The Speculate Prize for Emerging Writers
The Speculate Prize for Emerging Writers is a developmental prize open to Australian emerging writers studying at TAFE or university who are keen to share short work that speaks to the otherness, complexity and expansiveness of ‘speculation’ through literature in either content, genre or form.
The winner of the Speculate Prize for Emerging Writers will receive $1,500 prize money inclusive of $250 stipend towards a week-long writing residency at the RMIT McCraith House on the Mornington Peninsula, a free full pass to the 2025 National Writers’ Conference run by Emerging Writers’ Festival, as well as a free Festival Pass for all performance events at the 2025 Emerging Writers’ Festival. The winning piece will also receive digital publication with Emerging Writers’ Festival.
In addition to a winner, one highly commended entry will win $250 prize money, as well as a free full pass to the 2025 National Writers’ Conference, and one free Festival Pass for all performance events at the 2025 Emerging Writers’ Festival.
We want entries that are curious, bold, non-realist (in elements or in their entirety). We are excited by entries that embrace new literary modes and extend the possibilities of short form writing. We want the piece that only you could have written.
Submission Guidelines
- •Entries must not exceed 3,000 words
- •Eligible work must speak to the expansive and speculative possibilities of genre writing, all literary prose genres are welcome for submission (fiction and narrative nonfiction; including memoir, travel writing, essay, science-fiction, fantasy, experimental works, cosmic horror, hope-punk, crime, utopian/dystopian, historical, mystery, comedy, epic, drama, romance, biography, and hybrids of these)
- •Your entry must be a complete work that is not an excerpt/chapter of a longer work
- •The entry must be submitted in Word Doc format, and typeset in a serif font (e.g. Garamond or Times New Roman), 12 pt format).
- •Your entry must be written in predominantly English with appropriate translation provided for any non-English portions/words included in the work
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Enquiries about submissions should be directed to Emerging Writers’ Festival. Please always refer to their website for complete details and information.
Please note, this competition is run by Emerging Writers’ Festival not the Commonwealth Foundation.
