South Perth Young Writers Award
The South Perth Young Writers Award encourages excellence in creative writing and is open to all students from Year one through to Year 12 who live in or attend school within the City of South Perth.
Each year the entries are judged by a panel of librarians, writers and children’s literature enthusiasts. Shortlisted entrants are invited to attend a writing workshop to develop their writing skills and to refine their submitted story which is then re-read before finalists are chosen.
Categories
There are five age categories for prose with the Christobel Mattingley Bronze Medallion awarded to the entry judged to be the most outstanding.
Entries will be judged in the following categories:
- Lower Primary Years 1-2
- Middle Primary Years 3-4
- Upper Primary Years 5-6
- Lower Secondary Years 7-9
- Upper Secondary Years 10-12
How to enter
The South Perth Young Writers Award opens on Monday 6 February 2023.
Entries will close midnight, Sunday 4 June 2023 and the Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday 14 September 2023.
Entries this year will only be accepted electronically via email.
- To submit an entry please download the editable PDF Entry Form
- Attach the Entry Form and your work and send via email to spywa@southperth.wa.gov.au
- Entry emails must contain the subject: SPYWA 2022 – Name – Year Level
Download the SPYWA 2023 entry form.
Conditions of entry
- Entry is open to any school aged child residing or attending school in the City of South Perth
- Entries must be the entrants own original work (i.e. ideas should not be copied from television or
- books), nor should the entry be edited by another person
- Limit of one entry per child
- Entries must be prose only
- Entries may be of any length up to 1,500 words
- Entries can only be submitted electronically via email to spywa@southperth.wa.gov.au
- The email subject must contain the name and year level of the child
- Entries are not retained, and we regret that we cannot acknowledge receipt of individual entries
- The organisers reserve the right to publish any winning entries in whole or part thereof
More information
For more information or contact South Perth Library on 9474 0800 or email us.
2022 Award Winners
The full list of 2022 award winners were announced on 28 July 2022.
View the 2022 SPYWA Anthology.
Related news
News Listings
Meet this year's talented young writers
Students from local primary and secondary schools provided an impressive selection of entries for this year's South Perth Young Writers Award.
South Perth Young Writers Award entries open
Entries are now open for the South Perth Young Writers Award.
Talented young writers celebrated
Winners of the City’s 35th annual South Perth Young Writers Award (SPYWA) were announced at a presentation evening on Thursday 29 July 2021.
Writing competition to celebrate young talent
Budding young writers are invited to showcase their creative talent at the City’s 35th annual South Perth Young Writers Award.
Young writers recognised at SPYWA
The competition now in its 34th year, encourages excellence in creative writing and is open to all students from Year 1 through to Year 12 who live in, or attend school within the City of South Perth.
South Perth Young Writers Award Now Open
This prestigious competition, now in its 34th year, is open to all students from Year one through to Year 12 who live in, or attend school within the City of South Perth.
