Every year, the world’s major dictionaries look at their data and announce their “word of the year” based on search trends. Traditionally it was a varied mix of duck milkshakes, metrosexuals and even emojis. But last year saw a common theme – with the likes of “pandemic”, “COVID”, “lockdown” and
In this edition of Furious Fiction, we’ve been packing our bags. But no, we aren’t disappearing for good. These were November’s criteria: Your story must include someone PACKING A SUITCASE. Your story must include the phrase “ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM” (as dialogue or narrative). Your story must include the words
A deadline and a prize – what better writing motivation is there? If your 2021 goal is to get your writing momentum fired up, flex those writing muscles or to test your writing techniques – and possibly earn some cash on the side – then short story competitions are the
Want the chance to be published with Penguin Random House and receive a $20,000 advance? Well, the 2022 Penguin Literary Prize is now open and awaiting your submission! Launched in 2017, the prize was established to find, nurture and develop new Australian authors of literary fiction. Every year the Penguin
Another month and another chance for entrants to flex their creative muscles with our ever-changing selection of Furious Fiction criteria. This month, we invited you to play, using the following rules: Your story’s setting: a COURT of some kind. Your story must include a character who measures something. Your story
The shortlist for the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers has just been announced, and we are proud to congratulate our talented AWC alumni on the list! The winner will receive $10,000 in prize money from Hachette Australia, and a year’s mentoring with one of their publishers. Kay Harrison has
Was 2020 going to be the year you showcased your manuscript with the world but just didn’t get around to it? Given the year that was, we’ll let you off. But now it is 2021. There are some exciting opportunities for you this year, so we’ve created a list of
Publishing house HarperCollins launched the Banjo Prize in 2018, as “a quest to find Australia’s next great storyteller” – inviting unpublished commercial fiction manuscripts and awarding each year’s winner with a publishing contract. Now in its fourth year, the Banjo Prize recently announced its 2021 winner. And we were SO
This month’s 44th edition of Furious Fiction was an up-and-down affair as we asked entrants to either plumb new depths or climb to lofty heights. These were the challenge criteria: Your story must include EITHER an attic OR a basement. Your story must include some kind of insect. Your story
Let’s face it – 2020 was a gut punch for in-person events across Australia (and the world!). But as we slowly start to go back to whatever “normal” now means, the great news is that literary events are once more becoming places to gather in person and celebrate writers and
The Sisters in Crime’s 21st Davitt Awards winners have been announced and we are positively chuffed that AWC presenter Sue Whiting has been highly commended for her book The Book of Chance in the Best Children’s Crime Novel category. From the media release, Sue said: “The Book of Chance was
The longlist for the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers has been released and we were so excited to see that 12 of the 16 longlistees are from the AWC community! The Richell Prize aims to support emerging writers with a cash prize and a mentorship with Hachette Australia to
With many writers having some extra at-home time on their hands, August’s Furious Fiction competition welcomed a bumper crop of entries – more than 1600 and the second highest ever! They came from all parts of the world, hoping their words would shine brightest. These were the challenge criteria: Your
The 28th Scarlet Stiletto Awards are back and are bigger than ever. This award is for best crime and mystery short stories by Australian women and this year, there’s a prize pool of $11,910 up for grabs. There are a staggering total of 15 awards, including two new awards, the
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics may have arrived a year late, but for many of us, they provided a welcome distraction. In fact, for many Australians in lockdown during the Games, it was a timely salve. And so, with the Olympics over, we asked our community to sum up their experience
Turning ten is a big deal – once you hit double digits, there’s no going back. And this is exactly the milestone author and AWC presenter Lesley Gibbes is celebrating with the publication of her 10th picture book. Dinosaur Dads illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall, is out now with Scholastic Australia.
Courses taken at AWC:
Life Writing
Pitch Your Novel: How to Attract Agents and Publishers
“I followed AWC’s advice to the letter, attracting a publisher within weeks,” Gabriella says.
Her debut biography Breaking Through the Pain Barrier: The Extraordinary Life of Dr Michael J. Cousins has now been published by Hawkeye Publishing.
Amid the flurry of competition and gold medals being given out at the moment, today is the day that we roll out the podium for the 500-word sprint, our version of the modern “pen”tathlon. As a quick recap, these were the criteria for JULY’s Furious Fiction: Each story had to
Do you produce written works in a digital format, e.g. ebooks, online essays, or more? This opportunity is for you! The 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Awards are now open and the prize pool is $7,500. There are prizes in the following categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and, according to the press
This week, Text Publishing announced the seven shortlisted manuscripts in the running for the $10,000 Text Prize for young adult and children’s writing – and we were thrilled to spot some familiar names on the list! Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Jacqueline Mohr has been shortlisted for her children’s story The
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