Exciting Writing Competitions for Young Writers

One of the best ways to get into writing is to enter writing competitions. Not only do you get to flex your writing muscles, it forces you to complete a piece of writing from start to finish and practice submitting your work following a set of guidelines, just like you would if you were a professional writer submitting to publications. It also means you focus on polishing your writing to give it the best chance for success. Finally, it gives you a deadline to work towards, which can be incredibly motivating.

These exciting writing competitions include short stories, poetry and non-fiction, so there’s something for everyone. If you are a wanting to get into writing, or you have a budding young writer in your family, then this is your go-to list of great writing opportunities in 2025. They are for primary school and high school aged students in Australia.

3 Top Tips for Polishing Your Writing Competition Entry

1. Don’t leave it sending in your writing competition entry until the last minute. Try to complete your piece of writing at least three weeks before the competition deadline so you have time to edit, revise and polish it to a high standard. If you can, show it to someone who is impartial to get their feedback on it.
2. Read your writing competition entry aloud before you send it. This will give you a chance to hear any changes in rhythm that may need to be addressed and reveal any sneaky typos that may be hiding. Another trick for finding spelling mistakes and grammatical errors that you may otherwise skim over is by reading your story or poem from the end backwards, sentence by sentence.
3. Finally, read the guidelines of each writing competition carefully. This is especially important when it comes to formatting. Do not disqualify yourself with minor mistakes like using the incorrect font or spacing. Keep to the word count or line limit and make sure you are sending it to the right person and through the correct channels. Most competitions require you to enter via email, but others may use an online submissions platform. Finally, the word count is the maximum number of words allowed. If a competition specifies that it is for short stories of 1,000 words and your entry is 850 words, it is still eligible. However, if you go over the 1,000 word count, it will not be.

Upcoming Writing Competitions

Grenfell Henry Lawson Short Story and Poetry Competition

Writing competition categories for High School students and Primary School Students.

Short story (2,000 words or under) or Poetry (48 lines or less)

Theme: The World is Full of Kindness

$5 Entry fee. Cash prizes up to $250.

Closes: May 4th 2025

Laura Literary Awards

Writing competition categories for writers aged between 8-18.

Short Story and Poetry sections. Word count depends on age.

Entry is free. Cash prizes up to $50.

Closes: May 9th 2025

What Matters? Writing Competition

Writing competition for students from Grade 5 to Grade 12.

Prose, poetry, fiction and non-fiction. 600 words or less.

Theme: What matters?

Entry is free. Cash prizes up to $350.

Closes: May 16th 2025

Mosman Youth Awards in Literature Writing Competition

For Primary and High School students from K to Grade 12.

Short story 1000 words or poetry 20 lines.

Entry is free.

Closes: May 31st 2025

RD Walsh Memorial Writing for the Environment Prize

Writing competition includes an under 19 category.

Poetry 300 words or less.

Theme: Hang on, humans! Don’t give up, yet!

Entry is free. Cash prizes up to $500.

Closes: May 31st 2025

Dymocks Beyond Words Creative Writing Competition

For primary and high school students.

Short story between 500-1500 words.

Theme: What matters?

Entry is free. Cash prizes up to $3000.

Closes: June 1st 2025

Make Your Own Storybook Competition

For Western Australian students from PP to Grade 8.

Picture books and storybooks. 5,000 words.

Entry is free. Check website for prize details.

Closes: June 6th 2025

IEU QLD & NT Literary Competition

For students from Grade 5 to Grade 12 from all schools across QLD and independent schools across the NT. Also open to teachers.

Poetry, short story and non-fiction prose. Word count depends on age group.

Entry is free. Cash prizes up to $300.

Closes: June 13th 2025

Dorothea Mackeller Poetry Awards

Writing competition for students from K to Grade 12, including home-schooled students.

Poetry. 80 lines.

Optional Theme: All the Beautiful Things

Various entry fees. Cash prizes up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for schools who submit group entries.

Closes: June 30 2025

Wells Festival of Literature Competition

Writing competition for young people aged 16-22.

Poetry. 35 lines.

Entry £6. Cash prizes up to £200.

Closes: June 30 2025

The Eden School Prize

Writing competition for South Australian students in Year 8-10

Essay. 600-800 words.

Theme: How can volunteering and ‘being of service’ make the world a better and happier place?

Entry is free. Cash prizes up to $1,250.

Closes: July 4 2025

Good luck with your entry! Sometimes entering competitions is like sending out a message in a bottle. You’ve sent your story or poem out into the abyss. Sometimes they come back with ‘Congratulations, you’re a winner,’ stuck to them, but other times it feels like they are floating in the ocean or washed up on a distant shore. Whatever the outcome, sending your work out to be read by others can be an empowering. It can give you the confidence to send it to other competitions and other publishers in the future.

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For Australian competitions for adults check out Australian Writer’s Resource.