Entries for the 2026 Peter Cowan 600 Word Short Story Competition are NOW OPEN!

Stories may be of any theme, narrative structure, or genre but they MUST be 600 words or less. Poetry is not accepted. You may enter as many times as you wish.

CATEGORIES:

Open – all ages, all abilities, all styles. $12.00

Novice – your writing has never won, placed, or been published before. $12.00

Seniors (60+). $12.00

Youth (12- 17) . $7.00

+ small Humanitix ticketing fee.

Please note: 1 ticket purchased, allows one entry. If you wish to enter multiple stories, please purchase 1 ticket per story.

Please note: 1 story may only be submitted to one category. If you wish to enter multiple categories, please submit multiple stories.

Please read the following information carefully in order to ensure your story will be considered:

STORY FORMATTING:

Our competition is a ‘blind’ judging. Author names that appear on any part of their story will be disqualified.
Use Times Roman 12-point font.
Text must be double spaced.
Indent the first line of each paragraph – but not the first paragraph - and remove the space between paragraphs. See Short Story Competition — pcwc.org.au for examples.
Send each story/entry as a separate Word document or PDF to admin@pcwc.org.au
Make sure your story has the story title on the first page followed by your story.
600 words maximum. Stories 601 words or more will be disqualified.
Story title is not included in the word count.

Failure to follow these formatting guidelines will result in your submission being disregarded.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Once you have paid the entry fee through Humanitix, email your story/stories to admin@pcwc.org.au Remember to add your story title/s on Humanitix as this information creates our story register.
Include your name, the title of the story/stories and the category you have entered in the body of your email so you can be matched to our story register. You can put different stories into different categories but only one story can go into any one category. For example, do not enter the same story in both the Senior and Open category. If you do only one category will be selected for your work.
PCWC follows Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property protocols. Please provide the text you would like to use if identifying as a first nations writer, or if you have permission/have collaborated with First Nations peoples on their stories. Further information can be sourced here Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts - Creative Australia
In the subject heading of your email type PC600SS 2026.
Once you submit your story, you will receive an acknowledgement within 4-5 business days that your submission has been received.
We aim for judging to be completed by the end of July.
Stories that place are published in our e-magazine. Commended stories are mentioned but not published to give you a chance to enter into other competitions. Entry in the competition is taken as permission given to publish.
We are all volunteers so thank you for your patience if we don’t manage to get to your query quickly. Queries to: admin@pcwc.org.au

Our competition judge is not revealed until the e-magazine comes out. All entrants will receive a copy of the winning entries and the judges report. See Short Story Competition — pcwc.org.au for past formats.

COMPETITION RULES: Please ensure that your story:

Has never been published (print, blogs, and internet).
Has not won or been acknowledged in any other competitions (awarded certificates or prizes).
Is not longlisted/shortlisted for a competition or publication. If so, please let us know so we can withdraw that entry from the competition.
Is completely your own work and must not have any copyright infringements.
Is 600 words or less.

If you have never won a competition or been awarded a certificate in a competition, or have never been published, you are eligible for the Novice Award.

About the Competition: The Peter Cowan 600 Word Short Story Competition was launched by PCWC in 2010 in honour of our namesake Peter Cowan (1914–2002), one of Western Australia’s most esteemed writers and academics. It is fitting that the competition celebrates short story writing as Peter published several volumes of short fiction and is well known for writing in this genre. The recipient of several major writing awards, Peter was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1987. He was named a Western Australian State Living Treasure in 1999.

Best of luck, and happy writing! We look forward to reading your stories.

Contact the host of Peter Cowan 600 Word Short Story Competition 2026