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Competition

Pencil illustration – Story Hunter creative writing program graphic

Story Hunter Schools Writing Competition

In 2026, Story Hunter launched our inaugural Schools Writing Competition for young writers living in the Hunter region. The prize seeks to celebrate and encourage the next generation of writers. We received over 150 entries from students attending 49 different schools and living in 5 Hunter local government areas. The judges were highly impressed by the quality of the entries – their comments are available to read on the Newcastle Writers Festival website.

Thanks to the generous support of The MacDougall Foundation, cash prizes were awarded to three winners in each age category. Winners were announced at a special event on Saturday 29th August, and you can read the winning stories below!

A blond woman holds a microphone for a young girl with glasses and a black bun to speak into.
Author and Story Hunter Guide Jess Black interviews finalist Arielle in the 10-12 year age category.

Under 10s:

First Place: “Journey to the Lost World” by Samyo M. from St Phillips Christian College

Second Place: “The Lost Lolly Planet” by Blake E. from Valentine Public School

Third Place: “The Gem Quest” by Bronte E. from New Lambton Public School

Highly Commended: “The Story of Hibiscus” by Eliza T. from Barnsley Public School

Read Now!

Journey to the Lost World
The Lost Lolly Planet
The Gem Quest
The Story of Hibiscus

10-12 years:

First Place: “On The Second-Lowest Branch” by Milada M. from Belair Public School

Second Place: “The Tea Set” by Arielle K. from Wallsend South Public School

Third Place: “Lights Out!” by Phoebe S. from Waratah West Public School

Highly Commended: “The Last Seed” by Aiden G. from Redhead Public School

Read Now!

On The Second-Lowest Branch
The Tea Set
Lights Out!
The Last Seed

12-14 years:

First Place: “Running From The Gods” by Tilly D. from Tomaree High School

Equal Second Place: “Between The Lines” by Alizetta D. and “The Aftertone” by Zarleena M. both from Merewether High School

Highly Commended: “Blast off!” by Joy G. from Rathmines Public School and “The Memoir Section” by Violet M. from Nulkaba Public School

Read Now!

Running From The Gods
Between The Lines
The Aftertone
Blast Off!
The Memoir Section

The Story Hunter team are thankful for all those who shared their words with us in 2026! We hope you will consider entering again next year. Check back to this page or follow Newcastle Writers Festival on social media for details of when entries open.

FAQs

What can I write about?
Anything that excites your imagination! The competition is open to all genres and has no required prompt or stimulus. Your story should be prose, not poetry, with a beginning, middle and end. Don’t send us stories with illegal or offensive material.
There is a maximum word limit for each age category: 500 words for under-10s, 1000 words for 10-12s and 2000 words for 12-14s. There is no minimum word count; if you can tell a great story in a small number of words then we want to read it!

To enter the competition you need to live in one of the ten local government (council) areas in the greater Hunter region of NSW, Australia. These are Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, MidCoast, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton and Upper Hunter.

Age categories are defined by the age you are on the last day of the competition (1 July 2026). So, if you turn 12 on 30 June, you should enter the 12-14 category even if you submit early.

The competition will be judged by the Story Hunter team of writers and educators.

Yes, we welcome entries from all young people in the Hunter region. When filling out the entry form, please put “home education” in the field that asks for your school name.

We want to see your own creative ideas on the page, so while you can ask a teacher or parent for feedback or to check for mistakes, the story should be all your work without substantial editing from an adult. As a guideline: feedback is when they say, “I found this sentence confusing, can you change it to make it clearer?”. Editing is when they make the sentence clearer for you by rewriting it in their own words.

Story Hunter is an initiative of Newcastle Writers Festival designed to equip and encourage our next generation of local writers. We run school workshops for grades 3-8, multi-week programs, full-day creative writing masterclasses, and this competition. You can find out more about Story Hunter on our website or by emailing storyhunter@newcastlewritersfestival.org.au

Judging Criteria

  • Entries are judged based on the skill of the entrant. Skill is judged for this competition based on both craft and story.
  • The ‘craft’ component includes the entrant’s command of language, their understanding of narrative structure, and their effort to compose a compelling, well-paced story.
  • The ‘story’ component includes the originality of the idea, and whether the content of the story is unique, interesting, and impactful.
  • The judges will not be required to make an award if they do not consider the entries to be of a sufficient standard.

How to Enter

  • Stories should be typed, 1.5 spaced and saved as a .docx or .pdf
  • Check that you meet the entry requirements below and which age category you belong in.
  • Ensure you have permission from your parent or guardian before entering the prize.
  • Please read the competition guidelines CLICK HERE
  • Fill in the competition form and submit your story CLICK HERE
  • Once you’ve clicked submit, entries cannot be changed.