The Jay Yes International Short Story Contest 2026 is a global writing competition created for unpublished writers aspiring to share their stories with the world. Participants are invited to submit original short stories between 2500 and 4000 words.
Exceptional entries may also be considered for further publishing opportunities with the contest’s publishing partner, Zero Degree Publishing. There are other benefits including podcast opportunities for winners and contributors of anthology. With no entry fee and driven by an inclusive literary vision, the contest champions a shared commitment to storytelling. The jury eagerly looks forward to discovering bold, moving, and truly jaw-dropping narratives from across the globe.
The American Association of Australasian Literary Studies (AAALS), together with the American Australian Association, welcomes submissions to our annual creative writing competition between 1-31 March 2026.
We invite entries in the following categories:
Poetry
Creative Prose
Indigenous Writers Poetry
Indigenous Writers Creative Prose
With the generous support of the American Australian Association, the winner of each prize will be awarded US$1000, plus publication in the journal Antipodes.
Have you written a novella in prose or verse? Or a hybrid novella that crosses genre boundaries? Enter the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) and Recent Work Press (RWP) ‘Novella Prize’ for your chance to win.
If you win you will receive: a written commendation from AAWP. This ‘tick of approval’ will see your manuscript assessed without delay. You will, effectively, leap to the top of the submissions pile. You will also receive a $500.00 cash prize and fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP (November 2026) where you will be invited to read from your work.
If your full manuscript is as robust as the synopsis and opening extract, you may secure a publishing contract with RWP: https://recentworkpress.com
Take advantage of this stunning opportunity. Fast track your writing journey in a fiercely competitive market.
In 2026, the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) and Westerly Magazine are offering a prize for Life Writing. We welcome submissions of autobiography, biography, memoir, and essays. We celebrate Life Writing as a rumination upon memory and experience and encourage creative and hybrid approaches.
The prize is open to writers at all stages of their journey; emerging and established writers are welcome to enter. The prize recognises excellence in nonfiction, creative nonfiction and hybrid modes of storytelling. Hybrid storytelling is broadly conceived as storytelling that crosses traditional boundaries of nonfiction and creative nonfiction and/or is experimental in form.
We invite you to send Life Writing submissions of up to 3500 words. The winner will receive a written commendation from AAWP, a $500 cash prize, a one-year subscription to Westerly, and conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP, where they will be invited to read from their work. Please see item 3 (Terms and conditions). The winner’s work will be considered for publication by Westerly.
We encourage you to take advantage of this stunning opportunity to celebrate diverse interpretations of nonfiction, creative nonfiction and hybrid modes of storytelling, and be welcomed into the thriving community of writers associated with the AAWP.
We are deeply interested in capturing a composite “picture” of what people are writing about. Now. Please send creative work—short-short fiction, “sudden” fiction, “sketchy” stories, creative nonfiction, poetry, as well as hybrid forms.
We are accepting submissions on the following scale: up to 400 words prose, 40 lines for poetry, 200 words for prose poems, and the equivalent for hybrid forms. Submissions must be previously unpublished. Please send your most polished work, without delay.
If you win you will receive a written commendation from AAWP and a $500 cash prize. You will have your work published on the Express Mediawebsite and receive a Voiceworks subscription. You will also receive fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP, where you will be invited to read from your work. Read the full terms of entry here
This prize is offered in partnership with the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF), and is open to translators at any stage of their career.
The winner receives a written commendation from AAWP, a festival pass to UWRF and accomodation for the duration of the festival (*Terms and Conditions apply, see below). In addition, you will receive fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP, where you will be invited to read from your work. The editors at Meniscus Literary Journal will also consider your work for publication.
Entries must be no more than 30 lines (poetry) or 3000 words (prose), and entrants can translate their own work into English. Entries must be accompanied by a ‘Translator’s Statement of Intention’ (up to 400 words) addressing the aims of the translation.
If you win you will receive: a festival pass to UWRF and accommodation for the duration of the festival (*Terms and Conditions apply, see below). In addition, you will receive fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP. The editors at Meniscus will also consider your work for publication.
Take advantage of this stunning opportunity to celebrate the craft of writing at Southeast Asia’s largest and most exciting literary festival. Be welcomed into the thriving community of writers within the AAWP. Enter your short story and make the most of this generous publication pathway and networking opportunity for emerging writers. Entries should not exceed 3000 words.
Enter your poem in the ‘AAWP/UWRF Emerging Writers’ Prize for Poetry for your chance to win.
