Prizes
All winning and commended entries will be published in the Places anthology by Minds Shine Bright or in the Young Writers Places Anthology and each will receive a copy of the anthology in print and as an e-book.
First Prize $1500
Poetry Prize $500
Short Story Prize $500
Flash Fiction Prize $500
English as a Second Language Prize $500
Young Writers Prize (writers 15 and under) $250
All prizes and fees are shown in Australian dollars.
Commended Writers
$100 (up to 3000 words) $150-200 (up to 5000 words) ( (25 to 30 prizes awarded) These writers will form the Places shortlist.
Commended Young Writers
$50 (15 and under) These pieces are generally shorter in length.
Writers aged 15 and under will be considered for all major prizes in the first round of judging and then considered for publication in the Young Writers Places anthology in the next round of judging)
Each writer is eligible for one major prize only. However writers may receive commendations and publication for more than one piece.
Longlisted writers will not be published. They will be given a special mention on the Minds Shine Bright website and sent an e-certificate of Recognition.
Certificates and Gifts
Up to ten writers will receive Certificates of Recognition and small gifts for writing that shines brightly in some way
Word Limits
5000 words limit (short stories, poetry)
1000 words short form (flash) fiction
Shorter entries are most welcome.
Entries which exceed the word limits will be disqualified.
Entry Fees
General entry $15
Pensioner/ Student/ Concession $5
Opening and Closing Dates
The opening date for the Places Writing Competition is Tuesday 17 December 2024 and the closing date is midnight Saturday 31 May 2025
Original unpublished work written by a person
Each entry must be original, unpublished fiction written by the submitting author. By entering the author acknowledges
- they have the rights to submit their entry and the material submitted has not been previously published or licensed for publication in any form;
- their piece is their original creation;
- to the best of their knowledge, their entry piece is not defamatory;
- their piece does not infringe any existing copyright or license or any other third-party rights.
Don’t include the author’s name anywhere on the entry form or as part of the filename as the competition is blind judged. Entries with the author’s name included will be disqualified. Personal information is collected on the online submission form.
Artificial Intelligence and generative AI tools must not be used
Each entry must be written in English.
Each entry must include the theme of place.
There must be no brand references or product placements, no references to celebrities, living politicians or other well-known people.
There must be no references to people that are defamatory or could be perceived to be defamatory.
No song lyrics can be included if the song is still subject to copyright.
Where writers include quotes, the sources of these quotes must be included, and the author must have the necessary permissions to use this material.
There should be no material submitted that is offensive or objectionable.
Each submission should be entered into one of three categories including: poetry, short stories and short form (flash or micro) fiction.
Aboriginal content and Indigenous Culture and Intellectual Property
Eligible entries using or referring to Aboriginal content should be in accordance with the Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their heritage (ICIP) guidelines and to the Aboriginal protocols of the region where they have been produced. If a piece includes the lived experience of minority persons or communities, we may contact the entrant to clarify this out of respect for cultural safety. The core principles of ICIP include respect, collaboration and seeking informed permission.
Submitting Entries
There is no limit to the number of entries but each entry costs AU$15 and each new entry must be entered on a separate entry form. Only one piece of fiction or poetry can be submitted in one entry.
Age Limits
There is no age limit however if you are under 18 years of age parental consent is required to enter.
Publication
All winning and commended entries will be published in the Minds Shine Bright Places anthology The Places we Live, the Places we Love and the Places we Leave or the Young Writers’ Places anthology.
Copyright
Copyright remains with the author and the author grants permission for their work to be published in one of the Minds Shine Bright Places Anthologies, on the MindsShineBright.com website and on social media and in other media and communications for future promotions of the competition, and Minds Shine Bright books.
Australian Copyright Law applies.
Any entries which are deemed to be offensive, discriminatory, too graphic or do not meet community standards will be ineligible for prizes or publication.
Judging Process
The competition is blind judged so don’t include the writer’s name anywhere on the entry, including headers and footers or in the filename. The personal details of the writer are captured on the entry form.
Each entry is blind judged and assessed against around 11 criteria for literary merit. There are two or three rounds of judging over several months to ensure that each piece is given due consideration.
The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
Minds Shine Bright is not liable for late, lost, incomplete, invalid, incorrectly submitted entries, or illegible, corrupted, or misdirected entries.
All prizes are awarded on literary merit. Each entry is assessed against a set of criteria. After the initial judging is complete a second judging process occurs to select winners of the gifts and certificates of recognition and to select writers for the Young Writer’s Places Anthology.
The judge of Minds Shine Bright is Amanda Scotney, founder of Minds Shine Bright. Other arts professionals may assist in judging or moderating the competition.
Privacy and Communications
The personal information requested in the entry form is required primarily so that Minds Shine Bright can provide you with any prizes or competition updates, invite you to Awards and/or other online events related to this competition and communicate with you about your entry. Communications may include editing suggestions, publication proofs, contracts or other matters relating to your entry and invitations to celebratory events such as book launches.
By entering the competition, entrants and or their parents/ legal guardians accept these terms and conditions of entry.
Estimated Timeline to Publication
The competition closes on 31 May 2025
Longlisted and Shortlisted writers should be notified in November 2025
An online Awards Celebration should be held in February 2026
Prize winning writers will be published in the Places Anthology or the Young Writers’ Places Anthologywhich are scheduled to be published and launched around mid 2026.
This timeline is indicative only and may change due to changing circumstances. Any updates will be made to the Minds Shine Bright website promptly.