Competition Details
We are excited to announce that our annual Short Story Competition is now open for entries!
The Writers’ Studio Short Story Competition is a celebration of writers and is open to anyone aged 18 and over.
Please read all instructions carefully before submitting your entry.
Writers can write on any theme.
Entries must be between 1500 words and a maximum of 2500 words.
DEADLINE: 5pm AEST, Friday, 31 October 2025
First Prize $1,000 | Second Prize: $400 | Third Prize: $200
Only winners will be notified in December by email, and then announced in our December newsletter.
The Top 3 Winning Entries will be published on the Writers’ Studio website.
How to Submit an Entry:
Follow 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 only attached to your covering email.
The name of your .pdf 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 include your name in or on 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 that matches the title of your pdf. file attachment
Payment:
A $20 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.
Make sure to put in the same email address & mobile phone number into the payment form so we can match it to your entry email:
You must pay the Entry Fee on the same day that 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.
- All entries must be unpublished, whether in print or online.
- All copyright remains with author.
- Entries must be emailed only to the email address above and be received by 5pm AEST Friday, 31 October.
- Receipt of entry will be acknowledged by email.
- Entry fees are non-refundable.
- The title of the work must be identical to the title in both the cover email and the .pdf file name.
- All Instructions form part of the Competition’s Terms and Conditions.
- Winners will be notified by email in early December 2025, and publicly announced in our December 2025 newsletter.
- 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 he is currently working on a television series and his next novel.
