EMERGING WRITERS' COMPETITION

SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition finalist lands book deal with Hardie Grant

After years of trying to find a home for her story, Jackie Bailey's debut manuscript 'The Eulogy' has been acquired by Hardie Grant Books.
FAMILY

In lockdown, I learnt to make peace with not having a second child

It is a unique sort of agony when your body gives you one child but not another.
CULTURE

The Zimbabwean corner store that's my family's safe haven

If recent times have taught us anything, it's the importance of family-run stores and the support they provide to families like ours.
CULTURE

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle top Time's 100 list

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex topped Time's Most Influential 100 list for creating "essential conversations on topics from mental health to misinformation."
PARENTING

Lost for Words: "I would love to be able to read a book to my kids and not struggle"

"They think that because you can't read and write, you can't do certain things."
CULTURE

The Filipino traditions that connect me to my Greek roots

In digging deeper and finding out more about the meaning behind each tradition, it made me feel a kinship with my new family.
CULTURE

AOC and Billie Eilish among the celebrities calling for change at the Met Gala

A number of celebrities and high-profile guests used their outfits to make bold statements.
Listen to The New Writer's Room

Thinking of entering the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition? Consider this your cheat sheet. The New Writer's Room is a podcast from SBS Voices that explores the art of memoir writing. Each week, co-hosts Caitlin Chang and Candice Chung will speak to writers and authors all about storytelling, and hopefully inspire you to get writing.

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The SBS Emerging Writers' Competition Winner 2020
Alana Hicks tells us about her winning entry for the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition 2020 and what writing the story meant to her.
  • Produced by SBS Voices

Emerging Writers' Competition

SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

SBS wants to hear your story...because there's a writer in all of us. 

Entries are open from August 16-September 16 2021. 

 

8 Sep 2021

Enter the Emerging Writers' Competition

Entries are now open for the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition. Submit your story before 16 September 2021.
SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Tara June Winch: Good writing means becoming an expert on the human heart

"It's a lifelong job, but we're all experts on the human heart. That's the point of our lives - to understand and be understood."
SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Behrouz Boochani: "I didn't want to become a writer. It was a process of becoming"

This year, Behrouz Boochani is judging the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition alongside his friend, Wiradjuri writer Tara June Winch.
Essential reading

New anthology showcases the best of the 2020 SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

SBS is proud to announce the release of 'Roots: Home is Who We Are' in partnership with publisher Hardie Grant.
Frequently Asked Questions

SBS Emerging Writers' Competition FAQs

Here's everything you need to know about the 2021 SBS Emerging Writers' Competition
Competition podcast

Introducing SBS Voices' new podcast: 'The New Writer's Room'

Thinking of entering the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition? Consider this your cheat sheet.
How to enter

How to enter the 2021 SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Your memoir piece may be poignant, humorous or a mix of both. The important thing is that it’s your story, and no one else's.

More dispatches from Voices

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EMERGING WRITERS' COMPETITION

SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition finalist lands book deal with Hardie Grant

After years of trying to find a home for her story, Jackie Bailey's debut manuscript 'The Eulogy' has been acquired by Hardie Grant Books.
When Jackie Bailey got the call to say that she had secured a book deal, she was standing on the beach near her home in Wollongong watching her daughter play. "I was in shock...I was really excited, it just felt like my head was going to e...
CULTURE

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle top Time's 100 list

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex topped Time's Most Influential 100 list for creating "essential conversations on topics from mental health to misinformation."
Confirming that their influence knows no bounds, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2021. To commemorate the honour, the couple appeared for the firs...
FAMILY

In lockdown, I learnt to make peace with not having a second child

It is a unique sort of agony when your body gives you one child but not another.
At the mall some months ago, I saw this woman rushing to Target. She had four children. Two sullen teenagers, one jumpy primary school kid, all in their uniforms. And one in the baby carrier. Instead of wondering how she was managing, I fe...
15 Sep 2021

Strong Female Lead

An exploration of the gender politics during Julia Gillard's term as Australia's first female prime minister, including the response and tone from media commentators, the Australian public, and within parliament itself.
CULTURE

AOC and Billie Eilish among the celebrities calling for change at the Met Gala

A number of celebrities and high-profile guests used their outfits to make bold statements.
Hollywood A-listers and a star-studded guest list of celebrities have turned up in force for the fashion highlight of the year; the Met Gala. The event hosted by Vogue marks the opening of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual C...
Book giveaway

Terms and Conditions: Roots book giveaway

Roots SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition book giveaway: Competition Terms and Conditions.
Roots SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition book giveaway Game of Chance Competition Terms and Conditions ALL LOTTERIES AND GAMES OF CHANCE - TERMS & CONDITIONS OF ENTRY METHOD OF ENTRY 1.    Information on how to enter and prizes form ...
14 Sep 2021 - 1:32pm

Win a copy of Roots Home is Who We Are: Voices from the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition

SBS Voices and Hardie Grant are giving you the chance to win one of 25 copies of the book Roots - Home is Who We Are: Voices from the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition
Roots brings us thirty of the best short memoirs chosen from more than 2000 entries in the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Offering a snapshot of contemporary Australia, this diverse collection of stories explores love, family...
PARENTING

Lost for Words: "I would love to be able to read a book to my kids and not struggle"

"They think that because you can't read and write, you can't do certain things."
"School was a nightmare." Makere, a 35-year-old mother of two, is speaking to SBS Voices about her lifelong struggle with reading and writing. She is one of a group of eight adults featured in new SBS series, Lost for Words. The three-part...
RELATIONSHIPS

I don't want kids, but I didn't realise what that would mean when I fell in love

Frankly, the basic requirement of having to love, care for and raise a baby up to be a good human being is terrifying to me.
Content warning: covers themes of body image. As a young girl and later as a teenager, I would fantasise about having a family of my own one day. A true love, babies and a white picket fence; it was all part of the plan for my life. I have...
CULTURE

The Zimbabwean corner store that's my family's safe haven

If recent times have taught us anything, it's the importance of family-run stores and the support they provide to families like ours.
My five-year-old son shouts out in the middle of our local corner store, clutching a bottle of hair conditioner in his hands. "Look mum, Africans!" The whole place went silent for a moment before the owner, known affectionately as Uncle, b...