PARENTING

Books offer a healing retreat for youngsters caught up in a pandemic

Books can not only be a great escape during this challenging time, but also offer further well-being benefits.
Health

Lockdowns make people lonely. Here are 3 steps we can take now to help each other

With lockdowns and social restrictions likely to be a part of life in Australia until a significant majority of us are fully vaccinated, it’s timely to think...
HEALTH

Living with Tourette Syndrome: "It wasn't until four years ago that I actually felt like I could cope"

"Now I can finally say I’ve got true friends and I’m in love. I’ve waited so long for that."
CULTURE

Beyoncé gives rare interview as she's about to turn 40

“I wanted to break all of the stereotypes of the Black superstar, whether falling victim to drugs or alcohol or the absurd misconception that Black women were...
SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Writing about the one thing you want most

For me, the most important thing has always been validating my own hunger and desire - be it for food, sex, intellectual stimulation or love. There is never ...
11 Aug 2021

Register to enter the Emerging Writers' Competition

Sign up now and we will alert you when the competition is open to receive entries.
Tara June Winch

Meet the judges of the 2021 SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

We are thrilled to announce our EWC judges for 2021, Tara June Winch and Behrouz Boochani. Two amazing writers who are passionate about elevating the voices of...
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.

Subscribe now
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Emerging Writers Competition 2021 30
  • 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. 

 

11 Aug 2021

Register to enter the Emerging Writers' Competition

Sign up now and we will alert you when the competition is open to receive entries.
Tara June Winch

Meet the judges of the 2021 SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

We are thrilled to announce our EWC judges for 2021, Tara June Winch and Behrouz Boochani. Two amazing writers who are passionate about elevating the voices of...
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
Announcement

The SBS Emerging Writers' Competition returns for 2021

The competition aims to uncover bold new voices that reflect the diversity of contemporary Australia by inviting aspiring writers to share their stories and have...
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.

Read the winning entries from 2020

Of more than 2000 entries submitted to the inaugural Emerging Writers' Competition these are the top four prizewinning stories, as judged by Melissa Lucashenko and Benjamin Law. 

www.sbs.com.au/writers

First Prize entry

The Australia of my youth was not diverse. It was medium-beige

SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition Winner: Alana Hicks.
Second Prize entry

Schism

How it feels to be a First Nations person inside a colonial education system
Highly Commended

The red plastic chair is a Vietnamese cultural institution, and my anchor

Emerging Writers’ Competition Highly Commended: Amy Duong.
Highly Commended

As a migrant kid I was obsessed with talkback radio kings like Alan Jones

Emerging Writers’ Competition Highly Commended: Nakul Legha.
Emerging Writers' Competition

Meet the winners of the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Four winners have been chosen from thousands of entries into the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers' Competition. Read more about their writing journey and what...

NAIDOC WEEK

Six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives share their reflections on the theme ‘Heal Country’. 

Curated and edited by Mununjali author Ellen Van Neerven. Series illustrated by Tori-Jay Mordey. 

NAIDOC 2021

Language and Country - the saltwater and the land - felt healing to me

I want to play my part in healing and protecting the islands of my people and our culture.
NAIDOC 2021

Our Countries cannot heal until their names are given back

When you change something from a living subject of conversation constantly in dialogue with their surrounds – the animate landscape and their children, the people...
NAIDOC

It’s time to look after this land instead of destroying it

18-year-old First Nations singer-songwriter Tilly Tjala Thomas from Adelaide reflects on how writing songs in language can heal and protect Country for future...
NAIDOC 2021

Country is our healing and we all benefit from living on land that is well-cared for

Ellen van Neerven is the editor of SBS Voices’ NAIDOC Week essay collection, inspired by the 2021 NAIDOC theme 'Heal Country'.
NAIDOC 2021

How are we going to heal a country that's broken?

The Native Black Bean Tree is known as boogem in Bundjalung, which is also a word used for 'love', that's how significant they are. We all need to think of trees...
NAIDOC 2021

This land is us. When it burns we burn

Country speaks. And Country that is not getting the care it needs will cry out for that care.
NAIDOC WEEK

Tori-Jay Mordey's art connects her to culture and Country

Artist Tori-Jay Mordey knows that creating art is about far more than just her own connection to Country.

