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Talus Prize

The School of Arts and Humanities’ creative writing prize, the Talus, is open to enrolled ECU undergraduate students across all campuses from any discipline.

The Talus Prize gives students the chance to explore their creativity and express themselves through poetry or short fiction. Prizes are awarded to the most outstanding works in two categories, ‘Short Stories’ and ‘Poetry’.

The Talus was established in 1972 by our School writing staff, led by Professor Glen Phillips who continues to support the prize today. You can read about the history of the Talus Prize.

For creative writing students, it is often their first experience entering a writing competition. It is valuable preparation for life as a writer who presents work of publishable standard, following industry guidelines and strict deadlines. Students of all disciplines and skill levels can enter and could win.

Students may submit a maximum of two entries per category:

  • Short Stories – maximum of 600 words per entry
  • Poetry – maximum of 20 lines per entry

Three prizes are awarded in each category:

First Prize

  • Opportunity to work with Westerly editors for publication on their website,
  • One-year subscription to Westerly,
  • Book prize pack donated by Fremantle Press, and
  • Book prize donated by Night Parrot Press.

Highly Commended

  • One-year membership to Peter Cowan Writers' Centre (PCWC),
  • PCWC workshop voucher,
  • Book prize pack donated by Fremantle Press, and
  • Book prize donated by Night Parrot Press.

Commended

  • Book prize donated by Fremantle Press, and
  • Book prize donated by Night Parrot Press.

Submissions open

5 September, 2023

Submissions close

13 November, 2023

Submission guidelines

All entries must follow these strict submission guidelines, otherwise they will not be eligible for the prize:

  • You must be a currently enrolled ECU undergraduate student to enter.
  • Your works must be original and unpublished. They will not have received an award in any other competition prior.
  • You can submit a maximum of two entries per category only.
  • All entries must be typed and double-spaced. All pages must be numbered and the title of your work must appear on each page.
  • To ensure anonymity your name must not appear anywhere on your work.

Manuscripts will be destroyed after the competition, so please keep a copy.

Submissions for this year's Talus Prize have now closed.

Judges of the Talus Prize are drawn from the WA writing community. Results will be announced in November and prizes will be awarded at the School’s annual Student Prize Ceremony in March of the following year and will be posted on the School of Arts and Humanities’ website.

The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence shall be entered into.


Contact

Questions should be directed to talusprize@ecu.edu.au

Sponsors

The School of Arts and Humanities greatly appreciates the support of the following sponsors:

Talus Prize Sponsor FreoPress
Talus Prize sponsor Peter Cowan Writers Centre
Talus Prize sponsor Westerly
Talus Prize sponsor Night Parrot Press
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