Enter the 2023 Walker Books Manuscript Prize

It’s time to polish your manuscript to enter the 2023 Walker Books Manuscript Prize! 

Here are the details from the Walker Books website:

To coincide with Walker’s 30th anniversary in Australia this year, Walker Books Australia is proud to announce the establishment of the Walker Books Manuscript Prize. Walker Books’ mission has long been to publish works that become firm favourites and formative reading. The aim of this new manuscript prize is to foster a new generation of Australian voices, who best represent Walker Books’ values of excellence, accessibility and inclusivity. The Prize will be awarded biennially (every two years) to an unpublished manuscript, from 5,000 to 70,000 words written for a readership of 8+ and suitable for formats junior fiction, middle grade fiction or young adult fiction. The manuscript will be judged on literary merit, its originality and use of language, and on its representation of Walker’s values.  

The inaugural Prize shortlist will be judged by Sally Murphy, Jared Thomas and Kate Foster

The winner will be offered a publishing contract with an advance against royalties.

The award is open for the following categories:

Junior fiction: for readers 5-8 years (5,000-20,000 words)

Middle grade fiction: for readers aged 8-12 years (30,000 to 50,000 words)

Young adult fiction: for readers 12+ (50,000-80,000 words)

Who can enter

Entries are open to residents of Australia and New Zealand and non-resident citizens of Australia and New Zealand, except employees and immediate families of Walker Books Australia. Immediate family means any of the following: spouse, ex-spouse, de-facto spouse, child or step-child (whether by natural or by adoption), parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister or first cousin.

Entries must be the work of one creator only. Illustrations may be included but must be the work of a single author/illustrator.

Each entrant may submit a maximum of two manuscripts.

Entries must not have been previously published or be contracted elsewhere for future publication

How to submit

Your manuscript must be submitted in Microsoft Word format

Entries close 1st August, 2023. Entries received after this date will not be considered.

Submissions should be emailed to [email protected]. Include your full name and contact details with your submission

Judging and announcement of winner

The winner will be announced on Walker Books' website on Thursday 26th October, 2023.

The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Judges’ comments on the winner will be published, and comments on the shortlisted entries may also be provided at the judges’ and Walker Books’ discretion. No other feedback on entries will be provided.

Find out more here.