First Nations Writers' Collection

A collection of some of the best entries by First Nations writers from the 2020 SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition.

First Nations writers' collection

After years of struggling I now embrace my curly hair

My original crazy ringlet Afro was me. Handed down to me by the most beautiful brown woman - my mum - a gift from our ancestors
First Nations Writers' collection

Learning to love myself and live in yindyamarra

As First Nations people there is a constant comfort in knowing you are not alone in this world. Wherever you go the spirits are there to protect, and to nourish.
First Nations Writers' collection

I was a boy in a state ward missing my mum and dreaming of Farah Fawcett

Beside Mother Superior stood a small skinny dark-skinned woman dressed in a white dress with red shoes. As she stood there, I noticed she began to cry: "This is...
First Nations Writers' collection

I'll never forget my friend Blue Butterfly

You’ve given me the strength to grow my own wings, I miss you girl.
First Nations Writers' collection

Affirmations for my grand-daughter: ‘I am black. I am beautiful. I am a leader’

My daughter was around the same tender age as her own daughter when the name calling began.
First Nations Writers' collection

Following the legacy of the strong black women before me

I don’t fit the picture of what people expect an Aboriginal person to look like. I am what is known as milky tea. I am often asked the question “how Aboriginal...

Culture & Society

Your stories. Your words.

Would you like to write for SBS Voices? Send us an email at voices@sbs.com.au 

CULTURE

Beyoncé gives rare interview as she's about to turn 40

“I wanted to break all of the stereotypes of the Black superstar, whether falling victim to drugs or alcohol or the absurd misconception that Black women were angry."
SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Writing about the one thing you want most

For me, the most important thing has always been validating my own hunger and desire - be it for food, sex, intellectual stimulation or love. There is never ...
CULTURE

Rihanna shows us why she's the biggest boss in beauty and entertainment

Through the help of her beauty brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie label Savage X Fenty, Rihanna is now the world's richest female musician.
COMMUNITY

Our 'virtual neighbourhood watch' means more to me than ever

In this one year, I’ve created more street memories, more roots and more connections than in the whole six years I’ve lived at this address.
CULTURE

Female athletes are making a stand at the Tokyo Olympics

In the first Olympics that have taken place since the #MeToo movement, this is the year for female athletes to push back against the way things have always been...
GRIEF

Holding a proper send-off for my miscarried child


With miscarriage, there are no rituals to help us find our way through grief, no social gestures to support the sufferer, and no language to honour the child that...
CULTURE

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan shows it's ok to ask people to pronounce our names correctly

"I love when people respectfully ask me how to say my name. It shows me they actually care."

Health

 

Beyond studies and research, we examine how our health impacts the rest of our lives.  

More
Health

Lockdowns make people lonely. Here are 3 steps we can take now to help each other

With lockdowns and social restrictions likely to be a part of life in Australia until a significant majority of us are fully vaccinated, it’s timely to think about...
HEALTH

Living with Tourette Syndrome: "It wasn't until four years ago that I actually felt like I could cope"

"Now I can finally say I’ve got true friends and I’m in love. I’ve waited so long for that."
MENTAL HEALTH

Having an immigrant therapist saved my life

I see the same therapist as I did back in 2014, herself a child of immigrants and who has always acknowledged how my cultural identity augments my experience of...
HEALTH

Losing my sight taught me the beauty of ‘nothing days’

The months during which my left eye remained blind, while filled with unspeakable worries, also served as a crash course in mindfulness.
HEALTH

I want to be able to afford an agony-free life

"PMDD is an intense overwhelm from everyday stimuli. Hearing a lawnmower across the street will build so much tension in my body that it feels like it’s attacking...
CULTURE

Turning 30 when you didn't think you'd make it

The teen smoking alley mantra of ‘live fast, die young’ felt far more manageable than the logistical nightmare of navigating a long and healthy life, writes...
FAMILY

I found a way to send an ‘occupied’ signal to my family

Remarkably, things changed with this mask. Putting it on seemed to block out the world and act as a physical manifestation of my unavailability.
More

Family

Parenting for modern families: new rules for a new age.

