Entries now open for The Banjo Prize 2021

Is this your chance to be published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia? 

The Banjo Prize was launched in 2018 and its mission is to find “Australia’s next great storyteller”. The prize is named after Australia’s first bestselling author Banjo Patterson.

According to the press release: “The Banjo Prize is offered annually and is open to all Australian fiction writers, offering the chance to win a publishing contract with HarperCollins, with an advance of $15,000.” 

Plus two runners up will receive a written reader’s assessment by a professional editor on their work, according to the HarperCollins website.

Previous winners include Taking Tom Murray Home by Tim Slee, Beware of Dogs by Elizabeth Flann, and in 2020 – Flood Debris by Dinuka McKenzie – alumnae of the Australian Writers' Centre!

According to the press release you’ll need not only a completed manuscript but also a synopsis and a 200-word biographical statement. 

The Banjo Prize is only open to Australian residents aged 18 or older and you must submit an unpublished original work of adult fiction (between 75,000 and 100,000 words). Please note, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, poetry, plays, works for children and any kind of non-fiction are not eligible, according to the HarperCollins website.

Entries close 5pm AEST Friday 28 May 2021.

Polish up your manuscript, craft your synopsis and biographical statement and get your entry in.

Visit the HarperCollins website to find out more.