- The Award is made for an original unpublished work of fiction, young adult fiction or narrative nonfiction by a Western Australian author aged between 18 and 35.
- The Award is open to authors whose normal place of residence is Western Australia. If requested, proof of eligibility is the responsibility of the entrant. Where necessary, final arbitration will be at the sole discretion of the judges.
- Manuscripts by previously published authors may be submitted.
- Manuscripts of joint authorship may be submitted (with the prize money to be split equally between joint authors).
- Manuscripts that have been previously self-published may be submitted, but at the time of submission.
- Manuscripts should be at least 50,000 words and no more than 120,000 words.
- Manuscripts must be primarily in English.
- Manuscripts entered for other awards or under consideration elsewhere may not be submitted.
- Manuscripts entered must not be under submission or under contract or option to any other publisher. It is a condition of entry that Fremantle Press will have the right to acquire all rights and licences in any manuscript submitted to the competition.
- In entering the Award the writer warrants that:
(i) the entry is an original work, which has not been published or made available in any form anywhere throughout the world [excepting in the case of self-publication, in which case details of publication and sales history are required at time of submission]
(ii) it in no way whatever infringes any existing copyright or licence or any other right of any person
(iii) it contains no defamatory matter, or any matter which invades any individual’s rights of privacy
(iv) all statements in the work purporting to be facts are true. - Manuscripts must be submitted by the author. Manuscripts submitted by or represented by an agent will not be accepted.
- Manuscripts will only be accepted in electronic form via Submittable as a Word document or PDF to a maximum of 5 MB. No images may be included in the manuscript, which should be in 12 point, Times New Roman, Minion Pro or Calibri, with 1.5 spacing.
- There is no entry fee.
- Manuscripts that have been previously rejected by Fremantle Press are not eligible for entry unless such submissions have been significantly revised.
- The judges reserve the right to exclude from consideration any entry that does not comply with Award conditions.
- The judges will not be required to make an award if they do not consider the entries to be of sufficient standard.
- The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into concerning their decision.
- The judging panel will be comprised of Fremantle Press publishers and one guest judge. Lobbying of the judges by an author will result in that author’s disqualification.
- The winner of the 2025 Award will be announced in May or June 2025. Winners are not notified in advance.
- The winning entry will be published by Fremantle Press under the terms of our standard publishing agreement.
- The cash prize of $20,000 is payable upon the signing of a contract with Fremantle Press to publish the winning manuscript.
- In entering the Award you agree to allow your name, submitted biography and image to be used in marketing and publicity materials associated with the Award. If you are shortlisted or win, you agree to participate in media interviews and award publicity.
- The opening date for entries will be March 2025 and the closing date will be in April 2025.
- Receipt of entry will be acknowledged automatically by email.
- Entrants are responsible for reading the terms and conditions thoroughly to ensure they are eligible to enter.
- These terms and conditions are subject to change and will only be deemed final upon the Award opening for entries in March 2025.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please direct all other enquiries to admin@fremantlepress.com.au or 9430 6331.