Category: awards and competitions

2026 American Writers Review Contest Winner Announced

Dirt path through colorful wildflower meadow with rolling hills in background

San Fedele Press is pleased to announce the Winner of the American Writers Review 2026 Contest.

After months of reading and considering, the deliberations are complete, and you can read all about the outcome at the link below:

https://www.americanwritersreview.com

Congratulations to this year’s winner and shortlisted entrants, and a huge thank you as always to everyone who submitted work.

Margaret represented Elwood Writers on this year’s judging panel, and we’re very grateful for all her hard work on our behalf.

A reminder that there’s still a few days left till the window for general submissions closes for another year, so if you’re still polishing your piece, good luck. And if you haven’t started writing that poetry, short story, non-fiction essay, or drama or monologue, then now’s the time to start work. Don’t forget art and photography are welcome too. Grab a coffee and have a think about it. Maybe you could pen a short poem, just a few lines or a single stanza – or a very short piece of fiction? The fiction limit is 2,500 words, but there’s no lower limit. Flash it up, if that’s your thing. Or flesh it out. Perhaps inspiration will descend today. If you need to, you could pull an all-nighter to get something ready. Or you could just wait for opportunity to rise again next year. Many options, so that’s all good.

The theme, once again, is: The Truth Will Set You Free and the deadline is 1st August 2026 now extended to 8th August 2026.

However you choose to approach the next few days, happy writing and reading and listening.

Have a peaceful day,

EW

2026 American Writers Review literary contest

Stacks of old tied documents in an archive room with a wooden desk and lamp
Join the 2026 AWR Contest: ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’

Margaret McCaffrey’s website provides the source for this month’s content — for the second month in a row. It seems like we’re bingeing Margaret’s content! And why not.

In this latest post, Margaret talks about her experience of judging the American Writers Review literary contest last year on behalf of Elwood Writers. Click inside the post, above, to read all about it. You’ll also find details of this year’s AWR contest, whose theme is ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’.

Happy reading and writing. And if you do choose to take part in this year’s contest or submit to the anthology, break a leg! Or as they say in Australian theatrical circles, ‘Chookas!’

EW

American Writers Review | 2026 Submissions and Contest Now Open

Last year, Elwood Writers was honoured to judge the American Writers Review (San Fedele Press) literary contest. The contest is open again and, continuing our intercontinental connection, Margaret McCaffrey and Barry Lee Thompson have joined the journal’s team, providing editorial support and assistance for this year’s issue of the publication.

The theme: The Truth Will Set You Free. Contest entries may be submitted until 1 July, and the window for general submissions closes a month later, on 1 August. Details may be found on the AWR submissions page — just click here.

2026 is off to a flying start! Margaret and Barry are once again excited to be on the AWR team, and really looking forward to reading the work submitted.

Happy writing, and best of luck!

EW

2025 American Writers Review Contest Results Announced

We’re pleased to share that the results of the American Writers Review 2025 Contest have now been published on the AWR website. It was a privilege for our group to serve as judges for this international literary event, and we extend our warm congratulations to the winners, finalists, and all who submitted work.

You can read the official announcement here:

https://www.americanwritersreview.com

We’ll be back soon with some reflections on the judging process, the entries, and what made the winning pieces stand out.

EW

Extended Deadline for American Writers Review Contest: Submit Now!

Regretting that you didn’t enter this year’s American Writers Review literary contest? Or that you didn’t quite make the deadline? Well, we have some good news: If you’ve visited the San Fedele Press submissions page recently you’ll have noticed that the deadline for contest entries has been extended to August 7. That’s right – there’s still time to send off that poem, short story, non-fiction, or dramatic monologue, photograph, or artwork. In short, written work and imagery is invited. Full details are available in our July blog post, linked here. Or if you want to head straight to the submissions page, do that by clicking here.

Contest deadline: 11:59 PM on August 7 (US Eastern Time)

This year’s competition judges are Margaret and Barry, on behalf of Elwood Writers. The theme: Buyers’ Remorse. Interpret that any way you wish.

Happy writing, and good luck!

EW

American Writers Review Contest: Enter Before August 1

Buy Now, Regret Later – a literary contest

A timely reminder from Margaret that the closing date for the American Writers Review literary contest is creeping up. The theme: Buyers’ Remorse. This year’s judges come from Elwood Writers – Margaret and Barry can’t wait to read your entries. The contest closes on 1 August.

