14 Manuscript Awards to enter in 2020

We hope you’ve stocked up on paper – printing paper that is – because it is time to get those manuscripts ready for submission. We’ve collated a list of 2020 manuscript awards for writers like yourself to enter and share your stories.

Is your manuscript still a work-in-progress and you need a little help finishing it? Our Write Your Novel program will allow you to work in a supportive environment with an industry professional and like-minded classmates to flesh out the best version of your story.

2020 Unpublished Contest
The literary division of Pipeline Media Group presents the 2020 Book Pipeline: Unpublished competition.The Book Pipeline division, fashioned to connect writers with publishers, agents and film industry professionals, is inviting writers to submit the first 5000 words and full synopsis of their unpublished manuscripts.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: Early deadline – 1 June; Regular deadline – 5 September; Late deadline – 5 October 2020.
Word limit: 30,000 – 100,000 words
Entry fee: Early – $45; Regular – $55; Late – $60
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

Eyelands Book Awards 2020
Eyelands gr. & Strange Days Books are glad to announce the Eyelands Book Awards are now accepting submissions from authors who have a compelling manuscript or published novel. Eyelands.gr literary magazine and Strange Days Books have teamed up to award one author with a brilliant finished unpublished manuscript and another author who has the best novel published between 20 September 2016 and 20 September 2020.
Closes: 30 October 2020
Entry fee: €27
Prize: Published book – A five-day holiday in Athens plus a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and publication (excerpts) online on our website (Eyelands cover all accommodation costs for the award winner)
Unpublished manuscript – Publication from Strange Days Books. Released via amazon.com (international release) & from Strange Days Books

David Harold Tribe Philosophy Award
The University of Sydney presents the David Harold Tribe Philosophy Award to promote interest in philosophy and to help the award winner further their education, enabling them to develop their insights and to advance the general public’s understanding of philosophy. This award will be given to an Australian resident for the best original philosophical book, published within the last five years.
Closes: 30 October 2020
Prize: $20,000

Previous Awards

The Valerie Parv Award
From 6 April 2020, romance writers can submit the first 10,000 words and synopsis of their unpublished manuscript for The Valerie Parv Award. Your work needs to be either a romance or romantic elements novel. The winner will be chosen by the popular Australian romance writer Valerie Parv.
Closes: 26 April 2020
Word limit: First 10,000 words plus 1000 word synopsis of your unpublished manuscript (any length 40,000 words or more)
Entry fee: Romance Writers of Australia members $44; non-members $110
Prize: One year mentorship with Valerie Parv

KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award 
Kill Your Darlings has established this award in support of early-career authors development, offering them an opportunity to work with industry professionals and assisting them in their pursuit of publication. Submissions must be either an unpublished work of adult fiction (including short story collections) or adult narrative non-fiction.
Closes: 30 April 2020
Entry fee: A current full 12-month KYD Membership
Prize: Shortlisted writers will win $4000, 6 nights’ accommodation at Varuna, NSW, personalised editorial mentoring with KYD publishing director Rebecca Starford, daily workshopping, professional development services through Varuna

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 writers under 18 years old need a letter of consent from a parent or guardian.
Closes: 30 April 2020
Entry fee: free
Prize: $15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books

Queensland Literary Awards 2020: Development Awards
The Queensland Literary Awards aim to raise the profile of Queensland writers and outstanding stories written by Australians. As part of the Queensland Development Awards there are three awards and one fellowship to win: David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer, Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer, Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards, and the Queensland Writers Fellowships.
Closes: 30 April 2020
Word Limit: Entries should be between 40,000 and 100,000 words, with exceptions for fiction for children
Entry Fee: Free
Prize: David Unaipon Award  and Glendower Award –  $15,000, plus manuscript development and publication with UQP each; Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards – two awards of $10,000, plus career development support to the value of $2,500 each; Queensland Writers Fellowships – three Fellowships of $15,000, plus career development support to the value of $4,500 each

Queensland Literary Awards 2020: Published Book Awards
The Queensland Published Book Awards are calling all Queensland writers who have published their book between 1 May 2019 and 30 April 2020 inclusive, and be first published and offered for general sale in Australia between 1 May 2019 and 30 April 2020 inclusive
Closes: 30 April 2020
Word Limit: Entries should be between 40,000 and 100,000 words, with exceptions for fiction for children
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

The Banjo Prize 2020
HarperCollins Publishers Australia is looking for Australia’s next great storyteller to award them the Banjo Prize 2020. In honour of the great writer Banjo Patterson, this Prize is open to Australian fiction writers the chance to present their full manuscript, along with a synopsis and biographical statement, for a chance to win a publishing contract with HarperCollins and a cash advance.
Closes: 29 May 2020
Word limit: Full manuscript between 75,000 and 100,000 words, synopsis 500 words, biographical statement 200 words.
Prize: Publication with HarperCollins Publishers Australia and an advance of $15,000

The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award
You’re under 35 years of age and have written your manuscript, now you need to enter The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award. This award has launched the careers of many successful Australian writers such including Gillian Mears, Tim Winton and Kate Grenville. The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award will be given to the best work of fiction, or Australian history or biography.
Closes: 31 May 2020
Word limit: 30,000 – 100,000 words
Entry fee: $25
Prize: $20,000 plus publication by Allen & Unwin with an advance against royalties

‘Chapter One’ The AAWP Publication Pathway for Emerging Writers
If you have written a poetry collection, literary novel, short story collection or a hybrid work that crosses genre boundaries, the Australasian Association of Writing Programs’ (AAWP) invites you to enter their ‘Chapter One’ competition. This competition is open to emerging writers – who do not have a full-length, single-authored, commercially published, print publication in any genre. Emerging writers who have published in electronic format only, or who have published work in collections showcasing multiple authors, are eligible.
Closes: 30 June 2020
Word limit: 50 lines (poetry) or 5,000 words (prose) plus 500 word synopsis
Entry fee: $30
Prize: a written appraisal of your work from an established literary author and a letter of recommendation to the University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP), an opportunity to publish the entire manuscript with UWAP, a $500.00 cash prize and fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP (November 2020) where you will be invited to read from your work

The Page Turner Writing Award
Sponsored by the ProWriting Aid, the Page Turner Writing Award is open to writers who have a captivating unpublished manuscript. All you have to submit is the first 10 pages of your manuscript to hook the judges for your chance to win.
Closes: 30 June 2020
Word limit: 2500 – 3000 words
Entry fee:  £30
Prize:Publication and cash prize

The Novel Prize
The Novel Prize – the International biennial award for literary fiction, opens on 1 April 2020. Judges will be looking for novels which are innovative and imaginative, and stories which explore and expand the possibilities of literary fiction.
Closes: 1 July 2020
Prize: US$10,000 to the winner in the form of an advance against royalties, and simultaneous publication of their novel in Australia and New Zealand by Giramondo Publishing

2020 Victorian Community History Awards
Public Record Office Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria are calling for entries from community groups, local historians, writers and creatives for the 2020 Victorian Community History Awards. There are eight different awards to enter. Entrants’ work must have been completed (ie. published, exhibited or launched) between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.
Closes: 8 July 2020
Entry fee: none
Prize:Victorian Premier’s History Award ($5000 prize); Collaborative Community History Award ($2000); Local History Project Award ($2000); History Publication Award ($2000); Local History – Small Publication 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)