Manuscript awards to enter in 2022

Congratulations, you’ve completed your manuscript and polished it till it sparkles. Are you ready to set it free out into the world? 

There are a few avenues you can take – no, no, don’t put it away in that bottom drawer again! Why not enter your manuscript for an award? There are many exciting opportunities for both published and unpublished authors, and we’ve created a list of them to prove it. 

We’ll keep updating this list throughout the year, so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Who knows where it could all lead? Go on, get your story out there…

2022 Book Pipeline: Unpublished Contest
The literary division of Pipeline Media Group presents the 2022 Book Pipeline: Unpublished competition.The Book Pipeline division, fashioned to connect writers with publishers, agents and film industry professionals, is inviting writers to submit the first 5000 words and full synopsis of their unpublished manuscripts. Competition winners will be drawn from each of the 6 categories: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller, Literary, Outsider/Experimental, and Non-fiction.
Closes: Pre-register – 10 January 2022; Late – 5 September 2022
Entry fee: $25-$55
Prize: Winners from each category – $2500 plus immediate circulation to publishers, agents and editors, consideration from producers seeking projects for film adaptations, invitations to annual writer and industry events held by Pipeline Media Group

Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense
The Kiss of Death Chapter of RWA has announced the 2022 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense Contest is open. Unpublished authors and authors whose books were published in 2019 and 2020 are invited to submit their novels and novellas into one of the five romantic suspense categories or the one non-romance mystery suspense category.
Closes: 15 March 2022
Entry fee: $15 USD members/$30 USD non-members
Prize: Winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony at the Death by Chocolate Party held annually during the RWA National Conference, unless otherwise announced by the Contest Committee

City of Fremantle Hungerford Award
Proudly sponsored by the City of Fremantle and Fremantle Press, the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award will celebrate its 31st year. It is Western Australia’s most prestigious award for an unpublished work of adult fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction by an unpublished writer that offers a cash prize and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.
Closes: 20 March 2022
Entry fee: $20
Prize: $15000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press

Daisy Utemorrah Award
Open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers of junior or young adult fiction living in Australia to submit their unpublished manuscript. These entrants can be authors or any age – those under 18 need a letter of consent from a parent or guardian.
Closes: 30 March 2022
Entry fee: Free
Prize: $15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books

Writers Unleashed 2021 Picture Book Writing Competition
Writers Unleashed Sutherland Shire Writers’ Festival is happy to announce their Writers Unleashed 2021 Picture Book Writing Competition is open for entries. If you have an original, unpublished picture book manuscript ready to go, then get your submission in.
Theme: Open (picture book only)
Closes: 19 April 2022
Word limit: 500 words
Prize: First prize – $500; second prize – $200; third prize – $100 plus a certificate to all shortlisted and winning entries; Emerging Writer Award – Mentorship with Clare Hallifax, Walker Books Australia

2022 Queensland Literary Awards: Published book awards
The Queensland Published Book Awards are calling all outstanding published books by Australian writers, illustrators and creators to submit their books for the Queensland Literary Awards.
Closes: 29 April 2022
Entry Fee: $50
Prize: Queensland Premier’s Award for a work of State Significance – $25,000; Queensland Literary Awards Fiction Book Award – $15,000;  Queensland Literary Awards Non-Fiction Book Award – $15,000; Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – $15,000; Griffith University Children’s Book Award – $15,000; University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection – $15,000; Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection – $15,000; The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – $10,000

2022 Grindstone International Novel Prize
The 2022 Grindstone International Novel Prize is open to authors from all around the world, and is aimed at discovering and elevating new and unsung authors. Authors may submit finished or part-finished manuscripts providing they are not currently represented by an agent.
Closes: Super Early Bird submission deadline 1 May 2022; Early Bird submission deadline 1 July 2022; Final submission deadline 1 October 2022
Entry Fee: Super Early Bird – £16.00; Early Bird – £18.00; Final Phase – £20.00
Prize: Winner – £1,000; Runner Up – £500; 4x Shortlist – £125

2022 Queensland Literary Awards: Development awards
The Queensland Literary Awards: Development awards include the David Unaipon Award and Glendower Award for unpublished manuscripts, and opportunities for Queensland writers only – three Queensland Writers Fellowships and two Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards.
Closes: 29 April 2022
Prize: 3 x Queensland Writers Fellowships – $19,500 each; David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander – $15,000; Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer – $15,000; 2 x Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards – $12,500 each 

