Opportunities, competitions and workshops

We love seeing Sisters in Crime members succeed – submit your story or novel to a publisher or competition here:

Big Sky Publishers: Call out for true crime manuscript submissions
For further information on how to submit, click here.

Writers on Ice: Created by authors Tania Chandler and Lucinda Gifford –it is a lively ICE-CAST about writing, books, and ice skating. They interview authors about creativity, writing, publishing, and books – while they get their skates on and have a go at ice-skating. Catch up on website; YouTube; and Instagram.

Varuna Residency: Writers of crime, thriller, and mystery novels are invited to apply for the opportunity to develop exceptional new work through editorial feedback during a week in residence at Varuna, 28 April – 5 May 2025. Up to four writers will be selected. Application Fee of $70, or $40 (Healthcare card). Apply here. Closes 10 October.

The Fabel World Short Story Competition: A contest with a difference: there’s no brief. Rather than encourage you to write new short stories, it’s designed to help you breathe life into your back catalogue. What’s more, it carries one of the largest and deepest short story prize pools in the English Language. $10 to enter here.  Prize pool of $27,500 and a first prize of $16,000. Closes 31 October.

Odyssey Victoria Annual Short Story Competition. Maximum word length 1,500 words Theme “Regret”. Needs to make a reference to alcohol and/or drugs. Limit of three entries per person. Entry fee $10 per story. First prize: $1,000 and a one-year membership to Writers Victoria; 2nd prize: $100; and 3rd prize: $50. Closes 6 November 2024. Info here.

Masterclass: Editing Your Crime Novel with Anna Snoekstra: Sunday 10 November, 10 am – 4 pm. You’ve sweated, you’ve cried, you’ve spent way too long in the scary parts of the internet. Finally, you’ve finished the first draft of your crime novel. It’s a messy, uneven, plot-hole-filled beast that you now need to tame. But where to start? This intensive workshop will show you how to look your manuscript in the eye and beat it into shape. Book now via Writers Victoria’s website.

Cooking Up a Synopsis with Laurel Cohn: Saturday 23 November, 10 am – 4 pm. Online via Zoom. If you want your work considered by a publisher, agent, commissioning editor, mentoring program, or grants body, you need a synopsis.  Book now via Writers Victoria’s website

The EJ Corbett Mentorship Contest: In honour of historical novelist, Elizabeth Jane Corbett, the Historical Novel Society of Australia is offering the chance for a previously unpublished author from Australia or New Zealand to receive a mentorship from Wendy J Dunn to develop a completed first draft of an unpublished historical fiction manuscript for young adults. Opens 6 November. Closes on 4 December 2024. Info here.

Anthology Short Story Competition: For original, unpublished short stories, written in English with a maximum of 1,500 words. First prize: The winner will receive €1,000 and the winning story will be published in a future issue of Anthology. Second: €250; Third: €150. Enter here. Closes 31 July, 2025.

Want to submit an opportunity, competition, or workshop? Email us here.