Creative Writing Opportunities

In the English Department, we are often inspired and excited about the creativity of our students. Over the semester, it has been uplifting to see our Year 7s experiment with poetry, our Year 10s write compelling gothic narratives and our Year 12s write creatively across the Advanced and Extension courses.

We know that we are also fortunate to have many keen writers in our midst; midnight scribblers, fledgling poets and students onto the thirty-fifth chapter of their novel (or fifth draft of their screenplay!). We always love to encourage our students to submit their work for external competitions – this can be a great way to feel a part of a bigger writing community. Below are some competitions which students may want to look into and consider entering over the holidays. We wish everyone all the best for the break!

Creative Writing Competitions

The Dorothea Mackellar Writing Competition is one of Australia’s most prestigious poetry awards for young people. This year’s theme is “The Traveller.” The school has registered an account for this competition and your daughter will be able to check with her teacher about entering before the due date of Friday 30 June. More information can be found here. 

The Insight Writing Competition is open to students in Years 7 – 12. Students are invited to compose creative pieces (short story, poem, script) of up to 1,400 words. The theme for this year is “Ignite.” This competition is open until 1 September. More information can be found here. 

Red Room’s Poetry Forest Competition encourages students to compose poems which celebrate the “Sounds of Country.” This competition is closes on Friday 25 September. More information, as well as many poetry resources, can be found here.

Better Read than Dead’s writing competition “Metamorphosis” invites students aged between 6 – 17 to submit a creative piece of no more than 300 words, based on the topic of literal or psychological change. Entries are due by August 1 and winning entries receive book vouchers from the store and are published in their annual Kids Writing Anthology. More information can be found here.

The Hachette Australia prizes are yet to open for 2026, however include prizes for Creative Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry. There are wonderful resources that can be found on their website.

Jenny Bean
Head of English