We are delighted to announce the inaugural Dymocks Beyond Words Creative Writing Competition*! This competition is designed for primary and high school-aged children and aims to promote creative writing and recognize the efforts of young writers.

This is a unique opportunity for all Australian wordsmiths to be recognised, with our judging criteria assessing both the technical writing of the student as well as storytelling (artistic merit of the writer's idea).

As Australia’s oldest family owned bookseller, we believe in the power of reading and writing to inspire and transform lives. We are passionate about nurturing the next generation of writers and helping them unleash their creativity and potential.

With a prize pool of $15,500, this competition is the largest prize pool for a youth writing competition in Australia! The prize pool is funded by Dymocks Books and Dymocks Tutoring with a first place prize of $5,000 and second place prize of $2,000. Additional prize categories include:

Shortlisted: $500 to 8 shortlist candidates
First Nations Prize: $1,000
EALD Prize: $1,000
Regional Prize: $1,000
Greater Western Sydney Prize: $1,000
Youth Winner: $500 for an under 13 winner

So, encourage your young storyteller to get started today. and share the news with the budding and booklovers in your family! We can't wait to see the unique stories told by the Booklovers of tomorrow.

*Competition entries open on 15 March and close on 31 May 2023. Winners are announced on 28 September 2023. Entries are subject to the Competition Terms and Conditions.

Entrants can submit their work of 500-1,500 words via the competition website: dymocks.info/beyondwords