For your perusal: freelance writing jobs, competitions, and places to publish.
Each month we scour the myriad opportunities out there and come up with a carefully selected list of competitions, fellowships, grants and jobs for you to browse. But this is just a slice of what's out there. Want more? Sign up to our Bloc Boost service, and have a personal, curated list of opportunities delivered to you.
Otherwise, you can also check out writing jobs or writing opportunities pages which are updated daily.
Writing Awards and Competitions
Griffith Review 62: All Things Equal – The Novella Project VI
Submissions are now open for Griffith Review’s annual novella competition. Winning entries will share in a $25,000 prize pool and will be published in Griffith Review 62: All Things Equal – The Novella Project VI (to be published 29 October 2018). Entry fee is $30 for subscribers and $60 for non-subscribers.
CLOSING 21/05/18
The Banjo Prize
HarperCollins is excited to announce the establishment of a new fiction prize, The Banjo. We’re looking for exciting new Australian voices telling the sorts of stories that we love to read – from sweeping family sagas and lush romances to dark and gritty crime, twisty psychological thrillers, rich historical dramas and contemporary romantic comedies. We’re looking for stories that make us laugh and make us cry. Stories that keep us reading late into the night. Stories that make our pulse race. Stories we just can’t put down.
The Banjo will be offered annually and will be open to all Australian writers of fiction, offering the chance to win a publishing contract with HarperCollins, with an advance of $15,000. In partnership with News Regional Media, two runners-up will each receive a written assessment of their manuscript from HarperCollins.
CLOSING 25/05/18
Grieve Writing Project
Open to Australian residents over the age of 18, writing on the topic of grief. Word limit for prose is 500 words, and the limit for poetry is 36 lines. There is a prize pool of over $8500, and winning entries will be published in an anthology.
CLOSING 28/05/18
The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award
Offering prize money of $20,000 plus publication by Allen & Unwin with an advance agains royalties, The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award is one of Australia's richest and the most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five.
CLOSING 31/05/18
The Lifted Brow & RMIT non/fictionLab Prize for Experimental Non-fiction
This prize encourages non-fiction writers to challenge themselves by testing the limits of their craft and creativity. We aim to unearth new, audacious, authentic and/or inauthentic voices from both Australia and the world. The winner will receive AU$5000 and publication in an upcoming issue of The Lifted Brow, and two runners-up will each receive $500.
CLOSING 31/05/18
AAWP/ASSF Emerging Writers' Short Story Prize
Entries should address any theme relating to Australian life or culture and be under 3000 words. The winner will receive a ticket to the Australian Short Story Festival in Perth (including airfares and accommodation) and a one-year membership to the AAWP.
CLOSING 31/05/18
The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize
Open to Australian residents over the age of 18 with a first place prize of $2500.
CLOSING 1/06/18
Stuart Hadow Prize 2018
The Stuart Hadow Prize is an annual short story competition run by the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA in honour of WA writers Lyndall Hadow and Donald Stuart. Each year, the contest attracts high quality entries from around Australia, and in 2018 the prize pool has first prize offering $1,000 and a week's unpaid residency at Mattie Furphy House in Swanbourne.
CLOSING 1/06/208
2018 Patron’s Prize for Poets Competition
This competition, run by the Peter Cowan Writers Centre, has an open theme and accepts poems up to 50 lines in length. First place receives $200.
CLOSING 8/05/18
VU Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers
This annual competition encourages excellent and original short fiction by new writers of up to 3000 words in length. At a grand first prize of $6000, it is a coveted annual fiction award for new writers in Australia. There are also two runner-up prizes of $1000. All three winners will be published in the spring issue of Overland.
CLOSING 11/06/18
Newcastle Poetry Prize
For poems up to 200 lines in length. First place receives $15,000.
CLOSING 11/06/18
The John Marsden & Hachette Australia Prize
The John Marsden & Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers is an annual developmental award open exclusively to Australian secondary school students across the nation. The prize recognises excellence in three creative writing categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
CLOSING 29/06/18
The Ros Spencer Poetry Prize 2018
A poetry contest from WA Poets Inc. for original and unpublished* poems of up to 60 lines with an open theme. First place prize is $701.
