James Patterson’s Random Shorts: Story Competition

Random House is promoting a cool story competition for students in Years 5 & 6!

With entries into the James Patterson’s Random Shorts Story Competition to be no more than 500 words, this compeition sounds like a challenge too good not to take up.  Download the entry form and send it in, signed by a parent or guardian, to:

Attention: Sarana Behan
Random House Australia
Level 3, 100 Pacific Hwy
North Sydney  2060

Entries must be recieved by July 30th.  The winner recieves a book pack to the value of $250 and will have their story published in either Mania or Girl Power magazine!

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The Text Prize

Now in its fifth year, the Text Prize aims to unearth more great literature for Young Adult and Children’s Literature.

Open to both published and unpublished writers, the Text Prize aims to discover ‘some brilliant new writing’ to take to the world.

The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing is an annual prize awarded to an outstanding unpublished manuscript. It aims to discover more wonderful new books for young readers, by Australian and New Zealand writers.

The winner will join the ranks of others:

• 2008: Richard Newsome – The Billionaire’s Curse
• 2009: Leanne Hall – This is shyness
• 2010: Jane Higgins – The bridge
• 2011: Myke Bartlett – Fire in the Sea

Open from April 30th to June 1st, the winner of this competition is in the running for a publishing contract with Text as well as an advance of $10,000 against royalties.  Interested writers can download the entry form online.

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Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2012

The announcement of the annual Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for 2012 has just been published.

With a total of $600,000 prizes to be won, The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are the most lucrative literary awards in Australia.  It is also exciting to learn that the awards will, for the first time in 2012, include a new poetry prize.  Today’s media release notes:

The new poetry category has been introduced to reflect the significant contribution poetry makes to Australia’s literary landscape.  Whether it is verse, the bush-ballad or the story-teller, poetry is ingrained in Australia’s identity.

Celebrating the contribution of literature to Australia’s cultural and intellectual life, the awards embrace six categories:

• adult fiction
• poetry
• non fiction
• young adult fiction
• children’s fiction
• Australian history

With $80,000 to be awarded to the winner of each category and $5,000 to each shortlisted entry, it will be an exciting start to the National Year of Reading.  Entries are due in by February 1st and the shortlist will be announced in May.

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A Thousand Words Writing Competition

To coincide with the 2011 ‘A Thousand Words Festival’ being held on 23-24 September, Year 7-12 students are invited to submit an entry to the short story competition.

What to write:  Exactly 1000 words on any topic
How to submit:  Email word doc to:  bec@athousandwordsfestival.com.au
Don’t forget:  Include your name, school, year level and email address
Closing date:  5.00pm—18th September 2011
Win:  Free entry to Festival on Saturday 24th September; Winning story to be published online and in Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults

Entries exceeding 1000 words will not be accepted!

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My Brother Jack Literary Awards

The My Brother Jack Literary Awards is an annual writing competion open to anyone living, working or studying* in the City of Glen Eira.  Prizes for a range of writing competitions will be awarded in each of four categories:

• Primary – Prep to Year 6
• Junior Secondary – Year 7 – 9
• Senior Secondary – Year 10 – 12
• Open

*Studying includes anyone undertaking workshops as part of the Glen Eira Storytelling Festival which runs from 11-26 August 2011.

Entries, which must be submitted online, will open on August 11, 2011 and close on September 16, 2011.  Further details of the various categories of this competion and the prizes to be awarded can be found on the My Brother Jack Literary Awards page of the City of Glen Eira website.

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Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards

Encouraging emerging writers while celebrating Melbourne’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature, the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards are open to all, young and old, living in the State of Victoria, Australia.

Prizes to the value of $1000 will be awarded in each of five separate categories:  

• Short story
• ‘The Dorothy Porter Award for Poetry
• Novella
• Graphic short story
• eBook

Administered by the Melbourne Library Service, entires must be submitted by August 31 2011.  Visit the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards for more information.

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Write Across Victoria Competition

The Schools’ Program of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival 2011 are promoting a writing competition for students in Years 7 – 9.

Students are invited to select one of three story starters by well-known children’s authors Brian Falkner, Sally Rippin and Gabrielle Wang and complete the story in no more than 500 words – including the story starter.

Entries must be submitted via the online form by July 29th 2011.

Great prizes are to be won:

Winner: $500 cash + $500 books for you + $500 books for your school + Subscription to Voiceworks

Finalists: One boy & one girl from each year level will win – $150 cash + $100 books for you + subscription to Voiceworks

The winning entries will also be published in the Voiceworks magazine!

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The Future Leaders Writing Prize 2011

There are so many writing competitions around that it’d be possible to have our students participate in them on a very regular basis.

Aiming to encourage expressive and creative writing and to recognize and reward talented young writers, the Future Leaders Writing Prize 2011 is open to Year 11 and 12 students in any Australian Secondary School.

To enter, simply submit a piece of writing of between 800 and 1000 words on any topic,  either fiction or non fiction, by the closing date of July 1st 2011.   Entries should be submitted electronically, in word format,  to helen@futureleaders.com.au .

This year two  prizes of $1000 each will be awarded for the best writing submitted.   The winning entries will be published.

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Castan Centre for Human Rights Essay Competition

Are you in Year 10, 11 or 12?  Are you passionately interested in social issues?  Do you have an opinion on how Social Networking tools such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are influencing our behaviour and changing the world in which we live?

If the answer to all these questions is yes, then you may want to enter  the 2011 Writing for Human Rights Secondary Schools Essay Competition.  Write an essay of between 750 and 1000 words on the topic “Social media is free speech gone mad”, complete the application form and submit your entry by June 27th 2011 to have a chance of winning an iPad 2 along side the honour of having your essay published in the Castan Centre’s semi-annual newsletter.

Never heard of the Castan Centre before?  Focusing on the study of human rights globally, regionally and in Australia, the Castan Centre was established in 2000.  Named in honour of Ron Castan AM QC, a passionate advocate of human rights, the Castan Centre is at the forefront of raising awareness of human rights issues.

Read more about the Castan Centre Writing for Human Rights Essay Competition or be inspired by the video of renowned speakers in a recent  debate on the very topic of this essay competition: Social Media is free speech gone mad.  Download the comprehensive  Information Kit which gives much background information and guidance on how to write your essay.  Be quick though, because the competition closing date is very soon.

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Michael Clyne Prize for VCE English Language 2011

An essay competition for students currently enrolled in VCE English Language Units 3 and 4.

Emeritus professor Michael Clyne was one of Australia’s most distinguished linguists, recognised worldwide for his passion and energy for language and linguistics.  He spent more than 40 years at Monash University, retiring as professor of linguistics.  He then became an honorary professorial fellow at Melbourne University.  Michael was also one of the founding supporters of the VCE English Language course.  Sadly, he died in October 2010.  The Michael Clyne Prize will hopefully inspire many young people to follow his lead and develop their enthusiasm and interest in language.

I am passionate about languages and giving everyone the opportunityto become multilingual and to fully understand the way in which language is used for good and evil purposes.” – Michael Clyne

Students are invited to write and submit an essay on a topic of their choice related to the power and influence of language in society.  The closing date is August 22nd 2011.  Entry details.

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