More
PARENTING

Books offer a healing retreat for youngsters caught up in a pandemic

Books can not only be a great escape during this challenging time, but also offer further well-being benefits.
PARENTING

Being made redundant has turned me into a better dad

Being an unemployed man at home with his kids cuts against the cultural grain of this country, even though there are tens of thousands of fathers in this position.
CULTURE

I garden like my nonnos to stay close to them

We inherit so much from our families. But with time and displacement, disease and death, so much can be lost.
FAMILY

How I forgave my father after he sued me

"When my dad sued me in the Supreme Court over the estate of his late sister, my dear Aunt Theresa, I did go grey almost instantly. The stress was intense, and I...
FAMILY

I’m grateful for the 24-hours I had with my Greek grandfather

While that experience was short, it gave me back a sense of who I was.
CULTURE

My Malay-Indian kids help me get closer to my roots

I am no less Malay, even though I grew up in Sydney. My husband is no less Indian, even if he doesn’t speak much Tamil.
FAMILY

I’m teaching my daughter to take up space in the world

I was brought up in a culture where perpetual self-sacrifice and emotional martyrdom were the badges of honour ‘good’ women and ‘good’ daughters were supposed to...
More

Relationships

Let's talk about it all: from love and dating to divorce and estrangement (and everything in between).

More
Book extract

Every girl at school had a boyfriend. I was determined to get one too

"The week I decided I would make Max like me, he got the flu."
RELATIONSHIPS

The thrill of a small wedding when you came from a large family

I'm a florist, but I didn't have flowers at my wedding. I had my bridal bouquet and Andrew had his buttonhole.
RELATIONSHIPS

Migrating for love when the world is closed

Earlier in the year we had decided that our lives were better with each other in them, and that we would cross oceans permanently to keep it that way.
RELATIONSHIPS

The One: Could DNA help you find a soulmate?

Companies such as Canada’s DNA Romance and Instant Chemistry already claim to help people find love and sexual compatibility through DNA tests.
CULTURE

My complex relationship with being alone

I’ve become a strong independent woman. I have travelled to the US, Australia, all over Asia, Argentina, and Spain all by myself. I never really minded the...
RELATIONSHIPS

Being single for 12 years ended up shaping my adult identity

Without realising it, that lonely decade became a slow reclamation. Free of obligation to anyone but myself.
FAMILY

Can you fix a family rift?

When Harry and Meghan revealed to Oprah Winfrey the emotional details of their break with the royal family, they were telling a tale as old as time, says...
More

Sweatshop Collective

A partnership with Western Sydney writers’ collective Sweatshop, now in its second year, showcases stories from diverse perspectives. 

 

MENTAL HEALTH

How the lockdown in South-West Sydney is impacting my family

Police and in particular the military have always made my relatives feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.
LANGUAGE

Learning Chinese as an adult helped me understand why Mum didn't learn English

My year traipsing around France mis-conjugating verbs had come at the cost of Mum being able to confidently make a phone call to Centrelink without an interpreter.
CULTURE

The MSG myth: my 'clean eating' obsession alienated me from my community

In my early 20s I became obsessed with Instagram and YouTube’s clean-eating content. No eight-abbed, shiny-haired, detox-tea-drinking influencer put MSG in the ...
CULTURE

Hijab Days: Moving through the world as a Muslim woman

‘Well, you’d have done a lot of good for the women in your community just by turning up,’ she says, nodding at my hijab. My throat stiffens at her words.
CULTURE

Why I always make sure I keep my receipts

‘Did you buy those other items here?’ I snatch the receipt from my bra pocket, hold it in the air for two seconds and keep moving. I got receipts.
CULTURE

Growing up mixed race, I tried to white-out my brownness

‘You are blessed to have your father’s surname,’ my grandmother would say in Ilocano, my mother tongue. To have a thin nose, his height. To have dimples and...
Identity

Is Disney what we need in the face of anti-Asian violence?

The representation in 'Raya and the Last Dragon' is far from perfect, yet, I cried when Raya calls her father, “Ba".

Pride

Celebrating the diversity of the LGBTIQ+ community in Australia.

Follow SBS Pride on Facebook. 