CLOSING 29/06/18
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize
The University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's International Poetry Prize has been offered annually since 2014. The prize celebrates the enduring significance of poetry to cultures everywhere in the world, and its ongoing and often seminal importance to world literatures.The winner will receive AUD$15,000, and the runner-up will receive AUD$5,000. Entries can have a maximum length of 50 lines. Each entry of a poem will cost AUD$15 if submitted by 11:59pm GMT, 28 February 2018 and AUD$20 if submitted between 1 March and 30 June 2018. There are discounts for students.
CLOSING 30/06/18
The Moth Short Story Prize
Every year, a single judge is asked to choose three winning stories to feature in the autumn issue of The Moth. This year’s judge is Kevin Barry. First place receives €3,000, second place receives a spot at a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus €250 travel stipend.
CLOSING 30/06/18
Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition 2018
The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country. One of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a debutant poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published. Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as "highly commended".
CLOSING 30/06/18
FAWQ Literary Competition
This annual competition has three categories: short story, for submissions up to 2000 words in length; flash fiction, for submissions up to 300 words in length, and poetry up to 40 lines. First place prize in each category is $200.
CLOSING 30/06/18
AAWP/UWRF Emerging Writers' Prize
The winning entrant will receive a ticket to the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, including accommodation and $500 towards airfares, a one-year membership to the AAWP and a fully subsidised place at the AAWP's annual conference.
CLOSING 30/06/18
Adelaide Plains Poets Inc. Poetry Competition 2018
1st, 2nd and 3rd place cash prizes, with a total prize pool worth over $700. Entries must in some way refer to the theme, 'Truth'.
CLOSING 06/07/18
The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers
The Richell Prize is open to unpublished writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction. The winner will receive $10,000 and a 12-month membership with Hachette.
CLOSING 9/07/18
Vallum Award for Poetry 2018
Vallum is accepting original and previously unpublished poetry submissions for the Vallum Award for Poetry 2018! The editors at Vallum are committed to enriching and continuing the tradition of poetry in the present day. We welcome submissions that deepen our understanding of what poetry is and can be. We encourage Indigenous writers, writers of colour, gender non-conforming writers, differently abled writers, LGBTQ writers, writers with mental or physical illnesses, and writers who are otherwise affected by structural inequality to submit their work for consideration. Submit up to 1-3 poems of maximum 60 lines each. The $25 entry fee covers 3 poems. You may submit more than once. Poems may be on any theme or subject, but must be original and not previously published. Begin each poem on a new page, use 12-point font and single spacing. 1st prize is $750, 2nd $250. Both 1st and 2nd prize-winning poems will be published in Vallum Magazine and on Vallum's website. Honourable Mentions may be selected and published but are not eligible for cash prizes.
CLOSING 15/07/18
The 2018 ACU Prize for Poetry
Following the success of the Prize in previous years, the ACU Prize for Poetry will be awarded for outstanding poetry with the theme ‘Empathy.’ First place prize is $10,000, second place prize is $5000 and third place prize is $3000.
CLOSING 20/07/18
Ipswich Poetry Feast International Poetry Writing Competition
There are several categories, including open age - bush poetry, open age - other poetry, open age - local poets, and open age - picture Ipswich theme. Over $6000 available in prize money.
CLOSING 27/07/18
The Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Prize 2018
The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast short stories in the English language of 3,000 words or fewer. The story can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Translated work is not in the scope of this competition.
CLOSING 31/07/18
InkTears Flash Fiction Contest
For stories under 500 words in length. Winner will receive £250 and publication on the InkTears site.
CLOSING 31/07/18
FAW Tasmania 2018 Poetry Prize
For a poem of no more than 60 lines. First prize $150.
CLOSING 31/08/18
Bette Olle Poetry Award 2018
Poems must be in traditional Australian bush verse with an Australian theme. Winner receives the Bette Olle Poetry Award and $500.
CLOSING 31/08/18
Shore Scripts Competitions
Our mission is to discover new exciting screenwriting talent and help kickstart careers! We put each year’s best scripts into the hands our industry roster – all of whom have the experience and means to get your script made. There are three categories for scripts: Feature, with over $10,000 in prizes TV Pilot, with over $7000 in prizes and Short, with over $3000 in prizes We’ve amassed a roster of the most respected industry Judges of any screenwriting contest in the world. They include 40 Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy & Bafta winners, and 80 Prod Comps, Agents and Managers.
CLOSING 31/08/18
FAW NSW Jean Stone 2018 Poetry Award
The Award is for a poem or group of poems up to 60 lines. The competition is open to all residents of Australia 18 years and over. First place prize is $500.
