This competition is being run to provide artwork for the Young Writer’s Places Anthology by Minds Shine Bright. This is one of two anthologies being created from our Places Writing Competition that will feature short stories, poems and micro-fiction by writers from Australia and across the world.
Please read the following terms and conditions carefully before entering.
- The Young Illustrators Competition is open to all artists and illustrators aged 15 and under. The competition opening date is 4 February 2026 and it closes on 31 March 2026.
- The theme is Places: the artwork should represent places that are meaningful to the illustrators. It could be a place they love, a favourite holiday spot, a place they have lived or a place they have had to leave. It could also be an imaginary place or somewhere real that they have longed to visit. We are also very interested in artwork that represents maps, travel routes, itineraries tickets or travel destinations.
- The competition will be judged in March by book designer and artist Dr Caren Florance and Minds Shine Bright Founder Amanda Scotney.
- We are looking for book cover art in colour and B&W line drawing illustrations for the inner pages. Each artist can submit one (1) book cover design in colour (paint, crayon, pencil or other drawing material) and one (1) line drawing illustration in black and white (black texta or pen only).
- The artwork must be produced by hand by analogue methods. No artificial intelligence (AI) or digital tools can be used to create the artworks. They must be the original and unpublished work of the artist/illustrator.
- Artwork must be formatted and submitted as an A4-size portrait-oriented print-ready PDF. You can do this by scanning or photographing the artwork in high resolution (300 dpi is recommended).
- Each artist must have parental or guardian approval before entering the competition. The entry form must be signed by a parent or guardian to acknowledge that the artwork is original to the entrant.
- Please keep the original artworks in a safe place as we will ask the winning illustrators to post their artwork to us for professional scanning.
School entries
School entries are welcome providing that the organising teachers have permission from the parent or guardians of the submitting students. Please contact us online if you would like to discuss a school submission.
Prize pool
The winning cover artwork will be awarded $200 and the image will be used on the cover of the Young Writers Places Anthology. Up to five (5) B&W illustrations will be selected. Each line drawing selected for publication will be awarded $30. Winning and published illustrators will each receive a copy of the anthology. Runners-up will receive Certificates of Recognition.
Entry fees
Entry fees are based on a pay what you can afford model from $1 to $5 Australian dollars. Entry fees contribute to the prize pool and towards the cost of publishing anthologies and certificates of recognition.
Timeline
The competition will close on 31 March and entries will be judged in April 2026. Winners should be announced in May or June and the anthology will be published later in the year. Sometimes we have to push back our timelines, as we are a tiny organisation and if so, we will provide updates in our monthly newsletter.