Writing Competition
Student Writing Prizes
The Verdict is Out…
The Byron Writers Festival’s Student Competition winners have been announced!
This year we received over 130 submissions and were taken back by the creativity, originality and talent of the young writers in our region. Judging was difficult with many competitive submissions. Those who submitted deserve to be very proud of themselves.
Great stories come in many shapes and forms. In different ways they persuade the reader to enter the stories’ world, they allow the reader to relate to their characters, they move and surprise the reader, and they leave the reader thinking deeply or feeling differently by the end. The winning stories showed complexity and sophistication in many of these ways.
Stay tuned. First place stories will be published in the Byron Writers Festival’s quarterly magazine, Northerly, and runner up stories will be published at the Byron Writers Festival’s blog.
Congratulations to our winners…
Susie Warrick Young Writers Award Category 1 (yrs 10 – 12)
First place: Nipotino by Luisa Santucci
Runner up: I Do Not Know Which to Prefer by Saoirse Chu
Susie Warrick Young Writers Award Category 2 (yrs 7 – 9)
First place: The Hunter by Floyd Whitaker
Runner up: The Alley by Elise Nikkinen
The Jesse Blackadder Prize (yrs 5 – 6)
First place: Allegro Presto by Edith Barber
Runner up: The Thief by Caleb Scherrer
Susie Warrick Young Writers Award
In memory of Susie Warrick, this award celebrates the art of the short story and supports emerging young writers in furthering their career with a $500 cash prize for first place per category.
The Brief: Write an original short story up to 1000 words on any theme.
Prize Category 1: Year 10 to 12 students
Prize Category 2: Year 7 to 9 students
The Jesse Blackadder Prize
In memory of Jesse Blackadder, this prize celebrates creativity and imagination in Stage 3 writers with a $300 cash prize for first place.
The Brief: Write an original short story from 500 to 1000 words on any theme.
Prize Category: Year 5 to 6 students
Eligibility & Key Dates
Entrants of both competitions must live within the Byron Writers Festival footprint, from Taree in the south, Kyogle in the west and Tweed Heads in the north.
Key Dates
- Submissions open: Wednesday 26 May, 2021
- Applications Close: Wednesday 30 June, 2021 – 11.59pm
- Winners notified: Wednesday 28 July, 2021. Please note all other entrants will be notified of the outcome at this time.
Prizes include:
- Susie Warrick Young Writers Award: a $500 cash prize per category.
- The Jesse Blackadder Prize: a $300 cash prize.
- A Festival Day Pass for Sunday 8 August, 2021
- Publication of each winning story in the Byron Writers Festival’s quarterly magazine, Northerly.
- A runner up from each category will have their stories published online at the Byron Writers Festival’s blog.
Submission Guidelines
- Write and polish an original short story.
- Include the title in the header of your story.
- Submit your story as a Word Document – Arial 12-point font preferred.
- Submissions are judged anonymously. Your name should not be included anywhere on your story – it should only be entered on the submission form.
- Entries are limited to one submission per person. A list of all Terms & Conditions can be found here.
- Click on the online Application link to submit your story by Wednesday 30 June, 2021
About the Awards
Susie Warrick was a much loved staff member at the Northern Rivers Writers Centre (now Byron Writers Festival). The Susie Warrick Young Writers Award was established to honour her memory, celebrate the art of the short story, and to support emerging young writers in furthering their career.
The Jesse Blackadder Prize was created in 2020 in memory of Jesse Blackadder, much loved Board member, author and founder of Byron Writers Festival’s StoryBoard program.
Prizes are generously sponsored by the Warrick Family, Hilarie Dunn and the Byron Writers Festival Jesse Blackadder Memorial Fund.
Read the 2019 winning stories here.
For some valuable tips on entering Writing Competitions click here: https://www.melindatognini.com.au/writing-competitions-what-you-need-to-know-before-entering/
If you have any enquires, please email [email protected]