CLOSING 31/08/18
FAW NSW Walter Stone 2018 Life Writing Award
The Award is for a Life Writing, defined as a work of biography, autobiography, memoir, monograph, bibliography. Biography and autobiography may be an extract to meet the word count requirements which is a minimum of 10,000 and a maximum of 25,000. The competition is open to all residents of Australia 18 years and over.
CLOSING 31/08/18
Residencies, Festivals, Fellowships and Funds
Emerging Writers’ Fellowship
In 2018, the Emerging Writers’ Festival is thrilled to partner with State Library Victoria to present the inaugural Emerging Writers’ Fellowship. This fellowship will see an emerging writer spend a month working on a project in a dedicated space in the State Library, immersing themselves in the library’s collection as well as learning, developing and networking at the Emerging Writers’ Festival. The fellow will receive a $2000 grant, flights to and from their home town, a golden ticket to EWF and home-stay accommodation for the duration of their time in Melbourne. They will attend the Emerging Writers’ Festival from 19-29 June, then spend the month of July working from the State Library.
CLOSING 14/05/18
Equity Foundation Diversity Showcase
This July, the Australian Writers’ Guild and Scripted Ink are partnering with the Equity Foundation and the Equity Diversity Committee, with support from Screen Australia and our colleagues at ADG, to run Australia’s first Diversity Showcase. Built to develop and nurture career paths for writers, directors and performers from diverse backgrounds, the six-day program will consist of morning workshops, discussions, and professional development opportunities, culminating in a performance showcasing the developed work to an audience of network executives, managers and other industry professionals.
CLOSING 18/05/18
Booranga Writers' Centre Residency Program
Each year the Centre offers four paid opportunities for a writer-in-residence. Each residency lasts for a minimum of two weeks and includes a stipend of $2000.
CLOSING 31/05/18
The Affirm Press Mentorship Award
This creative partnership offers up to three writers developing exceptional new work the opportunity to work with the Affirm Press publishing team while in residence at Varuna in the Blue Mountains of NSW. The residency week will be held from Monday 29 October until Sunday 4 November 2018 and includes full board and accommodation, including a private room and studio for each writer.
CLOSING 31/05/18
Quantum Words 2018
The NSW Writers’ Centre is excited to announce its biennial science writing festival, Quantum Words, will be taking place on 3 November 2018. Submissions are welcome from science writers, scientists who write, publishers, agents or anyone else with a passion for writing about science, and could cover roles such as panel speakers, chairs, mentors, assessors or workshop leaders—other ideas are also encouraged!
CLOSING 3/06/18
The Peter Blazey Fellowship
The Fellowship is awarded annually to writers in the non-fiction fields of biography, autobiography and life writing and is intended to further a work in progress. Applications will be judged on literary merit, and the winner will be supported in their work by a prize of approximately $15,000, and a one-month writer-in-residency at The Australia Centre.
CLOSING 10/06/18
Katharine Susannah Pritchard Writers Centre Residencies
The KSP Writers' Centre is proud to support the development of literary work by hosting a number of annual residencies for writers. Each year, we offer placements in the categories of NextGen; Emerging; and Established.
Established applications closing 24/06/18; emerging applications closing 29/07/18; Next Gen applications closing 26/08/18
Aspiring Writers Mentorship Program
In its 22nd year, the mentorship offers an unpublished author of children's books the opportunity to work with a publisher to further develop their manuscript.
CLOSING 30/06/18
The Wheeler Centre's Next Chapter
Each year, we’ll pick ten outstanding writers and give them $15,000 each to develop their work. We’ll match them with a mentor, and work closely with them on bringing their writing to life, connecting them with other writers, publishers, booksellers and readers – and guiding and training them through that experience. And we’ll follow and support them and their work through their career, with initiatives that’ll help publishers, booksellers and readers alike to join us in supporting these Australian stories.
CLOSING 13/07/18
Publications Seeking Submissions
Vida Review
Call for essays by writers outside the gender binary.
CLOSING 20/05/18
ZineWest 2018
We want to read your best short works of prose, poetry, drama, cartoon. You need to be at least 16 years old and not yet had a sole author trade publication. ZineWest gives you a great chance of being print published or invited to ZW Word – a spoken word comp with prizes. If you are an artist, we’d love to hear from you too – we publish art by around 10 visual artists in the zine. This competition is open to those who live in Western Sydney, and the first place prize is $400.
