Prize 2019

Announcing the Buzz Words Short Story Prize for 2019

[Winners for 2018 were announced here]

Please note the closing date has been extended to 30 September 2019,  the longlist will be announced on 15 October, the shortlist on 15 November and the winners on 15 December.

The Buzz Words Short Story Prize is an annual prize awarded to recognise excellence in short story writing for children. The story must be suitable for readers 8 to 11 years. There is a first prize of $1,000 and second $500. The next top three entries will be assessed and edited by the competition sponsor, Dianne Bates.

The finalist judge for the competition is Dyan Blacklock, former Publisher and General Manager of Omnibus Book , winner of the Centenary Medal for Literature and recipient of a May Gibbs Children's Trust Fellowship.  

The short-list judge is former editor and successful author Sue Whiting, former Senior Commissioning Editor and Publishing Manager at Walker Books Australia and who teaches writing courses at the Australian Writers Centre.

Long-list judges are author Bill Condon, winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Youth Literature and three times winner of the CBCA Honour Book of the Year, and author Dianne Bates, recipient of the Lady Cutler Award for distinguished services for children’s literature and founder of Buzz Words Magazine.

The sponsor is Dianne Bates.

I decided to sponsor the Buzz Words Short Story Prize because as far as I know, there is no such national competition in Australia to showcase what Australian children’s writers are capable of. - Dianne (Di) Bates

Please read the Terms and Conditions on the Entry Form carefully before entering.

Download Entry Form: here

Pay Entry Fee here:

Terms and Conditions

1.      The manuscript must be an original short story of up to 1,500 words for children aged 8 to 11 years and must be written in English by an Australian adult.

2.      Your submitted work must not have been published or under option to any publisher. It is a condition of entry that Buzz Words has the right to publish the winning entries on its website www.buzzwordsmagazine.com

3.      The competition is open to living writers who are permanent residents of Australia as 1 July 2019.

4.      In entering the competition, you warrant that:

(i)               That the entry is an original work

(ii)              That it is in no way whatever an infringement of any existing copyright or licence or any other right of any person

(iii)            You accept the conditions of entry as prescribed

5.      Each entry must be received by post, and must contain the following:

(I)               A completed entry form, available from the Buzz Words website

(II)             The complete manuscript in Times Roman 12 point, double-spacing with a title page showing the story title only

(III)           Entry fee of $10 or evidence of payment by PayPal (PayPal receipt).

6.      Entries must be posted to Buzz Words Prize, PO Box 106 Woonona 2517. The Buzz Words Prize is open to submissions from Monday 1st July 2019. All entries must be received by Buzz Words no later than 4pm Monday 30 September 2019.

7.      An author may submit up to three entries, but each entry must be accompanied by an entry form and fee (or evidence of fee having been paid).

8.      The winners will be notified by phone and/or email. The winner will be announced on the Buzz Words website and in the Buzz Words magazine on 15 November 2019. The shortlist will be announced on 15 September 2019.

9.      Chance plays no part in determining the winner. The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into either during or after the judging period.

10.   The first prize winner receives $1,000 cash; the second prize winner receives $500 cash.

11.   Entries will not be returned. Keep a copy of your entry for your own reference.

12.   Buzz Words takes no responsibility for lost or misdirected entries.

13.   The winning entries will be published on the Buzz Words website.

14.   Copyright in each work remains with the writer.

15.   The sponsor of this competition is Buzz Words founder and compiler, Dianne (Di) Bates, ABN 36 053 912 442. PO Box 106 Woonona 2517.