Short Story Competition 2024

Odyssey House Victoria’s annual Short Story Competition is open for 2024. This year’s theme is “Regret” and must include a reference to alcohol or other drugs.

First place wins $1000 and a one year membership to Writers Victoria.

Please share this with anyone you think might be interested, the competition is open to writers of all ages and experience and submissions are due by the 5th of November. 

On this page

Competition is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered and good luck! Winners will be announced before the end of 2024. Please check back soon. 

Prizes

1st Place

$1000 and a one year membership to Writers Victoria.

2nd Place

$100

3rd Place

$50

Fine print

All entries are judged by a panel of esteemed authors and our own CEO, Stefan Gruenert. Please take the time to read the terms and conditions, as well as our formatting guidelines. It is at the discretion of the judging panel to refuse any submissions that do not adhere to the terms.

  1. All entries must be the original work of the author, previously unpublished in any online or printed publication and have not achieved a place in any other competition.
  2. Entries that have been submitted to this competition previously should not be resubmitted.
  3. All entries must be fiction, include a reference to alcohol and/or drugs and address the years theme. This theme is open to interpretation. The author does not necessarily have to write about alcohol and/or other drugs.
  4. Entry cost is $10 per short story submission with a maximum of 3 entries per person.
  5. Payment must accompany all entries and is non-refundable. Entries submitted without payment will not be accepted. Payment and submission can be made either online or through a physical entry form. If entering with a physical entry form, cheques or money orders can be made payable to Odyssey House Victoria. All cheques or money orders must be in Australian dollars.
  6. The judges reserve the right to not award prize money if none of the entries fulfil all set criteria, and/or do not meet the quality sought by the judging panel.
  7. Entries must be submitted before the closing date. Winners will be contacted by Odyssey House Victoria and published on the Odyssey House website.
  8. Prizes will be awarded for the top three stories. First place prize: $1000 and a one year membership to Writers Victoria. Second place prize: $100. Third place prize: $50.
  9. The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
  10. Winners only will be notified.
  11. Copyright will remain with the author but Odyssey House Victoria reserves the right to publish the prize-winning and runner-up stories.
  1. Maximum length for each entry is 1,500 words. The judges reserve the right to reject work exceeding the word length.
  2. All entries must be typed using double spacing, 12 point, in Arial or Times New Roman. Please leave at least 3cm margins. The judges reserve the right to reject work incorrectly formatted.
  3. The story’s name and page number must be included in the header of each page. DO NOT include the author’s name.
  4. (Submitting online) All entries must be submitted as PDF through the online portal along with completion of the online form fields and payment. Do not include any personal information on submitted work. Please save your PDF file as your story title only. Do not include any personal information in the file name. 
  5. (Submitting by post) All entries must be submitted in hard copy along with a completed entry form.

Stay updated

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