Terms and Conditions

By entering a piece in the Grieve Writing Competition, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions.

1. Entries close 8pm AEST Monday 30th May
2. The word limit is 500 maximum for prose pieces, 36 lines for poetry. This includes titles and any sub-headings. There is no minimum numbers of words.
3. You do not have to be a member of Hunter Writers Centre to enter the competition. It is open to all Australians living here or abroad. 
4. We are hoping to open the competition to New Zealand. Please stay tuned.
5. Your story must not include your name or any identifying marks. This means any word that the judges can link directly to you. Names of places and/or first names of people are, generally, acceptable. Be sure there are no words that identify you as the author. All entries are judged without judges knowing author names.
6. Stories or poems about suicide will be judged with audience impact in mind. Hunter Writers Centre adopts Mindframe’s guidelines. *See below for more information.
7. Eligible entries using or referring to Aboriginal content must be in accordance with the Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their heritage (ICIP) guidelines and to the Aboriginal protocols of the region where they have been produced. If your piece includes the lived experience of minority subjectivities we may contact you to clarify this out of respect for cultural safety.
8. Entry is online only. Attach your story as a .pdf or .doc file via the entry form.
9. Entries must be the original work of the applicant and must not be published in any form (print or electronic) or currently offered for publication.
10. You must acknowledge any quotes from other writers that you use.
11. All authors must provide their own name on the entry form for administrative purposes. If you would prefer your story to be published under a pseudonym, please note it on the entry form.
12. There is no limit to number of entries. A separate entry form and separate entry fee must accompany each entry. Fee is $16.50 which includes $1.50 GST.
13. Staff of Hunter Writers Centre and their family members are not eligible to enter the Grieve Writing Competition.
14. Entrants must be aged over 18 years.
15. The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into with either the judges, the staff or the board of Hunter Writers Centre or the project sponsors.
16. By entering the Grieve Writing Competition, the author gives permission to Hunter Writers Centre to publish your work in the anthology if selected by the judges. The copyright to the work is always retained by the author. As publisher of the anthology, Hunter Writers Centre will have First Publication Rights to all submitted works and may use any title or phrase from any entry for the purpose of promoting the competition and the anthology. Any collection or publication subsequent to the Grieve Writing Competition that includes the author’s story should acknowledge Hunter Writers Centre.
17. Prize winners may be required to participate in media-related events associated with the competition.
18. By supplying your contact details you agree to us sending you opt-out correspondence.
19. Once the competition closes, all submissions and payments will be crosschecked. We will only contact you if your payment was not successful or uploading your work was not successful.
20. If selected to be published in the anthology, your work may, at the discretion of Hunter Writers Centre, be converted to U.S. English and the anthology may be published in both U.S. and Australian English.

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* Mindframe is a sponsor of the Grieve project. Mindframe supports safe media reporting, portrayal and communication about suicide, mental ill-health, alcohol and other drugs. Their guidelines for portrayal of suicide in TV, film and theatre can apply to written stories and poems. We highlight the following from their guidelines:

Audience Impact: The portrayal of suicide in television, film and theatre . . . has increased over time, with depictions of the act of suicide becoming lengthier, more graphic and more sensationalised

. . . Evidence suggests that the dramatic portrayal of suicide can have an impact on vulnerable audiences . . . increasing the possibility of “copycat” suicides. Preferred portrayals of suicide do not glorify or romanticise it and do not provide . . . details of or . . . references to the exact method or location. Rather, more appropriate portrayals depict the consequences for others and provides sources of help for vulnerable viewers.
Here is a link to complete guidelines document