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StorySALOON: Short Stories, Centre Stage

09/06/2026

📝The High Country Words Writing Competition is open for entries.

Run by the Mansfield Readers and Writers Festival, this year's theme is "Wild", with categories in (2000 words max), memoir (2000 words max), and poetry (100 lines max).

Entries close 30 June 2026.

Find guidelines and entry details via the Writers Victoria Opportunities Calendar.

03/06/2026

🏆 A writing opportunity for the young storytellers in your life.

WriteOn is an annual creative writing competition held in association with the State Library of NSW. Students are invited to write an imaginative text of up to 500 words, using a provided stimulus.

The stimulus for WriteOn 2026 is the quote:
"It was a small thing, but it made a difference."

The competition is open to students in Years 1 to 6 across NSW, including those registered for home schooling.

Entries close: Friday 19 June 2026.
Find out more by searching "WriteOn" on the NSW Government website: https://shorturl.at/LpmyN

29/05/2026

💐 This month, our StorySALOON author friend, Gillian O'Shaughnessy, celebrates the release of her new book, 'Salt City Run Away'.

It's always a special moment seeing a writer's debut book into the world. Salt City Runaway gathers fifty flash fiction stories filled with strange, tender, and unforgettable moments set across Western Australia, from Fremantle to the Goldfields and the South West.

A luminous debut that finds beauty and wonder in the smallest of stories. It is a masterclass in flash fiction.

We're very happy to be congratulating Gillian on this new release.

21/05/2026

The AAWP/UWRF Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers is now open.

Presented by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs and Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, the prize is open to emerging writers working in short fiction.

For this prize, “emerging” means writers who have not yet published a full-length, single-authored commercial print publication in fiction or creative non-fiction. Writers published online or in multi-author collections are still eligible.

The winning writer receives a festival pass and accommodation for Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, along with membership to the Australasian Association of Writing Programs, plus the potential to be published in Meniscus.

Entries close Tuesday 30 June 2026.

For further information, please visit the AAWP website: https://shorturl.at/NW3bL

15/05/2026

🤩 StorySALOON is on a break and will be back later this year!

We’re working hard creating new live shows to showcase brilliant short stories from writers emerging and established, from across Australia, along with new podcasts, new partnerships. We’ve also re-launched StorySALOON Ltd as a not-for-profit. We’re planning for a great future, so stay tuned.

Stay up to date via our socials, or subscribe to our e-newsletter via our website: www.storysaloon.com.au

13/05/2026

🌳 A place for inspiration

This month, Nic Low shares his writing space with us along with a few words about it.

“Though a lot of my work deals with New Zealand, I've written much of it from this little pocket of Australian bush north of Melbourne, where we have a writing shack. It's basic - outdoor shower, dirt floor - but having somewhere to retreat from city life has been a huge boon over the years.”

Listen to Nic’s short story ‘Octopus’ on the StorySALOON Podcast:
🎧 Spotify → https://shorturl.at/CnNit
🎙 Apple Podcasts → https://shorturl.at/cwgmw
🎤 YouTube Podcasts → https://shorturl.at/svSXL
🩶 iHeart → https://shorturl.at/1Mkyh

07/05/2026

📢 Henry Handel Richardson Fellowship for Short Story Writing 2026 closes May 15.

The Henry Handel Richardson Fellowship for Short Story Writing is now open for applications as part of the Varuna National Writers' House Residential Fellowships.

Offered in partnership with the Henry Handel Richardson Society, the fully funded two-week fellowship encourages excellence in Australian short story writing while honouring the legacy of Henry Handel Richardson.

Applications close midnight AEST, 15 May 2026.

More info at Varuna website: https://shorturl.at/NHbwR

06/05/2026

✏️ The Newcastle Short Story Award celebrates the art of the short story, showcasing outstanding short fiction from both emerging and established Australian writers.

Each year, esteemed judges, skilled in the short story form, choose the most compelling entries to craft an anthology that celebrates and showcases the diversity of Australian storytelling.

Winning the Newcastle Short Story Award marks a writer’s achievement in the art of short story writing.

Hunter Writers Centre: Submissions close Sunday 12 July, 8 pm AEST

More info at: https://shorturl.at/KkoDs

17/04/2026

📝 Margo Lanagan unpacks short story craft

'I’d written a fantasy novel which I just made too huge … and so I shifted over to short stories simply because they were short and because I could keep everything in my head at once…and then I fell in love with the way you can just imply in a short story.’

Hear Margo and Paul discuss writing and performance in our deep dive interview, ‘In the SALOON with Margo Lanagan and Paul Capsis’.
🎧 Spotify → https://shorturl.at/572t3
🎙 Apple Podcasts → https://shorturl.at/Knu0Q
🎤 YouTube Podcasts → https://shorturl.at/dkmHI
🩶 iHeart → https://shorturl.at/ELnK5

10/04/2026

✍️ The writer's desk.

Gillian O'Shaughnessy shares her Perth writing space with us and a few words about it.

‘I love the way light falls on this desk in the morning. But mostly, I love writing in this room because I can close the door… I need absolute uninterrupted silence for a first draft, or I’ll miss the story. It’s like trying to catch smoke.’

Stay tune for her works in her debut collection, Salt City Runaway, out in May, published by Night Parrot Press.

Listen to her flash fictions in Episode 9 from StorySALOON’s May 2025 show on the StorySALOON Podcast:
🎧 Spotify → https://shorturl.at/ZKbxq
🎙 Apple Podcasts → https://shorturl.at/g3t32
🎤 YouTube Podcasts → https://shorturl.at/YC1Th
🩶 iHeart → https://shorturl.at/5UkJx

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