Australian Competitions Club

The Young Writers Award is free to enter!

Entries open on Tuesday 2 April and close Monday 13 May at 5 pm AEST.

State Library of Queensland is pleased to announce that the 2024 Young Writers Award is open for entries!

First prize is $2,000, Queensland Writers Centre membership, and Kill Your Darlings will publish the winning story. State Library will publish the work of up to 3 runners-up who will be awarded $500 and Queensland Writers Centre membership.
Who is eligible?

All Queensland writers aged 18–25 at 13 May 2024. Stories must be unpublished (this includes print and online).

Is there a theme?

No, you can write about anything. Just keep the word count beneath 2,500.

https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/get-involved/awards-and-fellowships/young-writers-award

Terms & Conditions:

 To be eligible, the writer must be: a Queensland resident on 13 May 2024, and
o 18 to 25 years (inclusive) of age on 13 May 2024, and o living at the date of entry.
 Proof of residency and age will be required from all finalists.
 Only one entry per person will be accepted.
 If you have entered the Young Writers Award in the past, you are welcome to enter
again, unless you have previously won the award.
 Previous finalists of the Young Writers Award are eligible to enter.
Story requirements
 The short story must:
o be an original work written entirely by the entrant;
o be written predominantly in English;
o not currently entered in other writing competitions, or under submission to a
publisher, or subject to contractual negotiations, or have previously won a prize (previously shortlisted is permitted);
o be unpublished; this is understood to mean that the story cannot have been previously published in print or online, including self-published or on a
blog. Stories submitted to school or university courses (but not published publicly) are permitted.
 The maximum word count is 2,500 words.
 Entries over 2,500 words will not be accepted.
 Previously submitted stories are welcome.
Other award information
 The 2024 Young Writers Award prizes will be awarded to the entries that the judges consider as having the highest literary merit.
 The prizes are:
o First prize: $2,000, plus publication with Kill Your Darlings and a
Queensland Writers Centre membership.
o Up to three runners-up: $500 each, plus a Queensland Writers Centre
membership.
o The judges may also acknowledge up to five highly commended writers.
 Entrants grant State Library of Queensland a perpetual non-exclusive worldwide license to publish their entered work digitally or in printed format. All finalists’ stories will be published on the State Library website.
 The copyright of any material submitted remains with the author.
 Kill Your Darlings editor/s will work with the winning writer on their short story towards
publication and a contract offered with industry-standard terms. An excerpt of the
winning story will be published on the State Library website.
 The winner, runners-up and highly commended will be announced on the State
Library website.
 The winner and runners-up should be prepared to participate in a small number of
media and/or promotional opportunities at the time of, and in the year following, being awarded and published with Kill Your Darlings. These opportunities will be coordinated by the State Library’s Marketing and Communications team and Kill Your Darlings.
 The winner and runners-up may be required to have their photo taken, or submit a headshot, for publicity purposes.
 The judges’ decision is final; judges reserve the right to not award any or all prizes. 
HOW TO ENTER
How to format your short story
 Do not include your name on any page of your entry. Submissions are judged anonymously.
 Please prepare your nomination using the format below:
 stories must be submitted as a Word document (no PDFs)
 If after reasonable efforts a Prize Winner cannot be contacted, cannot accept a prize
 or is deemed to be ineligible to enter the Award, State Library reserves the right to
 select a different Prize Winner, or no Prize Winner, and will publish the details of
 any different Prize Winner on State Library's website.