A collection of writing competitions, prizes, awards and opportunities open for submissions throughout the year for adult writers residing in NSW, Australia.
FEBRUARY
3 February: Michael Waters Poetry Prize
A prize of $6,000 and publication by SIR Press is awarded annually for a collection of poetry written in English. All entries are considered for publication.
4 February: Red Room Poetry Fellowship 2025
Australian poets are invited to apply for a week-long residency at Varuna to foster poetic and professional development, supported by mentorship from Red Room Poetry, and with the opportunity for performance and publication.
4 February: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2025
The annual Prime Minister’s Literary Award accepts books published in the previous calendar year in six categories of fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry and Australian history. Entries are sought for books of high literary merit. Up to $100,000 will be awarded in each category – $80,000 for the winning entry and $5,000 each for the shortlisted entries.
4 February: Dal Stivens Literary Award
The Dal Stivens Award is presented biennially to an author, aged 30 or under, for a short story or essay of the highest literary merit. The short story of essay must have been published or accepted for publication within the 12 months prior to the Award closing date.
4 February: Kathleen Mitchell Literary Award
The Kathleen Mitchell Award is presented biennially to the author, aged 30 or under, of an outstanding novel or novella to encourage advancement in their literary career. The recipient will receive $15,000.
7 February: 2025 ASA Award Mentorship Program
The ASA is pleased to announce that eight award mentorships will be offered in 2025 to help writers and illustrators develop their work to a publishable standard. Six writers of Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult and Children’s, and two creators of illustrated works, will receive mentorship, a free ticket to ASA’s Pitch Perfect course, one free ticket to Virtual Literary Speed Dating pitch, one year of free ASA membership.
8 February: The Steph Bowe Prize for Young Writers
Established in memory of beloved Australian YA author Steph Bowe, the Prize honours her passion for fostering and mentoring emerging writers. The winner will receive $1000 in prize money, a 20-hour mentorship with an award-winning YA author to develop their manuscript, and a professional development package worth $200. Entries must be a completed YA prose manuscript of approximately 50,000-90,000 words.
10 February: Emerging Writers’ Festival 2025 Artist Call-Out
Emerging Writers’ Festival returns in 2025 from 11-18 September, and applications are now open for writers, storytellers and creatives of all kinds to be part of the fun. Whether you’re a first-time poet, a digital creator, an essayist, a seasoned author, a music artist, a performer, or any mixture of these – they’re keen to hear what you want to bring to the 2025 Emerging Writers’ Festival.
12 February: National Young Writers Festival Creative Producers Call-Out
NYWF is seeking two Creative Producers to lead the artistic curation of the festival. The Creative Producers oversee the artist call-out and artistic programming for the main festival, as well as supporting the Younger Young Writers Festival and Zine Fair programs. The Creative Producers are responsible for local and national partnerships with creative outcomes, and collaborate with the full team on the production and delivery of the festival.
14 February: Next Generation Indie Book Awards
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is open to independent publishers and authors worldwide, accepting entires in English and released in 2023, 2024 or 2025 or with a 2023, 2024 or 2025 copyright date. Have your book considered for cash prizes of up to $1,500, exposure, possible representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top independently published books of the year!
14 February: The Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2025
The Tasmanian Writers’ Prize accepts entires up to 3,000 words having an island, or island-resonant, theme. The winning entry receives a cash prize of $500. Winners must be citizens of Australia or New Zealand.
16 February: The Sheila Malady Short Story Competition
The Sheila Malady Short Story Competition is accepting fictional stories of up to 2000 words for consideration. All genres of fiction are welcome and the winner will recieve $300, a coaching session with the director of Hawkeye Publishing, a copy of Winning Short Story Competitions by L.E. Daniels and C. Sawyer, a wooden quill and 2 x tickets to the Gippsland community play.
21 February: Copyright Agency – UTS New Writers’ Fellowship
Australian new writers are now invited to apply for this residency for 2025. To qualify as a ‘new’ writer, you will have published one or two book-length works of fiction, poetry, or non-fiction with a commercial publisher and you are also required to have a contract or letter of interest from a publisher for your second or third book. The writer-in-residence will be required to be available two days a week, from March to November, and be available for consultation with Creative Writing students. The selected writer will be provided with an office and $30,000.
