Kathleen Julia Bates Memorial Writing for Children Competition

Is writing for children your thing?  The 8th Kathleen Julia Bates Memorial Writing for Children Competition invites Australian writers, both published and unpublished, to submit the first chapter (maximum of 2000 words) of their children's chapter book for readers up to 10 years of age. Fittingly, the competition remembers the two year old daughter of successful children's author, Di Bates. 

Entry fee: AUD$10 per manuscript.  Cheques/money orders should be made payable to Di Bates, and posted with the manuscript to PO Box 2116, Woonona East, NSW, 2517 or online via: dibates@pacific.net.au. Manuscripts should include only a cover page with the story title, word count, writer's name and contact details, including email. 

Prize: 1st Prize AUD$150, two runners up AUD$50 each. Results will be published in Buzz Words and all entrants who include a Stamped, self addressed envelope will recieve copies of the results.

Open to: Australian writers

Deadline: 30 March 2012

Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards

The Australian Prime Minister's 2012 Literary Awards are one of Australia's richest and most prestigious prizes - about which we can all dream! There is a total prize pool of AUD$600,000!!! (Worth the exclamation marks!).  Authors who have had a book published between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011 in a range of categories can enter it for the Awards, though self-published books are not eligible.

Categories include: fiction, non-fiction, young adult fiction, children's fiction, Australian history, and for the first time, poetry!  It's important to read the varying eligibility criteria for each of the categories.

Entry fee: Free

Prize:  First prize in each category AUD$80,000 tax free; short listed entries in each category AUD$5,000

Open to: Citizens or permanent residents of Australia

Deadline:  1 February 2012

Website:    Prime Minister's Literary Awards