Do you have a story to share? Email us at voices@sbs.com.au

PRIDE

As a non-binary fashion lover, farewelling my old dresses was hard

When looking at my clothes and leaning into the discomfort, I recognise that it’s not because of frivolity or vanity. My reckoning isn’t with rows of fabric, but...
RELATIONSHIPS

I came out as pansexual in a straight-passing relationship


At 37, I felt I have finally found a term I identify with, that most fits my sexual identity.
MEMOIR

Trans author Kaya Wilson on his memoir of the body

“I wanted [the book] to be feminist. It’s complicated with a trans perspective. I didn’t want to silence the female voice," Wilson tells writer Ellen van Neerven.
CULTURE

The Mandala commune helped me embrace growing up gay in a small town

Finding out about Mandala has changed my perspective on growing up gay in a regional town and what it means to have a history of queer radical allies paving the...
QUEER WRITERS

Dancing bharatanatyam helped me come to terms with being gay

The life of a teenager, especially a closeted one, is filled with confusion – dance was one thing that always made sense.
QUEER WRITERS

I tried to be a 'homie', but I just wanted to listen to Britney

"I was black. I was gay. I was living in bloody Adelaide!"
MARDI GRAS

I was an Anglican priest, transitioning was like being released from prison

"Transitioning has enabled me to be open to (unconditional love). God loves me just as I am. This is how he created me."

Emerging Asian-Australian Writers

Read stories about love, sexuality, family and mental health by up and coming Asian-Australian voices, in an essay series edited by Candice Chung. 

MENTAL HEALTH

Having an immigrant therapist saved my life

I see the same therapist as I did back in 2014, herself a child of immigrants and who has always acknowledged how my cultural identity augments my experience of...
FAMILY

My father’s garden taught me to slow down and connect

Slowly, I learnt to appreciate the rhythm of my father’s garden. I learnt to appreciate his patience and the growing of food as an act of love and generosity.
Family

How the library helped me get to know my father

The library gave Dad and me a safe space to exist outside our roles at home. I learnt about Dad’s tastes in films and books. I also learnt he likes to take his...
CULTURE

How my name taught me to take pride in my non-binary body

For many trans people, changing their name is an important part of embodying identity. But what if your name also carries your cultural heritage?
CULTURE

I’m living the reverse migrant dream

It is a powerful feeling to not only buck the trend, but to undo any prejudice or expectation that I should follow suit in a traditional career path.
RELATIONSHIPS

Five-hour-long video chats are my new social life

Everything is on the table during our catch ups: Who is having sex whilst working from home? How is everyone coping with their kids? Who might be losing their job?
CULTURE

Introducing my Australian husband to the Filipino concept of family

To Filipinos, the family tree is always filled with a few extra branches - and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Emerging Muslim women writers

Highlights from some of the most exciting emerging Muslim Australian writers.  

RACE

I'm proud to be an Indigenous Muslim woman descended from the cameleers

For me it starts, with being unapologetically proud of being a Pakistani-Muslim Indigenous woman. It starts by sharing our stories and celebrating who we are.
TRAVEL

Being an Australian traveller in the age of the coronavirus

A stranger on the train tells me to stop touching my face. ‘Did you wash your hands?’ becomes my new love language.
FAMILY

Why the silence around family estrangement hurts

For the longest time, I had struggled with deep feelings of guilt and shame for choosing not to have my father in my life.
SWIMMING

There are many ways to be an Aussie water baby, and this is mine

I missed out on the joy of swimming carnivals as a kid, but here is how I am now making up for lost time.
CULTURE

My parents’ refugee journey inspired me to become a doctor

Did you ever in your most outlandish dreams think you would make it to the land down under? I hope I can make you proud after all you have sacrificed for me.
REPRESENTATION

I never saw any Muslim characters on screen except as baddies

Growing up, I never saw anyone like me in the media or saw any (non-villainous) Muslim characters in TV shows or movies.
RACISM

We need to tackle anti-black racism in Muslim communities

Black Lives Matter is forcing important conversations about race. But what we won’t voice, is that we too, the non-black Muslim community, have absorbed anti...

Essential reads

These are our must-read stories.

