The Theme for the 2023 Prize is Faces in the Street

Short Story and Verse Competitions

The theme for the Henry Lawson Festival this year is Faces in the Street after one of the earliest and most celebrated poems of the young Henry Lawson.

Adopting this theme for the Short Story and Verse competitions, we seek contributions of high-quality literary merit which present modern Australian life in any of its phases.

In recent times, Australia has seen its share of hardship in the COVID pandemic and in the impact of individual isolation; floods; fires and drought.

This year’s theme invites reflections on modern Australian life that we have witnessed, which might capture the elements of hardship and despair; courage and fortitude; or compassion and mateship.

Context of Faces in the Street

The impetus for Henry Lawson’s poem Faces in the Street came from a rainy night at Petersham Station after the young Henry had just arrived in the city from the bush. In his fragment of autobiography, Henry writes that it was the faces of the poor and unemployed that he encountered every day on the streets of Sydney that made such an impression on him.

Fortunately for Australia, Henry’s later short stories and verse also presented many other aspects of Australian life, observing the wider world with wry humour, insight and compassion. It is this wide range of elements that we encourage competitors to explore in this year’s competition.

POETRY

Section 1 Open Section (limited to 48 lines)

Entrants must be 18 years or over on 31st March 2023

First Prize: $1,000

Second Prize: $500

Section 2 High School Student

First Prize: $250

Second Prize: $100

Section 3 Primary School Student

First Prize: $100

Second Prize: $50

SHORT STORY

(Limited to 2000 words)

Section 1 Open Section Any theme

Entrants must be 18 years or over on 31st March 2023

First Prize: $1500

Second Prize: $500

Section 2 High School Student

Any theme

First Prize: $250

Second Prize: $100

Section 3 Primary School Student

Any theme

First Prize: $100

Second prize: $50

The 2023 Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival POETRY and SHORT Story Prize

Entry deadline

Entries into the 2023 Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival POETRY and SHORT Story Prize will be accepted until Midnight (AEST), 19 May 2023.

Conditions of Entry

  • Entries in the Open Sections written in English are invited from writers over 18 who are Australian citizens.
  • There are sections for High School and for Primary School Students living in Australia.
  • THE GRENFELL HENRY LAWSON FESTIVAL OF ARTS COMMITTEE MEMBERS are not eligible to enter.
  • GRENFELL HENRY LAWSON FESTIVAL OF ARTS volunteers may enter.

Entry process

  • Entries must be submitted online.
  • Judging is blind. The author’s name must not appear in the story or poem or in the title of the digital file.
  • Entrants will receive automatic confirmation of receipt to the email address used when entering.
  • By entering the competition entrants agree to all conditions. In all matters. The Judges and The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts committee will not enter into any correspondence regarding the judging.

Format

  • Entries must be written in English.
  • Entries in the Short Story section must no more than 2,000 words
  • Entry in the Poetry Section must be limited to 48 lines.
  • The text should be presented with 1.5 line spacing and in Times New Roman 12 pt font size.
  • The pages should be numbered.
  • The file name should include ONLY the title of the Poem or Short story. Entrants should not include their own name in the file name.

Exclusivity, publication

  • Each entry must be original and not have been previously entered in this competition, published, or publicly broadcast, including online.
  • Entries may be offered elsewhere during the judging.
  • The shortlist will be announced in late May 2023. The winning short stories and poems will be announced Thursday 8 June 2023. We will notify authors of non-shortlisted entries at the same time.
  • If an entrant has offered their short story or poem elsewhere and are notified their work is shortlisted they must decide if they would like to withdraw their story or poem from the Prize or from the alternate publication. In this case the entry fee will be refunded.
  • Exclusivity is essential for stories and poems to remain in contention.
  • Entries must not infringe upon anyone’s copyright.
  • Stories or Poems that are deemed to be works of plagiarism will be disqualified.
  • Entries must contain nothing libellous, unlawful, defamatory, or anything the GHLFC may deem to be inappropriate (general vulgar language is permitted).
  • Translations are not eligible.
  • If entrants subsequently withdraw their entries, the entry fee will not be refunded.

Cost to enter each Poem or Short Story?

  • Entry is $5.00 for school students
  • Each entry in the open sections must be accompanied by an entry fee of $35.00

Entrants are required to tick the declaration box on the online entry page.

Declaration:

I hereby declare that my entry in the Grenfell rt Story and Poetry Prize is my own work, not published in any form. I have read all the terms and conditions and agree to abide by them.

Entry Fees:

Adults: $35 per entry or $5.00 for school students

Payment can be made HERE

Anthology

  • The Festival Committee reserves the right to publish, in limited edition, and without payment to the author, an Anthology of award-winning entries. A selection of these may also be published once only in The Grenfell Record and on the Festival website, also without fee payable to the author. Copyright remains with the author thereafter. Details regarding publication and purchase of the anthology will be found on the website.

Please complete the following form for submission.

Form Payment

Please ensure you complete the relevant payment associated with your form submission. Your entry is deemed incomplete until this payment is made.