Geelong Writers runs various competitions, including: the Geelong Writers Prize, the Geelong Short Play Festival competition (first held in 2025), and two members-only competitions, the Finest 500 and the Funniest 500 (first held in 2026).
CURRENT COMPETITIONS
FINEST 500 2026 COMPETITION
The shortlist for the Finest 500 2026 Competition has been announced here. The prize announcement will be made at the Geelong Writers Members Night on 22 July, 2026.
PREVIOUS COMPETITIONS
GEELONG WRITERS PRIZE
The Geelong Writers Prize was held for the first time in 2023. It is a local writing competition, open to writers who live, work, or study in the City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Colac-Otway, or Golden Plains shires. The competition is also open to writers who are members of Geelong Writers, wherever they live. The competition is for prose fiction and creative nonfiction works between 2,000 and 3,000 words.
*** Special Announcement about 2026 Geelong Writers Prize ***
A decision has been made to review this competition, and as a result, it will not be held in 2026. At Geelong Writers, we want to provide the best version of the competition we can, so stay tuned for details of the 2027 Geelong Writers Prize!
Djillong Short Story Competition 2022
FINEST 500
The Finest 500 is an annual competition for paid members of Geelong Writers only. Each year, writers are invited to submit prose or poetry to 500 words in response to a designated theme.
The shortlist for the Finest 500 2026 Competition has been announced here. The prize announcement will be made at the Geelong Writers Members Night on 22 July, 2026.
GEELONG SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL
For the inaugural Geelong Short Play Festival, writers were invited to enter their scripts for short plays with a maximum duration of 15 minutes and with 5 characters or less. They were asked to keep set requirements to a minimum and were encouraged to be creative in their choice of theme/topic and aim for maximum audience impact. The submitted works were judged by a panel of three experienced theatre professionals who selected six scripts that were performed by local theatre companies at Geelong Short Play Festival on November 7-8.
Geelong Short Play Festival 2026
Geelong Short Play Festival 2025
FUNNIEST 500 COMPETITION