CULTURE

I was a celebrity in the Philippines and a barista in Sydney

I arrived with my bags full of confidence. I saw myself as possessing unique skills and experiences that I couldn’t wait to put to use in my new country.
20 Jan 2020 - 4:29pm

The Gen X women who are happily divorced and won't be repartnering

Each woman had faith that an unknown future was better than the drudgery of the past - not one had regrets.
There's no place like home

How a decade as an expat destroyed my Australian dream

Australian expat Nicole Rodwell reflects on the 'reverse culture shock' of swapping London life for regional Victoria.
PARENTING

I tried not to blame myself for my son's screen habit

The hardest part was taking the iPad away from Rory. He screamed and begged for it every night.
MENTAL HEALTH

No one sends flowers for a broken brain

We shouldn’t underestimate how important it is for people with mental health struggles to be accepted and helped by those around them.
FAMILY

I went against the wishes of my conservative family to keep my baby

This whole process has made me a brave mum, a good wife and in some ways an awesome daughter. I’ve broken a pattern of self-denial.
First Nations Writers' collection

Following the legacy of the strong black women before me

I don’t fit the picture of what people expect an Aboriginal person to look like. I am what is known as milky tea. I am often asked the question “how Aboriginal...

More dispatches from Voices

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PARENTING

Books offer a healing retreat for youngsters caught up in a pandemic

Books can not only be a great escape during this challenging time, but also offer further well-being benefits.
Parents at a loss to find activities for their children during COVID lockdowns can encourage them to escape into a book. New research shows how reading books can help young people escape from their sources of stress, find role models in ch...
Health

Lockdowns make people lonely. Here are 3 steps we can take now to help each other

With lockdowns and social restrictions likely to be a part of life in Australia until a significant majority of us are fully vaccinated, it’s timely to think about what we can do to look out for people who may be vulnerable.
Millions of Australians are currently living under lockdowns in an effort to curb the rapid spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. While lockdowns and other social distancing restrictions are important strategies to protect Australians’ ...
CULTURE

Beyoncé gives rare interview as she's about to turn 40

“I wanted to break all of the stereotypes of the Black superstar, whether falling victim to drugs or alcohol or the absurd misconception that Black women were angry."
Beyoncé, or Queen Bey as she’s known to fans around the world, doesn’t often speak to the media, but on the verge of turning 40, arguably the world’s most famous singer sat down for a chat with Harper’s Bazaar magazine. She spoke about the...
11 Aug 2021

Esio Trot

Retired bachelor Mr Hoppy is hopelessly in love with his neighbour Mrs Silver, but she is only interested in her pet tortoise Alfie, until Mr Hoppy hatches an audacious plan to win her love.
11 Aug 2021

The Fall

Starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, this psychological thriller forensically examines the lives of two hunters; one a ruthless serial killer and the other a high-powered detective superintendent brought in to catch him.
FAMILY

How I forgave my father after he sued me

"When my dad sued me in the Supreme Court over the estate of his late sister, my dear Aunt Theresa, I did go grey almost instantly. The stress was intense, and I felt my entire world collapse."
Journalist Mimi Kwa knew her father was a larger than life character. One of 32 children, he grew up in Hong Kong, the descendant of silk traders, before moving to Australia where Mimi was raised. What she never expected was that her fathe...
MENTAL HEALTH

How the lockdown in South-West Sydney is impacting my family

Police and in particular the military have always made my relatives feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.
On the 9th July 2021 my tía (aunt) messaged our family WhatsApp group to comment on how she was feeling. She mentioned that when she woke up for her daily morning walk, her heart began to race as she closed the front door behind her. The s...
HEALTH

Living with Tourette Syndrome: "It wasn't until four years ago that I actually felt like I could cope"

"Now I can finally say I’ve got true friends and I’m in love. I’ve waited so long for that."
Bianca Saez has a mission, and that is to spread positivity along with showing people the reality of what it is like to live with Tourette Syndrome. Saez appears in the SBS documentary series What Does Australia Really Think About. This se...
CULTURE

Rihanna shows us why she's the biggest boss in beauty and entertainment

Through the help of her beauty brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie label Savage X Fenty, Rihanna is now the world's richest female musician.
We’ve always loved the Queen Rihanna, or Riri as she’s also called, here at Voices. But now there’s reason to show her even more love as the queen has officially become a billionaire, making her the world's richest female musician. Though ...
4 Aug 2021

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

The story of the other 17 African-American athletes who competed with Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin who history has forgotten.