The Spiers Prize

A project of UWA Publishing (see other related projects).

About

The Spiers prize is a national unpublished children's fiction manuscript named after Australian primary school teacher and philanthropist Gail Spiers, run by UWA Publishing.
The Prize is made possible through a generous endowment from Gail Spiers to UWA Publishing. The Prize runs as an annual award open to Australian writers of middle grade and young adult fiction.
Gail Spiers became enamoured with children’s literature during her studies in Reading Education as a mature age student. Thereafter, the promotion of quality Australian children’s literature and their creators became the focus of her career as a primary school teacher and her life, as a decades-long volunteer with the Children’s Book Council of Australia WA Branch. UWA Publishing is proud to have established The Spiers Prize in honour of Gail Spiers’ support and love for children’s fiction.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions.
The fee is AUD $25 (average for contests).

Limited Demographic: Submissions are restricted to Australians.

Country of Publication

Australia

Publication Media & Contest Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Awarded 1 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication: Awarded 1 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Fiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 May 2027* (approx. 227 days from now) through 31 May 2027.

Audience:

Middle grades, Young adults.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Novella: 25,000 - 40,000 words.
Novel: 40,000 - 80,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Winner's Prize:

Professional advance (US$2000 or more) + Unknown royalties Professional advance. Unknown royalties. Details: AUD $5,000 prize.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

No recent cover image available for The Spiers Prize

Go to contest webpage

Report:
Submission/Response
Correction/Update
New Cover Art

Social:
Facebook Facebook
Instagram @uwapublishing

Support this Publisher:
Buy Book(s)

For the Editor(s):
Request Interview
Duosuma Submission Manager
Link to Duotrope

The Spiers Prize Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

We have not received any submission reports for this listing in the past 12 months.

Your Submissions

This section is available to subscribers only. Join today!

The Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript

UWA Publishing

Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 31 May 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.