A Writing Competition Australians Can Enter Online
Quick answer: Australians can enter Writory's debut short story round: 100 to 3,000 words in any genre, $8 a story. Judging is blind against a published rubric, every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 across all five criteria, and writers keep all rights. Deadline is 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST; results on 30 November 2026. Monthly rounds follow the debut.
Submit a story of 100 to 3,000 words by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Judging is blind against a published rubric, every entrant gets back a certificate and a score out of 100 with all five marks shown, and you keep every right to your work.
If you already do Furious Fiction
Furious Fiction is a free, quarterly 500-word challenge from the Australian Writers' Centre. Check its current prompt and entry window before submitting. Writory is a separate, paid option for writers who want a five-part judged score and certificate whether or not they place.
Writory is the other half of that routine. Entry is $8, the story is your own idea at your own length between 100 and 3,000 words, and every entrant gets back a certificate plus five marks against the published rubric: Storytelling & Structure out of 25, Character & Emotional Impact out of 25, Language & Craft out of 20, Originality & Voice out of 20, Impact & Resonance out of 10. You do not have to place to find out what a judge made of your work. That is what the fee is for.
Dates and details that matter from Australia
The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 30 November 2026. Monthly rounds follow the debut: entries close on the 25th and results arrive on the 30th. Entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, which is early the next morning on the east coast, so treat midnight on deadline day, your time, as the deadline and you will never miss it. Results are out on 30 November 2026, and the top story each month wins $100.
Judging is blind: no names, no bios, no locations reach the panel. You keep all rights, and Writory does not publish entries, so a piece you enter here can still go to an Australian journal afterwards. Writory's poetry contest has been running monthly for over a year with dated winners pages you can check on the site, and entrants have come from 40 countries.
The published rubric, 100 points
- Storytelling & Structure (25 points): Does every scene cause the next, and does the ending pay off the opening?
- Character & Emotional Impact (25 points): Do we want something with your character, and does the story make us feel it?
- Language & Craft (20 points): Clean, deliberate prose: rhythm, precision, and nothing wasted.
- Originality & Voice (20 points): The angle only you could write, told in a voice that sounds like nobody else.
- Impact & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 3,000 words by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive on 30 November 2026: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
What time is the deadline in Australia?
Entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. That is 4:29 AM the next morning in Sydney and Melbourne, an hour later once daylight saving starts, so the working rule is simple: submit by your own midnight on deadline day and you are in.
What does it cost from Australia?
$8 for one story, which is roughly $12 AUD. Two stories cost $14 and five cost $25, and every one of them is judged and scored individually.
Is there any way to enter free?
Only by earning it. Each monthly winner enters the next round free, and entering three months in a row earns the Seasoned Quill badge, which carries a free entry. Those are the only two routes; there is no open free entry.
Can I use a pen name?
Judging is blind either way, so a pen name changes nothing for the judges; they never see any name at all. Just tell us the name you want on the certificate, because that is the name the verification link confirms.
How do I know this competition is legitimate?
Check before you pay: Writory's poetry winners pages are dated month by month and go back more than a year, with poetry entrants from 40 countries. The separate Story rubric is published in full. The first Story results are scheduled for 30 November 2026; Story winners have not yet been announced. A contest that shows its records is easy to verify.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 40 countries have entered, readers come from more than 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.