Submissions close Friday May 10, 2024 at 8.00 pm
In 2024, following a hiatus in 2023, the Hunter Writers’ Centre is thrilled to announce the reopening of the Grieve Project. We invite writers and storytellers nationwide to participate in the Grieve Project, which will commence in March 2024. This year, we are expanding the scope of storytelling genres to include prose, poetry, and a variety of multimedia formats such as film, audio, graphic storytelling, and visual imagery.
The competition will culminate in the creation of an anthology that captures the diverse voices and experiences of grief and loss. Additionally, a public event will be hosted in the Hunter region and streamed online, providing a platform for participants to share their work and engage with the community. We are excited to see how this expansion will enrich the storytelling landscape of the Grieve Project and further amplify the voices of those touched by grief and loss.
Key Information
The webpage is updated regularly. We encourage you to visit the website frequently to keep up to date on the project.
To understand the diversity of works selected in previous years, consider purchasing past Grieve anthologies.
What can be entered
In 2024, we have expended the scope of storytelling genres to include prose, photography, visual art, film, audio, graphic storytelling and visual imagery.
The following guidelines are offered for submission:
- Prose: The word limit for prose submission is 500 words.
- Poetry: The line limit for poetry is 36 lines.
- Still Image/Artwork: One image per submission.
- Video: up to 3 minutes of video.
- Audio: Up to 3 mins of audio.
If you have questions about the format of your submission, please email info@hunterwriterscentre.org.
We will be updating the Frequently Asked Questions section regularly during the submission period, and encourage you to check the website frequently, as there is limited capacity to respond to individual enquiries. We aim to respond to your enquiries within three working days.
Prizes
The 2024 Grieve Project offers over $6,500 in cash prizes. These prizes are generously provided by our sponsors, whose work engages with the experience of loss and grief.
Our sponsors also serve as our judging panel, evaluating and awarding the dedicated prizes for the works submitted to the Grieve Project. We are honoured to welcome Judy Johnson as the Assessment Judge for poetry submissions.
In the 2024 Grieve Project, in addition to general prizes for submitted works, we will be awarding prizes for specific themes such as dementia, men and loss, the loss of a child, the loss of a parent, and climate or environmental grief.
$1,500 – National Association of Loss and Grief (NALAG) Award for a work in any medium
$1,000 –Palliative Care NSW Award for a work in any medium
$1,000 – Pettigrew Funerals Award for a work in any medium
$500 x 2 – National Association of Loss and Grief Award for a work that is not poetry or prose.
$500 – All About Grief Award for a work in any medium that focuses on the loss of a child
$500 – Hunter Writers’ Centre Award for a work in any medium that focus on climate or environmental grief
$300 – Griefline Award for a work in any medium that focuses on men and their experience of grief and loss.
$250 – Newcastle Memorial Park Award for a work in any medium
$250 – Lake Macquarie Memorial Park Award for a work in any medium
$100 – Everymind Award for a work in any medium
$100 – Compassionate Friends Award for a work in any medium
In addition to the above, we have several ‘In Memoriam’ dedications which will be announced in the coming weeks.
Who can enter
Australian citizens or residents 18 years or older.
How to enter
Grieve 2024 is open for entries from Friday 1 March 2024, until 8 pm (AEST) Friday 10 May 2024.
- Consider purchasing a Grieve anthology from previous years to see what others have done.
- IMPORTANT: Read carefully the Terms and Conditions, and Frequently Asked Questions.
- Click on the button below to fill out the submission form and upload your submissions. There is no limit on the number of entries.
- Please ensure the uploaded file name is the name of your entered submission.
- Entry fees are $22 per submission ($20.00 + $2 GST).
You can submit as many works as you want into the competition.
One work = one submission = one entry fee.
Up to 10 submissions can be entered in one entry form. - You will receive a confirmation email with an overview of your entry form. If you have not received this, please check your spam folder as it may be hiding there, and if you have still not received it, contact the Hunter Writers’ Centre on contact@hunterwriterscentre.org
Not mandatory, but it would be fantastic if you could:
- Like the Hunter Writers’ Centre on Facebook and/or Instagram
- Sign up to our newsletter.
- Share the Grieve Project through your social pages and networks. We appreciate it!
Our Sponsors
About the Grieve Project
The Grieve Project commenced in August 2013 during Grief Awareness Month as a local writing competition hosted by Hunter Writers’ Centre. It aimed to provide an outlet for individuals to explore the often-overlooked topics of grief and loss through the written word.
In Australian culture, grief is frequently brushed aside and left unacknowledged. The inception of the Grieve Project struck a chord within our community, inspiring people, whether they identified as writers or not, to attempt to articulate the ineffable, to give shape to complex emotions surrounding loss.
Following its impactful debut, the Grieve Project expanded its reach nationally, and from its modest beginnings in 2013, it has since grown into a nationally recognised initiative.
The Grieve Project extends you the opportunity to establish an In Memoriam Award as a tribute to your loved one or colleague. If your family member or colleague had a passion for writing, reading, or was involved in the arts or health sectors, this can be a meaningful way to honour their legacy.