You’ve a bit longer if you want to send a regular submission to the journal: they can be sent for the editorial team to consider right up to 1 September.

If you haven’t started on a submission or even thought about it yet, there’s still plenty of time remaining. All the relevant links are in Margaret’s blog post, above.

Happy writing, and good luck!

EW

Elwood Writers is judging the AWR Contest 2025 | Theme: Buyers’ Remorse

Elwood Writers has been invited to judge this year’s American Writers Review (San Fedele Press) literary contest – we’re delighted to be on board. The theme is:

Buyers’ Remorse
It seemed like such a good idea…. But now?

American Writers Review

Submissions are now open and close on August 1, 2025. Please click here to read the guidelines carefully before submitting. There’s a cash prize involved for the overall winner.

The anthology is simultaneously accepting regular submissions – the window for this closes a month later, on September 1, 2025. Again, please familiarise yourself with the guidelines before submitting your work. See here for details.

Editor Donna Ferrara is seeking contributions in a wide range of categories, including visual art and photography – and, for the first time, drama/monologues.

For our new issue, we are seeking written work and imagery that springs from the moment when the best-laid schemes have turned to dust. The crash can be obvious, subtle, even not yet realized. The piece’s point of view could be disappointed or triumphant or oblivious. The moment of remorse could be immediate, in the future, or long in the past.

American Writers Review

We’ve established a very productive relationship with San Fedele Press over the years, with our fiction, memoir and poetry appearing in a variety of their publications. International literary connections such as this are so important, and well worth nurturing, especially in these troubled times.

If you decide to enter the contest, and we hope you do, we look forward to receiving your work.

Best of luck!

EW

The Pearl Prize 2025: Celebrating Queer Voices

Two copies of 'The Pearl Prize' anthology, featuring queer writing from across Australia, displayed on a wooden surface.
The Pearl Prize 2025 (Osborne and Fawkner)
Celebrating The Pearl Prize 2025 at Midsumma Festival
from barryleethompson.com

We’re enjoying reading the stories in The Pearl Prize 2025 – An Anthology of Queer Writing from Across Australia. This year’s theme: Queerness beyond the ML and AI in (A) ARTificial space.

Barry was one of the fifteen finalists in this year’s prize, so his story ‘Who Was Avery Rottedean?’ is included in the book. He wrote a blog post about the prize in January – a wonderful start to the year, for him and the group.

We were taken with the softcover and hardback versions of the anthology, and really couldn’t decide between them, so chose to get both. And why not! They’re handsome additions to any bookshelf. If you’d like to get your mitts on a copy, follow these links to Readings, or Hares & Hyenas, or get it direct from the publisher.

The Pearl Prize is presented with Osborne and Fawkner Publishing and supported by Midsumma Festival.

Congratulations to Barry and the other finalists, and big-ups to the winner, Niko Satria, and runner-up, Julien Furnace.

Happy reading,

EW

Glittering Ceremony

Broken Rules and Other Stories (Transit Lounge, September 2020)

Here at Elwood Writers we enjoy a good old celebration and relish any chance to get dressed up to the nines, so we’re excited to have the opportunity to remotely attend the Queensland Literary Awards ceremony, which will be live-streamed from State Library of Queensland at 6–7:30pm on Thursday 9 September.

We’re really looking forward to cheering on the finalists in all the categories. The evening will be particularly thrilling for us because Barry’s book Broken Rules is on the shortlist for the University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection.

If you’d like to be a part of this year’s awards ceremony, click here and scroll down the page to register for the live stream. It only takes a few minutes. And you won’t have to dress up on the night, unless you want to. You can wear whatever you want. As far as we know.

Congratulations and good luck to all the finalists. Every one a winner.

The Queensland Literary Awards are supported by the Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland and State Library of Queensland. The Queensland Literary Awards also receive funding from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. The commitment of sponsors is critical: Griffith University, The University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland and The Courier-Mail. Philanthropic support through the Queensland Library Foundation is gratefully received from Jenny Summerson and Susan Hocking and Ian Mackie, and their family, through the Hocking Mackie Trust at APS Foundation.

State Library of Queensland