can follow and connect with them.
JANUARY
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.
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.
30 January: Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition and Festival
We’re inviting budding film makers and storytellers aged 12 years and over 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: 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 with us). 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.