CLOSING 27/05/18
Matador Review
We are currently accepting work for our ninth issue, the Summer 2018 publication. The genres are as follows: Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Visual Art.
CLOSING 31/05/18
Call for Submissions: Growing up African in Australia
Black Inc is looking for first-person pieces about growing up as a member of the African diaspora in Australia. These can be in any manner, tone or style, but we are not looking for scholarly works. They are particularly interested in pieces that defy, question or shed light on the many stereotypes that currently exist about our vibrant extended community.
The collection will be edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke, editor of The Best Australian Stories 2017, with curatorial assistance from Ahmed Yussuf and Magan Magan.
Submissions should be between 1000 and 3000 words, and must be received by Friday 1 June 2018. Late entries will not be accepted. Please email submissions to [email protected] as attached Word documents. Final selection will be made in July 2018 and successful contributors only will be notified by email. Enquiries should be addressed to Erin Sandiford: [email protected].
CLOSING 1/06/18
Story Seed Vault
The Vault is an online periodical that adheres to the limitation of Twitter publishing. We consider all types of fiction with one condition – your story must be based on science.
OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS FROM THE 10TH - 24TH OF EVERY MONTH
Submittable Eclectic Essays
We’re always on the lookout for short, engaging essays. We tend to favor work about the life, work, and process of writing, publishing, visual art, or any other creative pursuit. We’re also interested in the interplay of the arts and tech, whether drawn from your personal experience, or from observations of the world at large. Often, though, we don’t know what we’re looking for until we see it, so feel free to send something our way that we might find to be unexpectedly perfect for our blog and readership.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
ACMI
We commission writing about film, television, video games, moving image art and the internet, including critical analyses and fresh perspectives about specific works and makers, “How to do it” guides by experts to inspire other makers, historical explainers of movements and phenomena, personal responses to moving image works, and interviews with moving image makers. We don’t commission evaluative reviews (like a film or game review with a star rating, etc). The writing should illuminate the work and help the reader to connect with it more deeply.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Overland Literary Journal
Overland accepts pitches on any subject on an ongoing basis, but they are currently looking for articles on: universal basic income, bitcoin, university management, Netflix algorithms, and Goodreads.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
The Lifted Brow
TLB publishes work on its website that fits into two categories: TLB Review of Books or Commentary, and we welcome pitches for both.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Masters Review
Submissions for our New Voices category are open year round. New Voices is open to any new and emerging author who has not published a work of fiction or narrative nonfiction of novel length. You must not have a novel forthcoming at the time of submission. Published short-story collections do not count as a novel-length work and those authors are free to submit. New Voices are published online only and will feature a number of stories from new authors each month.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Write for Archer
Archer publishes articles and images about sexuality, gender and identity from a diverse range of writers/artists, from all levels of experience.Archer is aimed at all individuals interested in sexuality, gender and equality. Archer promotes inclusivity, regardless of gender identity, geographical location, ethnic identity, sexual orientation or level of education.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Pitch to The Big Issue
We accept unsolicited material, if it is polished and fits the tone and style of the magazine, is clearly targeted at a particular section of the magazine and falls within the word counts relevant to a particular section. (For example 750 words for 'My Word' submissions or 1800 for a four-page feature; see the attached 'Word Counts' information box.)
Alternatively, writers can pitch story ideas by email first. To be considered, your pitch should explain which section of the magazine the story is intended for, be one paragraph long, contain a topic sentence, a sample introductory sentence and explain the story angle, writing tone, suggested word length, a list of possible interviewees (if appropriate) and whether or not photographs and/or illustrative material is available.
If your story is linked to a particular event (or date, or anniversary) you must pitch it at least two months before the event takes place. Important note: as a national publication, we are unlikely to accept stories that have a specifically local focus. If we like your idea, we will call or email you to discuss it further.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Earth Island Journal Submissions
Earth Island Journal is always looking for compelling and distinctive stories that anticipate environmental concerns before they become pressing problems, stories that scan the horizon for the next big issue. We want stories that will surprise, provoke, and entertain our readers and that explore new territory overlooked by other publications.
Our readership is international, so please don’t pitch stories on local issues unless they have broader (read: national or international) interest or implications. Please read through our magazine’s current and back issues (archives are available online) to get a better idea of the kind of stories we publish before you send a query.