If you win you will receive: a festival pass to UWRF and accommodation for the duration of the festival (*Terms and Conditions apply, see below). In addition, you will receive fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP. The editors at Meniscus will also consider your work for publication.
Take advantage of this stunning opportunity to celebrate the craft of writing at Southeast Asia’s largest and most exciting literary festival. Be welcomed into the thriving community of writers within the AAWP. Enter your poem and make the most of this generous publication pathway and networking opportunity for emerging writers.
Have you written a poetry collection, literary novel, short story collection or a hybrid work that crosses genre boundaries? Enter the Australasian Association of Writing Programs’ (AAWP) ‘Chapter One’ competition for your chance to win.
If you win you will receive: a written commendation from AAWP and a letter of recommendation to the University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). This ‘tick of approval’ will see your manuscript assessed without delay. You will, effectively, leap to the top of the submissions pile. You will also receive a $500.00 cash prize and fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP (November 2026) where you will be invited to read from your work.
If your full manuscript is as robust as ‘Chapter One’ you may secure a publishing contract with UWAP: http://uwap.uwa.edu.au.
Take advantage of this stunning opportunity. Fast track your writing journey in a fiercely competitive market.
You must be an AAWP member, and you may enter as many times as you like.
The Prizes and Partnerships Portfolio is managed by AAWP President | Chair, Associate Professor Julia Prendergast, contactable directly at jprendergast@swin.edu.au
Got a question? Want to be on our focused Prizes email list? Email us at prizes@aawp.org.au
AAWP prizes have been ratified by Arts Law: ‘Arts Law was very impressed with AAWP’s attitude, which clearly demonstrated AAWP’s respect for writers.’
The American Association of Australasian Literary Studies (AAALS), together with the American Australian Association, welcomes submissions to our annual creative writing competition between 1-31 March 2025.
The competition invites entries in the following categories:
· Poetry
· Creative Prose
· Indigenous Writers Poetry
· Indigenous Writers Creative Prose
With the generous support of the American Australian Association, the value of these prizes has been increased. The winner of each prize will now be awarded US$1000, plus publication in the journal Antipodes.
Brought to you by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards (the largest book awards program in the world for self-published authors and independent publishers) and Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group
Submissions accepted: Short stories or poems in English (5,000 words or fewer)
Categories: 30+
Deadline: Thursday, February 27 2025
Prizes for winners: Cash awards, gold medals, digital promotional stickers, social media exposure, publication in the Anthology of Winners, and a complimentary copy of the anthology
This initiative is part of theNext Generation Indie Book Awards, which celebrates independent and self-published authors worldwide. We’re committed to providing a platform for writers to gain recognition and connect with a wider audience.
All publications in TEXT between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024 were automatically eligible for this award. The TEXT editorial team selected the winner and commended works based on the following criteria:
Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope;
Style and readability;
Quality of the research/innovation/analysis;
Potential impact or contribution to the discipline.
The winner receives a $500 cash prize, contributed this year by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs.
There are just ten days left to submit your entries for one of our seven prizes for writers and translators, brought to you by AAWP and our prizes partners.
Do you create work that lives in the category of: short story – poetry – hybrid writing – translation – under 25 writer work – creative nonfiction – manuscript chapter – novella? There’s a prize waiting to receive your entry.
These amazing prizes offer recognition and exciting opportunities for the winners, but every entry gives you invaluable experience in polishing and putting forward your best work.
The prize celebrates the enduring significance of poetry to cultures everywhere in the world, and its ongoing and often seminal importance to world literatures. It marks the University of Canberra’s commitment to creativity and imagination in all that it does, and builds on the work of the International Poetry Studies Institute in identifying poetry as a highly resilient and sophisticated human activity. It also builds on the activities of the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research, which conducts wide-ranging research into human creativity and culture.
The 2023 prize winners will be announced by November 2023 and the prize winners and short-list will be notified prior to that.
Important details are:
The winner will receive AUD$15,000
The international winner will receive AUD$5,000
The runner-up (second-placed poem) will receive AUD$5,000
Four additional poems will be short-listed
An online prize anthology of up to 60 longlisted poems will be published
Entry fees
Entrants may submit up to six poems, and will pay a separate fee for each poem.
First Entry: $AUD25 or $15 concession
Additional Entry (up to five additional entries): $AUD20 or $10 concession
See How to Enter for details and Early Bird fee options
Outline of prize rules and conditions
All poems entered for the prize will be single poems that have a maximum length of 60 lines
All entries will be in English
No simultaneous submissions will be allowed
Entries must be unpublished and original works of the author
Translations will not be eligible unless they are English translations from another language produced by the original author
