Indigenous Writing Fellowships

The call for entries for the 2014 Indigenous Writing Fellowships will be announced in October 2013.

The two winners will each receive:

  • $10,000 prize money
  • manuscript development with black&write!'s Indigenous editors at SLQ
  • publication by prestigious Indigenous publisher Magabala Books

Conditions of entry

  • All entries must include a completed entry form  (DOC 71.0 KB)
  • There is no entry fee.
  • In general only single-authored entries will be accepted, with the exception of an illustrator for the Children's Book.  Co-authored entries will only be considered if both writers are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent and entrants must contact the black&write! project to discuss their entry prior to the closing date of the competition.
  • Where a children's book is submitted with illustrations, the author and illustrator will be considered joint entrants and the fellowship prize will be split equally between the two entrants.
  • All entries must be the work of the entrant.
  • Adult Fiction manuscripts must be a minimum of 60,000 words.
  • Young Adult manuscripts must be a minimum of 40,000 words.
  • Poetry entries must be a minimum of 30 poems.
  • Children’s book entries must be complete in story with, if illustrated, all illustrations submitted as copies – no original illustrations accepted at entry stage.
  • There is no limit to the number of eligible entries per writer. However, each individual entry must comply with the entry conditions.
  • Entries currently entered in other writing competitions or under contract to a publisher or agent or subject to contractual negotiations are not eligible.
  • The winners of the fellowship will have their works edited to publication standard by the black&write! Indigenous editors.

All entries must be presented in the following format:

  • double spaced lines
  • 2cm minimum margins on both sides of page
  • printed on one side of page only
  • typed or word processed
  • on A4 paper, loose-leaf format, no binding
  • a Word document disk of the manuscript must be included with each entry
  • the entrant’s name to appear only on the first page of the manuscript.

Deadline for entries

The deadline for entries for the 2014 fellowships is 31 January 2014.

Selection process

  • The fellowships will be awarded by the State Library on the advice of a selection committee with extensive knowledge of Indigenous writing.
  • Every entrant will receive assessment comments on their manuscripts.
  • No correspondence will be entered into once the decision has been announced.  The Judges' decision on the eligibility of an entry will be final.  Judges may invite entries for consideration.
  • All entries become the property of the State Library and will not be returned to the applicant.

The State Library reserves the right to:

  • not accept any ineligible, incomplete or late entries
  • not award a Fellowship during a particular round.

Expected outcomes:

Fellowship recipients will be expected to work co-operatively with the Indigenous Editors through to the completion of their manuscript. The awarded manuscript shall not be published prior to this process completion.

The announcement of our 2013 black&write! fellowship winners is coming soon!

Previous Fellowship recipients

2013

2012

2011

More information

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