Australia’s premier short story awards for crime fiction written by Australian women.
Note: contact details have changed. All enquiries should be sent to the Scarlet Stilettos administrator Ruth Wykes.
QUICK INFO:
Make sure to read ALL THE INFO below before entering! And if you now need some quick links here they are:
- This is the email address for entries
- Got questions? Here’s the FAQ page
- Need to check the categories? Go here.
BEFORE YOU ENTER
Before you enter, please read the terms and conditions at the bottom of this page. This details everything you need to know and entering is a confirmation that you agree to the terms and conditions outlined.
ENTRY FEES
The entry fees are:
- $20 per story for a member of Sisters in Crime
- $30 per story for a non-member of Sisters in Crime
- $20 per story Concession Card holders
- $20 per story Youth/Student concession
HOW TO ENTER
FORMAT REQUIREMENTS
1. Page format:
- Font: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12 point.
- Font colour: Black
- Line spacing: 1.5
- Include page number and title on every page.
2. The first page should be a cover sheet which contains the title of your story, the categories you are entering and your word count.
3. Please DO NOT put your name anywhere on the story, not even the cover page. Every page of the story itself should only show the Title, Page Number and the story itself. The judges read each story blind, which means they do not know who has written it.
4. Save your document as a PDF.
5. Go to Sisters in Crime Australia’s website to register and pay for your entry.
6. Upload your entry form and story here: LINK WILL BE LIVE FROM MONDAY 1 JUNE 2026
7. You can enter as many categories as you like for your story. You do not have to pay an extra entry fee for multiple categories.
9. Registrations must be received and entry fee(s) must be paid by 11.30pm on Monday 31 August 2026. Late entries will not be accepted.
All entries must be received by 11.30 pm on 31 August 2026.
Prizes offered in 2026
Details about each category here
Swinburne University Award: 1st Prize: $2000
Simon & Schuster Award: 2nd Prize: $1000
Sun Bookshop & Fremantle Press Award: 3rd Prize: $800
Carmel Shute Award for Best Young Writer (under 19): $1000
Melbourne Athenaeum Library ‘Body in the Library’ Award: $1250 ($750 runner-up)
HQ Books Award for Best Thriller: $1200
Kerry Greenwood Award for Best Malice Domestic Story: $1000
Every Cloud Phryne Award for Best Mystery with History Story: $1000
Bolton Clarke Art and Crime Award: $500
Clan Destine Press Award for Best Cross-genre Story: $1000
Cate Kennedy Award for Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue: $500
ScriptWorks Award for a Great Film Idea: $500
Writers Victoria Award for the Story with the Most Satisfying Retribution: Choice of online course and membership.
Lesley Gillis and Fran Gillis Award for Best Cosy Cat Capers: $1000
Terms and Conditions of Entry
- Entries must have a crime/mystery theme that is central to the story. It is at the author’s discretion to determine point of view (protagonist/agonist) of the main character.
- The protagonist must be a female character, whether they are on the side of the law or not.
- We won’t accept entries created fully or in part by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Your story must be original, created by you and not a third party, and must be unpublished (including self-publication anywhere in the world). Please ensure you don’t plagiarise from another author.
- The competition is open to all women, including transgender or intersex, who are citizens/residents of Australia.
- The Award for Best Young Writer is open to writers who are under 19 years of age on 31 August 2026. Please include Proof of Age documentation along with your entry form in order to be eligible for an award in this category.
- The Award for Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue must be in response to the photograph below (also available to view on Sisters in Crime Australia’s website).
- Submit your entries under you own name, not a pseudonym.
- A maximum of two entries per author will be accepted for the 2026 competition.
- Please notify Sisters in Crime Australia promptly if your story is published (self-publication included) in any format and anywhere in the world, or is shortlisted in another competition, or wins a prize in another competition. Sisters in Crime Australia reserves the right to withdraw the story from consideration.
- Story length is 5000 words maximum (excluding cover page); there is no minimum word limit.
- You can submit a short story that you have previously entered in the competition. It is useful to revise your story prior to submitting it for a second time.
- Sisters in Crime Australia reserves the right to use shortlisted stories for publication, podcast or promotional purposes. Copyright remains with the author.
- Women who have twice won First Prize, and have a pair of Scarlet Stiletto shoe trophies, are not eligible to enter the competition.
- Current convenors of Sisters in Crime Australia, sponsors, organisers and other judges are not eligible to enter the competition.
Please note: Failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions of Entry may invalidate your entry for the 2026 Scarlet Stiletto Awards.
The Judging Process
Judges’ decisions are final and no discussion will be entered into with individual entrants.
Judges for the Scarlet Stiletto Awards are drawn from convenors and former convenors of Sisters in Crime Australia, and previous two-time winners of the Scarlet Stiletto trophy.
In the first round of judging, each story is read by a minimum of two judges who go through the process of developing a longlist.
The Administrator oversees the judging process and will collate and send out the long-listed entries to judges.
In the second round of judging, the judges determine a shortlist, which forms the basis of their deliberations about various overall and category winners. At this stage of judging, every judge is required to read every story that remains in contention.
In the third and final round of judging, the overall and category winners are chosen.
Winners will be announced and celebrated at the Scarlet Stiletto Awards ceremony to be held in November 2026 at a Melbourne venue.