Competitions

Participating in writing competitions is a great challenge for any writer. It pushes you to be a bit more disciplined with your writing and promote your talent and skill to others. It also opens to networking with other like-minded people who have a love for writing. 

The Society of Women Writers Victoria (SWWV) encourages members to get your writing out by joining competitions and vie for awards and prizes. In this page we share the competitions for different genre of writing that may suit individual members’ styles. 

SWWV runs a number of competitions for writers at every stage of their career. Read on for further information.

The Alice Award

The Alice Literary Award is presented to an Australian woman who has made a distinguished, long-term contribution to Australian Literature. The award is in the form of a trophy and it is presented biennially. The winner is chosen after consultation with the state branches of the Society and each branch takes a turn at hosting the Alice Literary Award.The Alice Award will next be presented in 2022 by the Society of Women Writers NSW.
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Nance Donkin Award for Children’s Literature

Nance Donkin, AM, (1915–2008) was a pioneer and leading light in the world of Australian literature for children, especially historical fiction. Many people will fondly remember reading The Maidens of Pefka, Patchwork Grandmother, Johnny Neptune and Yellow Gum Gil; her retelling of We of the Never, Never for children; and the series of books about life in Australia, including Sheep and Sugar. While some of her books seem dated now, having been published over sixty ...
Opening Date: Wednesday 1 June 2022
Closing Date: Wednesday 31 August 2022
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The Kathryn Purnell Poetry Prize

Awarded for a poem of no more than 50 lines, this biennial award is named in honour of a much-loved member of SWWV.Kathryn was born in Canada and lived in France, England, Scotland, Egypt, Indonesia and Africa. When she married an Australian she moved permanently to Melbourne. Kathryn continued her education at the University of Melbourne and became a creative writing tutor. Her poetry and prose was published in many magazines and broadcast on ABC ...
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The Margaret Hazzard Short Story Award

In 1970, Margaret Hazzard gathered together fourteen women – journalists, authors, playwrights, illustrators, contributors of articles paid for by newspapers or magazines, and TV and radio writers – to form a Victorian branch of the Society of Women Writers.In recognition of Margaret’s commitment to women writers and support of SWWV, the Margaret Hazzard Short Story Award was established.The competition runs biennially and women writers are invited to submit short stories of up to 2,000 words.
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