Poetry & Prose Submissions
- Meanjin (Edition 86.1 – Autumn 2027)
- Window: Opens Friday, 23 October 2026 (midday AEST) and closes Friday, 27 November 2026 (6:00 PM AEST)
- Categories & Limits: Short fiction (up to 5,000 words), non-fiction essays and memoir (up to 5,000 words), and poetry (up to three poems).
- Focus & Terms: Broad overarching theme of “Storytelling”. Contributions are paid standard industry contributor rates upon publication. Submissions are processed via Submittable. (Source)
- The Varnish Prize for Fiction 2026 (Varnish Literary Journal)
- Closing Date: Friday, 30 October 2026
- Form & Scope: Original fiction that discards traditional brevity limits to encourage longer, thematically complex narrative exploration.
- Terms: Guest judged by 2025 winner Oscar Revelins alongside the editorial team; winner receives publication in Varnish. Submissions handled via email. (Source)
- Australian Poetry Collaboration Issue 41 (Meuse Press)
- Closing Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
- Scope: Seeking collaborative poems written jointly by two or more poets.
- Format: Unrestricted themes; submission via editorial guidelines. (Source)
- Curtis Brown Australia — Open Submissions Month
- Closing Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026
- Scope: Literary agency open window accepting unsolicited manuscript proposals and query letters across literary fiction, commercial fiction, narrative non-fiction, and YA without requiring agent referral. (Source)
Literary Prizes & Competitions
- National Poetry Competition 2026 (The Poetry Society)
- Closing Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026
- Form & Scope: Single poems in English, maximum 40 lines. Open to writers aged 18+ worldwide.
- Prizes & Terms: £5,000 first prize; £3,000 second prize; £2,000 third prize; plus seven £500 commendations.
- Entry Fee: £9 for the first poem; £6 for each subsequent poem. (Source)
- The Bedford Competition 2026
- Closing Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026
- Form & Scope: Short stories up to 3,000 words and poetry up to 40 lines on any theme. Open internationally (17+).
- Prizes & Terms: £2,000 first prize in each section (£400 second, £200 third).
- Entry Fee: £8.50 per entry, or three entries for £17. (Source)
- The Hope Prize 2026
- Closing Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026
- Form & Scope: Original short fiction between 2,000 and 5,000 words exploring hardship, poverty, or disadvantage through resilience, dignity, and hope.
- Prizes & Terms: AU$13,000 total prize pool (AU$10,000 first prize; AU$2,000 second; AU$1,000 third).
- Entry Fee: Free. (Source)
- SD Harvey Short Crime Story Award 2026 (Australian Writers’ Centre)
- Closing Date: Friday, 30 October 2026
- Form & Scope: Crime fiction between 2,000 and 5,000 words by Australian residents.
- Prizes & Terms: AU$1,000 cash prize.
- Entry Fee: AU$35. (Source)
- Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize 2026 (Ballarat Writers Inc.)
- Closing Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026
- Form & Scope: Single poems up to 40 lines on the theme “Night”.
- Prizes & Terms: AU$1,000 first prize, AU$400 second, AU$100 third.
- Entry Fee: AU$35 standard (AU$25 for BWI members; AU$15 per extra poem). (Source)
- Onkaparinga Writing & Poetry Competition 2026 (Writers SA / City of Onkaparinga)
- Closing Date: Wednesday, 18 November 2026 (5:00 PM ACDT)
- Form & Scope: Flash fiction and poetry up to 500 words on the theme “Stronger Together”, exploring community, resilience, and intergenerational connections. Open to SA writers and those with ties to the region.
- Categories & Awards: Flash Fiction (18+), Poetry (18+), and Youth (12–17). AU$100 prize per category winner. (Source)
Visual Art & Photography Calls
- The Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize 2026 (Griffith University / QCAD Galleries)
- Closing Date: Sunday, 8 November 2026 (11:59 PM AEST)
- Medium & Focus: Watercolour explorations of landscape (broadly defined to include land, environment, seascape, rural, or urban habitat; representational or abstracted).
- Prizes & Exhibition: AU$20,000 non-acquisitive major prize. Shortlisted works shown at QCAD Galleries, South Bank, Brisbane from 10 December 2026. Open to Australian artists 18+. (Source)
- Small Works Art Prize 2027 (Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy)
- Closing Date: Sunday, 15 November 2026 (Midnight AEDT)
- Mediums & Dimensions: All 2D and 3D media, including photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, and sculpture. Artwork must not exceed 35 × 35 × 35 cm (inclusive of framing).
- Prizes & Exhibition: Over AU$15,000 in prizes (including two AU$2,000 solo exhibition packages). All eligible entered works will be exhibited in the gallery from 9–23 January 2027. Full entry guidelines are on the BSG Information Page. (Source)
- Summer Small Works Show & Prize 2026
- Closing Date: Sunday, 22 November 2026
- Mediums & Dimensions: Open to Australian artists 18+ working in drawing, photography, painting, printmaking, mixed media, or short silent moving-image. Artworks must be created in 2026 and measure no larger than A5 (14.8 × 21 cm, max depth 14.8 cm). Theme: “Emergence”.
- Prizes & Terms: AU$1,000 non-acquisitive major prize, eleven AU$100 non-acquisitive awards, and inclusion in the 2027 calendar. Exhibition runs 3–23 December 2026. (Source)