24 February: The Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2025
The Tasmanian Writers’ Prize accepts entires of stories up to 3,000 words featuring an island, or island-resonant, theme. The winning entry will receive a cash prize of $500 and all finalists’ stories will appear in the Forty South Short Story Anthology 2025. Winners will be citizens of Australia or New Zealand.
27 February: 2025 Next Generation Short Story Awards
The 2025 Next Generation Short Story Awards offers 30+ categories and is open to all authors, even first-time authors, internationally. Have your short story considered for cash prize, gold medal, complimentary invitation to the annual NGIBA awards gala, literary exposure, inclusion in an annual anthology and recognition as one of the top stories written this year!
28 February: Fresh Off The Books: The Pasifika Australian Literary Initiative
This exciting new initiative will culminate into an anthology of Pasifika-Australian writing — marking the first collection by Australian writers of Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Māori, Hawaiian, Torres Strait Islander and many other South Pacific cultures. The fellowship will include online writing workshops, an honorarium of $1000, ongoing mentoring and editorial support and publishing, editing, networking and creative industry support from Sweatshop Literacy Movement, NewSouth Publishing and Diversity Arts Australia. Applicant must be over the age of 18 and identify as Pasifika living in Australia.
28 February: Snowbound Chapbook Award
The Snowbound Chapbook Award includes a cash award of $1,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 25 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Manuscripts are judged anonymously and all finalists will be considered for publication. Please read the complete guidelines before submitting your manuscript.
28 February: Tideland: Art & Word Poetry Challenge
Bega Valley Shire Council invites people to submit their original poems to the Tideland: Art + Word Ekphrasis Challenge. Anyone 18 years and over is invited to submit poems responding to artworks in the upcoming Tideland exhibition. Each selected poem will earn its poet $300 for their writing and the poem will be published in the South Coast Writers Centre annual anthology for 2026.
MARCH
1 March: Sorrento Creative Writing Prize 2025
The Sorrento Creative Writing Prize welcomes original creative writing between 2500 and 3000 words. The winner will receive $5000 and their writing features at the 2025 Sorrento Writers Festival. The prize is open to Australian citizens aged 18 and over.
2 March: The SCWC 2025 Poetry Award
Poets are invited to submit poems responding to the theme ‘Shapeshifter’. First prize will win $1,000 and second prize will win $100. All winning entries will be published in the South Coast Writers Centre’s 2025 Anthology.
3 March: The Copyright Agency’s Create Grants
Create Grants provide a living allowance for writers and visual artists at key stages of their career. Creative writers can apply to write their second book in fiction, poetry, children’s literature, young adult literature, picture book illustration, graphic novels, playwriting, literary non-fiction and writing for performance (plays only). Up to five grants will be awarded and recipients and will receive $20,000 for a project starting after 1 August 2025.
3 March: 2025 Karajia and Environment Awards for Children’s Literature
Launched in 2022, the Karajia Award for Children’s Literature celebrates excellence in children’s literature by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island authors and/or illustrators. To be eligible for the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, a book must comply with all of the following: published and released for the first time in 2024, available in Australia for purchase by the general public and stocked in bookstores and not exclusively in an ebook format. In addition to the above, the author or illustrator must identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent.
7 March: The Jennifer Burbidge Short Story Award
The Jennifer Burbidge Short Story Award welcomes short stories of fiction or non-fiction up to 3000 words on the theme of disability. The winner will receive $500.
13 March: Peter Carey Short Story Award
The Peter Carey Short Story Award is for short stories between 2000 – 3000 words, and is open to all Australian residents. Entry is $15 per story. The winning entry receives $2000 and the runner-up $1000. First and second-placed stories will also be published in the spring 2025 issue of Meanjin.
