Competition Details
We are excited to announce that our Short Story Competition is open for entries!
The annual Writers’ Studio Short Story Competition is a celebration of writers and is open to anyone aged 18 and over.
Writers can write on any theme.
Entries must be a maximum of 2500 words.
DEADLINE: 5pm AEDT, Friday, 30 October 2026
First Prize $1,200 | Second Prize: $400 | Third Prize: $200
Winners will be notified by email and announced in our December newsletter.
The 3 winning entries will be published on the Writers’ Studio website.
How to Submit an Entry:
Carefully follow all of the instructions below and then email your entry as an attachment to: entry@writerstudio.com.au
Preparing your entry for submission:
Your entry must be submitted as a .pdf file attached to a covering email. (Pages and Ms Word document files will be not be accepted)
The name of your .pdf file attachment must match the subject line of your covering email, and the same title must be at the top of your .pdf entry.
DO NOT put your name into, or onto your .pdf entry.
Formatting: Times New Roman, 12 point, double spaced
Your covering email must include:
- Your Name
- Your Address
- Your Mobile Phone Number
- The title of your entry
- Your attached entry in .pdf file format
- Subject line of email matches the title of your pdf. file attachment
Payment:
A $25 entry fee (incl. GST) must be paid for each individual entry.
You can only pay by clicking the ‘Pay Now’ button below and making a payment by credit card using our secure payment gateway.
Use the same email address & mobile phone number in the payment form so we can match it to your entry email:
You must pay the Entry Fee on the same day you email your entry
Other Terms & Conditions
- Entry is open only to adults aged 18 and over.
- The entry must be the original work of the entrant.
- Entrants warrant that no artificial intelligence (AI) was used to generate ideas or text for their entry, develop, write, rewrite or edit their entry, or otherwise provide input of any kind in relation to their entry.
- All entries must be unpublished, whether in print or online.
- All copyright remains with author.
- Entries must be emailed only to the: entry@writerstudio.com.au email address, and must be received by 5pm AEDT Friday, 30 October.
- Entry fees are non-refundable.
- The title of the work is to be identical to the title in both the cover email and the .pdf file name.
- Winners will be notified by email and publicly announced in our December newsletter, and the 3 winning entries will be published on our website.
- Winners agree to provide an author photo which maybe used on social media.
- All Instructions form part of the Competition’s Terms and Conditions.
- The decision of the judge will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
About the Judge
Zahid Gamieldien is an author, editor, screenwriter and senior tutor at the Writers’ Studio. His short stories have appeared in literary publications including Overland, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, Island Magazine, the ‘best of’ 40 Years of the UTS Writers’ Anthology and many others. His unproduced screenwriting has been listed for prizes, and as an editor and tutor, he has worked with several authors who have gone on to publish books. He is the recipient of two major arts grants from Create NSW and a residency at Varuna House. His literary novel, All the Missing Children, was published by Ultimo Press in 2024, and his next novel, Land of Wool and Honey, will be released in 2027.
