The Hope Prize 2026 – Global Short Story Competition
In short
- Who can apply
- Authors over 18 years of age from all over the world, with unpublished text in English.
- What you get
- First Prize 10,000 AUD, Second Prize 2000 AUD, Third Prize 1000 AUD, possible anthology release.
- Deadline
- 31 October 2026
Summarized automatically with KI – read the call
The Hope Prize is a global short story competition open to authors over 18 years old from around the world, with no geographical restrictions. The competition calls for fiction or creative nonfiction stories (including memoirs) of up to 5,000 words exploring themes of hope, courage, or resilience, written in English.
The total prize pool is 13,000 AUD, divided among first prize (10,000 AUD, funded by Readings Books and Simon & Schuster Australia), second prize (2,000 AUD), and third prize (1,000 AUD). Winning entries and a selection of honorably mentioned entries will be included in an anthology published by Simon & Schuster Australia.
Submissions opened June 1, 2026, with an early deadline of July 31, 2026 and final deadline of October 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM AEDT (Australian daylight time). The competition only accepts previously unpublished texts.
- Who can apply: Authors 18 years and older, with no geographical restrictions
- Field of culture: Literature
- Economy: First prize 10,000 AUD, second prize 2,000 AUD, third prize 1,000 AUD
- Application deadline: 31.10.2026
- Place: Global/digital submission, Australia (publication)
- Organizer: The Hope Prize (in partnership with Simon & Schuster Australia and Readings Books)
To apply for this job please visit https://www.thehopeprize.com/guidelines.