Australian Short Story Festival Mentorship

Submission deadline: Friday 25th August 2023

This incredible opportunity is open to emerging Australian or permanent resident short story writers who do not have a full-length, published collection. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a three-month long remote mentorship with award-winning Irish short story writer and playwright, Paul McVeigh. During this time, you will work with Paul to develop three short stories across three months of mentoring from October to December 2023.

This opportunity is made possible by the Australian Short Story Festival and an Australian Government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) grant.

About Paul McVeigh:

Paul’s debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize and The McCrea Literary Award, and was shortlisted for many others including The Prix du Roman Cezam. Paul began his writing career as a playwright and comedy writer. His short stories have been in numerous anthologies, journals and newspapers, as well as on BBC Radio 3,4 & 5, and Sky Arts. He co-founded London Short Story Festival and is associate director of Word Factory, London, ‘the UK national organisation for excellence in the short story’ The Guardian. He co-edited Belfast Stories and edited the Queer Love anthology and The 32: An Anthology of Irish Working Class Voices. He has judged numerous literary prizes and his writing has been translated into seven languages.

To apply:

Send us your best short story under 5,000 words. Stories can be published or unpublished and of any genre or theme. Stories will be read and selected by Paul McVeigh.

Send your submissions to theaustralianshortstoryfest@gmail.com

Include in your email your full name, preferred email address and phone number as well as a short bio and a short paragraph (50-100 words) explaining why you would benefit from this mentorship.

Applications are due by midnight on Friday 25th August 2023. The winner will be contacted by the end of September 2023. Any questions to be directed to Gillian Hagenus through info@australianshortstoryfestival.com

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About Sarah Giles

Sarah Giles (she/her) is a PhD candidate at Swinburne University researching the possibilities of the contemporary short story cycle exploring women’s experiences of isolation, trauma and mental illness. Her writing has been published in The Writing Mind: Creative Writing Responses to Images of the Living Brain, ACE III and ACE IV (Arresting Contemporary stories by Emerging Writers), The Incompleteness Book, TEXT Journal among others. Sarah works at Writers Victoria as Marketing and Memberships Officer and is a sessional tutor across multiple universities.