The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award 2023
One of Australia’s most prestigious awards for unpublished manuscripts by a writer under 35 years, The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award 2022 is open for submissions. Australian writers are encouraged to submit their polished, unpublished manuscript for the chance to win $20,000 plus publication with Allen & Unwin – amazing!
Closes: 31 May 2022
Word limit: 50,000 – 80,000 words
Entry fee: $25 per manuscript
Prize: $20,000 cash and publication with Allen & Unwin with an advance against royalties

The Bath Novel Award
The Bath Novel Award is an  international prize open for unpublished, self-published and independently published novelists. If you write adult or young adult fiction and have your manuscript ready to go, then submit your first 5000 words and a one page synopsis for this award for emerging writers.
Closes: 31 May 2022
Entry fee: £29
Prize: £3,000

The Novel Prize (biennial)
Fitzcarraldo Editions, Giramondo and New Directions have announced that The Novel Prize – a biennial award for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished writers around the world – will open for submissions on 1 April 2022.
Closes: 1 June 2022
Entry fee: TBC
Prize: Winner receives US$10,000 and their work published by Giramondo, Fitzcarraldo and New Directions in their respective territories

The Victorian Community History Awards
The Victorian Community History Awards are proudly presented by Public Record Office Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. The Awards recognise excellence and originality in historical storytelling. The range of award categories reflects the variety of formats that can be used to enrich the lives of Victorians through history.
Closes: 8 July 2022
Word limit: 50 word project summary and a separate explanation of the significance, value and accessibility of the work up to a maximum of 300 words
Prize:  Victorian Premier’s History Award $5000; Collaborative Community History Award $2000; Local History Project Award $2000; History Publication Award $2000; Small History Publication Award $1500; Small Organisation History Project Award $1500; Community Diversity Award $1500; Digital Storytelling Award $1500; Historical Interpretation Award $1500; Oral History Award presented in collaboration with Oral History Victoria $1500; History Article Award $500

Ampersand Prize 2022
Brought to you by Hardie Grant Publishing, the Ampersand Prize is an exciting opportunity for Young Adult, Middle Grade, and graphic novel writers. Each writer may submit ONE completed manuscript. All genres are welcome. The winning author receives a publishing contract with an advance against royalties, and rigorous editorial development to bring their book to market.
Closes: 31 July 2022
Word limit: 80,000 words (depending on target audience)
Prize: Publishing contract with Hardie Grant

Peter Blazey Fellowship
The Peter Blazey Fellowship, supported by the University of Melbourne Faculty of Arts, is now open for applications. This annual Fellowship is awarded to writers in the non-fiction fields of biography, autobiography and life writing and is intended to advance a work in progress.
Closes: 8 August 2022
Word limit: 5000 words
Prize: $15,000

The 2022 Woollahra Digital Literary Award
Now in its sixth year, the Woollahra Digital Literary Award is a national literary award supporting innovation in Australian literature and celebrating the best contemporary, forward-looking writers and publishers. Award categories include Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Digital Innovation. The award seeks submissions of a literary nature that are digitally born – published in the first instance online or in an electronic format that can be accessed on a computer, tablet or mobile device.
Closes: 29 August 2022
Word limit: 30 000 words
Prize: Fiction winner – $2500; Non-fiction winner – $2500; Poetry winner – $1000; Digital Innovation winner – $1500

Affirm Press Mentorship Award
From 15 August, Varuna and Affirm Press will open their Affirm Press Mentorship Award for submissions.The Affirm Press Mentorship Award provides a unique opportunity for three or four writers to develop exceptional new work through editorial feedback during a week in residence at Varuna.
Closes: 30 September 2022
Word limit: 10,000 words from the beginning of your manuscript and synopsis
Prize: One-week residency at Varuna with manuscript feedback and meetings with Affirm Press editorial staff

Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize
Organised by the University of Southampton, Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize is a ‘free’ writing competition project with a range of categories for novelists. Entries should conform with positive visions of more sustainable futures and/or the inclusion of green solutions but needn’t have an explicitly green theme.
Closes: 1 December 2022
Word limit: Submit three chapters (4000-10,000 words)
Prize: Winner – £1000; Second –  £500; Half price manuscript appraisal for top three entries

Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize 2022
Hawkeye Publishing has announced their Manuscript Writing Competition is open for submissions. The winner will receive a prize that aims to guide the author to publishing success including coaching and editing by Hawkeye Publishing.
Closes: 17 December 2022
Word limit: 80,000 words
Entry fee: $45
Prize: Author Coaching, Structural Edit and Line Edit

Not quite ready to type ‘the end’ yet? If your manuscript needs more work or you’re craving some feedback to help you through those story hurdles, then take a look at our Write Your Novel program. Through our 6- or 12-month program, you will have the opportunity to workshop your manuscript with a close-knit group of writers, and receive feedback from an experienced tutor.