Writers Victoria, with the generous support of the Grace Marion Wilson Fund, is delighted to open applications for the 2026 Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition. Following a brief hiatus, we are excited to run this competition once again and to highlight the work of outstanding emerging Victorian writers.

Now in its 14th year, the competition aims to support and profile such writers by awarding them a cash prize and publishing their work. The competition accepts entries in the categories of short story and creative non-fiction. It is open to Victorian writers with no more than three stories or articles published in a recognised book, magazine or journal.

We are also thrilled to present  this year’s panel of judges:

• Paige Clark and Kylie Mirmohammadi  (short story)

• Ernest Price and Katia Ariel  (non-fiction)

Winners of each category receive a $1,000 cash prize, with second prizes of $500 awarded to one runner-up in each category. One entry will also be awarded the Regional Writer Award, worth $500. All winners and runners-up will be published in our website and an upcoming edition of our newsletter.