VIC writers: Win $6000 from the Lord Mayor!

Attention writers based in Victoria: The City of Melbourne this month launched its fourth biennial Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards. (In the alternate years, it’s a photography competition.)

According to Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, the awards celebrate Melbourne’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature (you just learnt something new) and provide an opportunity for emerging writers to showcase their talent.

So, how does it work? Any emerging writers currently residing in Victoria can enter across five categories:

• Short story (no more than 3000 words)
• The Dorothy Porter Award for Poetry (no more than 100 lines)
• Novella (10,000 – 20,000 words)
• Graphic short story (up to 8 A4 pages)
• Narrative non-fiction (up to 10,000 words)

There are three different industry-related judges per category (they are named on the website). The best work in each category wins $1000, and one of those five winners will also be chosen for the Lord Mayor’s Award and a further $5000. That’s a total of $6000 for the winning entry.

Entries closes 31 August. Visit the website for further details.

GOOD LUCK!