The Gold Coast Writers’ Association’s Short Story Competition for 2024
*CASH PRIZES*
We are excited to announce our short story competition for 2024.
Make Us Fall in Love with Your Main Character
Jo Skinner
Gold Coast Short Story Competition – Feedback
I find it hard to resist a short story competition and when I saw the Gold Coast one
advertised, the kernel of an idea started to germinate. Prompted by the experience of a fellow
who had grown up in foster care, I set to work crafting a story that had hovered in my
imagination for some time. It is always challenging to know if my story is good enough, if
my words are ready out to be scrutinised by others, so learning I had won second place filled
me with joy. My story, The Good Mother was very special to me, and it meant the world that
it spoke to the judges as well.
Carin Needham
Entering last year’s short story competition was a great way to liven up creativity. Taking a brief break from the lengthy creative processes of novel writing, a short story was a way to invigorate the imagination, capture new ideas, and have fun.
A short story allows one to embrace the whole world of the story: characters, setting, and inciting events in one’s head simultaneously, and with a specific word count, it is a good exercise in improving writing practices, demanding cohesiveness and teaching succinctness, but honestly, simply completing a short story returns a sense of personal achievement.
I highly recommend entering a competition that provides feedback and recognition. Winning last year’s competition was a great confidence booster.
Guidelines
Theme: Make us fall in love with your main character.
Open Now for submissions
First Prize $300 + certificate
Second Prize $150 + certificate
Third Prize $50 + certificate
The long list will be created by the GCWA Committee, and our guest judge/s will read the shortlist and name the three winning entries. Winners will be announced at the GCWA July meeting, and the three winners will be published on our website.
Special Guest Judge: Dani Watson – Program Development Officer – Readers & Writers City Libraries City of Gold Coast.
Submissions Open: Friday 1 March 2024
Submissions Close: Midnight Friday 31 May 2024
Word count: Up to 1000 words
RULES
- Come up with a creative title.
- We’re looking for short FICTION stories. We do not accept stories written for Children, Poetry, Memoir, non-fiction, or Erotica. Please do not submit stories with gratuitous violence, sexism, racism, abuse, or animal cruelty.
- Entries exceeding the word limit (1000 words) will be ineligible.
- Entries must be the author’s original work and must be unpublished. The copyright remains with the author and can be published elsewhere after the competition.
- All submissions online. No hard-copy entries will be accepted.
- In the body of your submission email put your name, phone number, and email address, along with the title of your entry.
- Your name should not appear anywhere in your story. Entries will be judged anonymously. A story found to have the author’s identifying details will be ineligible.
- All entries must be in Times New Roman or Courier New 12-point type and double-spaced as an MS Word document. If you do not have Word, please send a PDF.
- Use 2cm margins all around.
- Indent each paragraph and dialogue 5mm.
- Do not include illustrations or images.
- GCWA committee, judges, and their families are not eligible to enter.
- The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
- Winners will be notified via phone/email, in the GCWA Newsletter and at the July GCWA meeting. The top three entries will be published on the GCWA website.
Entry fee:
Members – $10
Non-members -$20
Option to receive a detailed critique – Members only – $25
Unlimited entries can be submitted, but each entry must be accompanied by the appropriate entry fee.
Judges are looking for the following:
- Writing ability and readability. ‘Is it a good read?’
- Story arc.
- Adherence to the theme.
- Spelling and Grammar.
- The layout conforms to the competition guidelines.
