Competition opens Monday 25 February 2019.
How it works
If you are a high school student in Years 10-12 in Queensland, we want to see your best poems and short stories.
You may enter one poem and/or one short story, for your chance to win $100 and a one-on-one mentoring session with a current USQ English Literature or Creative and Critical Writing student. There will be six winners in total, a poetry winner and a short story winner for each year level eligible to enter.
Before entering, remember to read the terms and conditions and our how to enter guidelines to make sure your submission is correct.
Further information
For further information, please email faculty.marketing@usq.edu.au.
The Get Writing Prize first ran in 2014. Take a few minutes to read some of the marvelous winning poems and short stories we have received.
View our current and previous winners.
Entering the Get Writing Prize is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Read the terms and conditions for full entry requirements. Only Queensland high schools students in Years 10-12 are eligible to enter.
- Write your poem or short story. Poems need to be 30 lines or less. Short stories need to be 500 words or less. There are no themes or structural requirements. Let your creativity and imagination flow!
- Get your parents approval to enter the competition.
- Enter online.
The competition closes on Friday 31 May 2019. Judging will occur in June with winner officially announced in July.
The 2019 Get Writing Prize opens on Monday 25 February. To be eligible to enter you must be a Queensland high school student in Years 10-12, with your parents or guardians permission. The competition is free and you can submit one poem and/or short story. Poems cannot exceed 30 lines and short stories may be no more than 500 words. Any entry that does not meet those requirements will be automatically disqualified. Please view the full terms and conditions (PDF 211KB) and read our how to enter information before entering the competition. The competition will close on Monday 27 May 2019 at 4.00pm.
For more information, please contact faculty.marketing@usq.edu.au.
Emma Mactaggart is an award winning author and publisher, who has been teaching the craft of writing and illustrating to children and adults for the last ten years via her Child Writes program.
She is the largest publisher in the world of children’s picture books written by children for children! She is a regular guest on ABC Southern Queensland with Belinda Sanders talking about books, and if she isn’t consuming them herself, she is creating them.
Her latest project is a collaborative effort with author Jo-Ann Capp, a novella ‘Four Hot Chips’. Emma is also the founder of the International Read to Me! Day Campaign, focusing every year, on March 19 on the importance of reading regularly to children.
In 2017 Emma also ran free creative writing workshops for high schools student on-campus at USQ Toowoomba as part of the Get Writing Prize.
Emma also runs a national writing competition for children, the National Child Writes Competitions, so make sure you visit Child Writes to find out how you can get involved!
Creative writing workshop for high school students
As part of the Get Writing Prize, Emma ran a free two-hour creative writing workshop for high school students. Watch 'Lost the plot' to be inspired and learn more about the traditional plot structures used in writing.
Opportunity for teachers
Emma also runs professional development workshops for teachers. Express your interest to attend and find out more. Online training is also available.