Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) –
Youth Writing Competition

Queensland Writers Centre’s 2026 Youth Writing Competition is now open! We are seeking short stories and poetry from Youth Members.

All QWC Youth Members aged 16 and below are eligible to enter for free.

Enter work between 250-500 words, in the categories of Flash Fiction or Poetry. Submissions close 11:59pm Thursday 23 April.

One winning piece will be published in a May edition of the Pen & Pixel e-newsletter (with a readership of 10,000+!). Additionally, a shortlist of runners-up will be published in the Youth Writing Newsletter.

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* Youth member's details

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* Parent or guardian's details

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* Category

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* Submission details

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* Upload – please upload your submission below in Word (.docx) or PDF format to the following standard specifications:
  • 12pt Arial or Times New Roman font
  • Double line spacing
  • A4 page sizing, 3cm margins
Include the project title at the top of the first page (not included in total word count). Ensure your name does not appear anywhere in your submission.

For help formatting your submission to meet these requirements, contact us at youthwriting@qldwriters.org.au.

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* Are you a current Queensland Writers Centre Youth Member?
If you're not a member, join online now at qwriters.co/join.

More information and terms
  • Entry is free and open exclusively to Queensland Writers Centre Youth Members.
  • Entries should be previously unpublished.
  • One entry per person per category. Entrants are welcome to enter both categories.
  • The author's name/identifying information should not appear anywhere in the submission (this includes the file name).
  • Entrants grant first right of refusal on the online publication of the entry to QWC, if selected as a winner or runner-up. Authors retain all other rights including copyright and ownership of their work, and may choose to withdraw their piece after submission.
  • The winner (and runners-up, if selected) will be announced in the May edition of the monthly Youth Writing Newsletter.
  • Correspondence and/or feedback is not guaranteed. Only winners will be directly notified outside of the Youth Writing Newsletter.
  • Entrants will be automatically signed up to receive the Youth Writing Newsletter on submission. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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