We pay writers 25¢/word print stories. You can expect to earn about $750-$1000 for an in-depth feature story (about 4,000 words).
For online reports, the fee ranges from $50 to $100. Online reports are a great way to get into the Journal, especially if you are new to reporting and writing. We publish online five days a week and are always looking for fresh ideas.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Electric Athenaeum - Open Submissions
Electric Athenaeum is a Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine publishing short fiction, articles, poetry, and interviews. Each issue features an accompanying theme, and is available for free to readers. They are open to submissions for this issue’s theme, Future Generations, and consider any genre of speculative fiction. They pay £50 per story.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Forever Yours: Now Accepting Book Submissions
Forever is the romance imprint of Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, one of the big five publishers. Forever Yours is the digital sister of Forever, they focus on publishing unagented authors, and often publish authors without a publication history. They publish eBooks, but they an option to print on demand any book over 50,000 words in length.
Fairlight Books
Fairlight Books is currently open for literary submissions of short stories, novellas and novels. We are happy to accept submissions of longer fiction direct from authors.Fairlight Books is currently open for literary submissions of short stories, novellas and novels. We are happy to accept submissions of longer fiction direct from authors.
Walker Wednesday
Walker Wednesday allows budding authors to submit their manuscripts to Walker Books’ award-winning editorial team on the first Wednesday of each month. Walker Books is currently accepting submissions of middle grade and young adult fiction from Australian and New Zealand authors.
Monthly Catch at Penguin
Do you have a manuscript you would like Penguin to consider? Penguin Group have what’s known as the ‘Monthly Catch’. During the first week of every month, you can submit unsolicited manuscripts for their consideration.
Manuscript Monday - Pan Macmillan
On the first Monday of every month only, between 10am and 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, we accept electronic submissions that comply with the guidelines set out below.
Manuscript submissions sent on any other Mondays or day of the month will not be read so we advise you to wait until the next month if you miss the deadline.
We are looking for:
Commercial fiction – women’s fiction, romance, thriller, crime, historical, humour, paranormal, fantasy
Literary fiction and non-fiction – novels, short stories, and narrative non-fiction only
Children’s books and young adult – junior and middle grade fiction, young adult/crossover fiction; we are not accepting picture book submissions
Commercial non-fiction – history, memoir, mind body spirit, travel, health, diet, biography
Please familiarise yourself with what we publish. We do not publish scripts, plays or poetry in Australia and will not assess them.
Academic submissions are not accepted during Manuscript Monday.
Right Now
Right Now is committed to covering human rights issues in Australia through free, accessible, creative and engaging online, print and radio media.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Scum Mag
Scum is interested in publishing feminist-friendly work of any variety, but as a general rule your piece should be under 1000 words (50 lines for poetry) and able to be classified as “fiction”, “culture”, “memoir”, “column”, “poetry”, and/or “review”. They tend not to publish traditional reviews of books and films—to get a feel for the reviews they do publish, check the review tag. Feel free to pitch to them if you’re not sure if your piece is a good fit. (Please note that they don’t accept pitches for fiction or poetry.)
Submissions to Scum are open the first week (from the 1st to the 7th) of every month. The rest of the month, submissions are closed. They pay $60 per piece of writing.
Seizure - Flashers
At Seizure, short-form work is living large. Flashers is the online home of Australian flash fiction.
Each week we publish work between 50 and 500 words that could be written in an hour and read in a minute. We are looking for short, sharp snippets of prose. But flash fiction is so much more than a quick-fix for the time-hungry wordaholic. Flash fiction attracts writers and readers for its peculiar challenges – and authors have to make every word count.
Accepted pieces will have an accompanying illustration by a volunteer artist that matches and complements the writing. Thanks to the Australia Council, we are able to pay our Flasher contributors $50 for each published piece.
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
Slice Magazine is open for submissions
SLICE magazine welcomes submissions for short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We’re looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share—basically any work that really knocks our socks off. At the core, Slice aims to bridge the gap between emerging and established authors by offering a space where both are published side-by-side. In each issue, a specific cultural theme becomes the catalyst for articles, interviews, stories, and poetry from renowned writers and lesser known voices alike. We offer all contributors of Slice a monetary award for their work ($250 for stories and essays and $75 for poems).
SUBMISSIONS ONGOING
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Catherine Bouris
Community Manager at Writers Bloc, Founder of Young Australian Writers, @catherinebouris on Twitter