For the benefit of our members (and the broader writing community), we’ve collected this list of current competitions and opportunities for you. Please note that we do not administer these competitions, and we can’t answer any questions you might have about them.
March
2019 Peter Carey Award (2000–3000 word short story, entry fee, cash and publication in Meanjin), closes 21 March, 2019
Peter Cowan 600 word short story award (Prose, entry fee, prize) closes 29 March, 2019
Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund (money to support travel required for writing), closes 29 March, 2019.
Liminsa Short Story Competition 2019 (free, short story to a photo, win a holiday), closes 30 March, 2019
The WB Yeats Poetry Prize for Australia (Poetry, entry fee), closes 31 March, 2019
Penguin Random House Australia’s Write It (mentoring opportunity, minority focus) closes 31 March, 2019
Westerly Magazine (poetry, fiction/creative non-fiction, essays and reviews, payment, publication) closes 31 March, 2019
April
The 2019 Liminal Fiction Prize (Writers who identify as a person of colour, prize and publication), closes 1 April, 2019
Underground Writers is calling for submissions (poetry, reviews and fiction, payment, publication), closes 5 April, 2019
Oxford American Jeff Baskin Writing Fellow (inernational, non-students, relocation to the US), closes 8 April, 2019
The Monologue Adventure (themed, monologue, prize) closes 4pm 14 April, 2019
A Little Bit Not Normal Writers Festival is seeking original and unperformed monologues or duologues, 8–13 minutes long (scripts/screenwriting), entries open 1 April and close 15 April 2019
The 2019 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize (Prose, 2000–5000 words, entry fee, prize) closes 15 April, 2019
Banjo Paterson Writing Awards (entry fee, short story, contemporary poetry, children’s writing, prize), closes 26 April, 2019
Geelong Writers Anthology (range of genres, paid), closes 30 April, 2019
Daisy Utemorrah Award (WA Premier’s Book Awards) (YA or junior fiction by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writer) closes 30 April, 2019
Poetica Christi Press’s 2019 Annual Poetry Competition (Theme: ‘Love’s Footprint’, poetry, entry fee) closes 30 April, 2019
KYD’s Unpublished Manuscript Award ($4000 prize, residency, adult narrative and non-fiction), opens 1 March and closes 30 April 2019
May
The 2019 Fiction Edition of The Big Issue (fiction, 300-3000 words, no entry, paid, physical submissions only), closes 1 May, 2019
Academy Nicholl Fellowships (screenwriting, international, entry fee, large prize), closes 1 May, 2019
Grieve Writing Competition (poems and short story/personal essay, entry fee, prizes), closes 15 May, 2019
2019 Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize (poetry, entry fee, large prize), closes 31 May, 2019
Call for submissions: Growing up Disabled in Australia (non-fiction), closes 31 May, 2019
June
The Bath Novel Award (international award for adults or young adult novels, entry fee, prize) closes 2 June, 2019
Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Award (school-age, poetry, entry fee, prize), closes 30 June, 2019
Ongoing
Brow Books (the book publishing arm of The Lifted Brow) currently has submissions open for non-fiction books.
LitMag is looking for fiction, poetry and non-fiction submissions (submission fees, paid).
Utterance journal is looking for female, trans and non-binary writers to submit poems and short non-fiction on their life. Submissions open monthly and are capped at 100 total, so keep an eye on this one.
Babyteeth journal is looking for a variety of content (including photography, scripts and illustrations). There is a small payment for contributors.
Transcollaborative is looking for people to help with a translation project (no second language required) (paid)
