If you have a short story you’re proud of, Roly Sussex would be delighted to hear from you, and perhaps award you $7,500 as part of The ESU-Roly Sussex Short Story Award 2017

The English Speaking Union, QLD is running the competition, and Professor Sussex is a Consultant to the Judging Panel. He is an Emeritus Professor of Applied Language Studies at the School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland and is a former chairman of the State Library of Queensland.

He speaks Russian, French, Polish, Czech and Latin and is one of Australia’s leading experts on the meaning and origin of words and phrases including the evolution of the English language. Professor Sussex attracts a wide audience to his ABC Radio program A Word in Your Ear which has run for 15 years and is a weekly columnist for News Limited publications.

His passion for literature includes this Short Story Award, which is designed to foster original creative writing of outstanding quality, including experimental, challenging or thought provoking work. The Competition commenced in 2015.

Prizes:

First Prize $7500

Second Prize: $1500

Best Secondary School Student story

First Prize: $1000

Second Prize $500

Length: Maximum 3,000 words

Eligibility: Australian citizens who are not related to the judges or members of the Executive of the English Speaking Union Queensland.

Entrants to the Secondary School section must be enrolled full-time at a secondary school. Submitted stories should not have been published before.

Entrants should adhere to the following guidelines:

Submission Opening Date: Wednesday 17 May 2017

Submission Closing Date: Friday 25 August 2017

Address for Submission by email: info@anngarmsgifts.com.au

Results: The results will be announced in October 2017, and the prizes awarded at a special ceremony in late October 2017. ESU will pay return travel from within Australia and a night’s accommodation in Brisbane for the intestate Winners.

Format: Microsoft Word, double-spaced A4.

Separate title page with the author’s name, email address and telephone number; the title of the story; and a signed statement of citizenship and authenticity of the submitted story.

Secondary School Students should indicate the name of their school.

A title page template and entry form available on line and should be submitted along with the $55 entry fee.

Page 1. Should carry the title of the story but no information identifying the author.

Pages should be numbered from the first page of text and should carry the title of the story in the header.

Publicity and Publication: All stories submitted to the Roly Sussex Short Story Competition will be considered for publication by the ESU, and may be used for marketing and publicity in conjunction with the ESU. In submitting their stories for publication authors indicate their consent to these initiatives.

Copyright: Authors retain copyright of their work

Entry form available here: http://www.esu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-ESU-Roly-Sussex-Short-Story-Award-Entry-Form.pdf