23 March: The Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund
In partnership with the Myer Foundation, the Travel Fund supports emerging, midcareer, and established Australian writers and literary sector workers in pursuing professional development opportunities. This includes writers, editors, agents, publishers, librarians, booksellers, employees and associates of literary organisations and journals, and other literary professionals currently living in Australia. Applicants can apply for grants between $2,000 and $10,000. These grants support professional development through travel.
31 March: The Calanthe Collective Prize for Unpublished Poetry 2025
Designed to encourage aspiring and current poets, the competition has an open category for poets of any age who have not been previously published and an under 18 category restricted to school aged poets. The open category winner will receive $1000 and two highly commended winners will receive $250 each. The under 18 winner will receive $400 and two highly commended winners will receive $100 each.
31 March: NSW Poetry Prize
NSW Poetry Prize is an inaugural initiative of community members to reward and recognise creative and diverse voices in our poetic landscape. The award is open to writers from any country aged 16 years and over. The theme for the competition is ‘discovery’. First place will receive $200 AUD, second place will receive $100 AUD, and third place will receive $50 AUD.
31 March: Tom Grass Prize
The Tom Grass Prize is looking for a short piece of stand-alone fiction, non-fiction or journalistic writing of 1,500 – 3,000 words embodying the ‘spirit of adventure’. The prize is open to emerging writers over 25 from around the world. First prize will receive £1000 and two runners up will each receive £500.
APRIL
7 April: Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition
Griffith Review’s Emerging Voices competitions calls for original submissions of fiction and creative non-fiction from 3500 to 5000 words. Entrants can write to any theme, but they’re looking for work that commands our attention. The winners will share a prize pool of $20,000 and their work will be published in Griffith Review.
11 April: Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award Judging Panel EOIs
Waverley Council invites authors, academics, literary critics, and book industry professionals to submit an Expression Of Interest (EOI) to join the Mark & Evette Moran Nib Literary Award Judging Panel for a three-year tenure covering the 2025, 2026 and 2027 Award programs. The annual judging cycle typically spans from late April until October. A new judge is appointed to the panel of 3 each year, replacing the longest serving member.
13 April: Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction
The Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction is awarded for fiction under 2000 words. The winner will receive €2000, a week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, a consultation with a literary agent and a manuscript assessment. Two runner-ups will receive €1000 and all shortlisted writers will be published in a limited edition book.
27 April: Romanian/Australian Anthology
DIALOGUES is the tenth volume in Mihaela Cristescu’s series of Romanian and Australian Anthologies of Contemporary Poetry and Prose. Entries for DIALOGUES are open until 27 April 2025. The 2025/26 theme is ‘dialogues’ and Mihaela welcomes diverse responses. You might not read Romanian, but most Romanian writers know some English. The collection will be published in Romania this year and launched in Sydney at the State Library of NSW in March 2026.
30 April: 2025 Furphy Literary Award
The 2025 Furphy Literary Award is open for writers to submit a short story of up to 5,000 words. Entry is free and three winners, along with an additional 13 shortlisted stories will be published in The Furphy Anthology 2025. Prizes include $15,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, and $2,000 for third place.
MAY
31 May: AWMA Writing Competition
Albury Wodonga Martial Arts (AWMA) is celebrating their 10th year! Amongst their special events they are including a writing competition on the theme of Martial Arts with Martial Artists Magazine Australia publishing the winning entries. Entries can be fiction or non-fiction and prizes of up to $200 are available.
JUNE
30 June: Bundyi Writing Prize
The Bundyi Writing prize winner will receive a cash prize of AUD$10,000 sponsored by Simon & Schuster Australia and includes manuscript development with a First Nations editor. The winner will also have the opportunity to receive a standard book publishing contract with the Bundyi Imprint in relation to their Manuscript. Entries open only to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers.
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 six 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.
Mascara Literary Review
Currently accepting fiction and non-fiction up to 3000 words and reviews 1200-1500 words.
Meanjin
Meanjin publishes quarterly in print and daily online. Submissions are open periodically and when open, they welcome pieces written in any language by Australian writers and artists. Pitches or pieces from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally and racially marginalised people, and people with disability are strongly encouraged.
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.
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.