Competition Terms and Conditions 2026
The theme is ‘Under the Bridge.’ Any bridge. Use your imagination to interpret this theme any way you like.
Primary students in Year 1- 6 can enter stories of up to 200 words
High school students can enter stories of up to 500 words
Open section stories can be up to 2,500 words
Send us your story or poem by 11pm June 1st, 2026. Email it to cvshortstories@gmail.com
The shortlisted stories from each category will be edited and published in ‘Stories from the Clarence Valley 2026 – Under the Bridge.’ The book will be launched in early December, 2026.
Primary school students: Each story must include the author’s name, story title, word count, school year, school, and teacher’s name. Teachers, please email us the stories as separate word files. Home schoolers are welcome to enter.
High school students: Each story must include a cover page with the author’s name, story title, word count, school year, and school. Write the title on each page. Your name only goes on the cover page. Stories are judged blind. Home schoolers are welcome.
Open category: Each story (fiction or creative non-fiction) must include a cover page with the author’s name, the title of the story, word count, and the category (Open). Write the title on each page. Your name only goes on the cover page. Stories are judged blind.
The winner of the open category will receive a $100 cash prize. Winning high school and primary school students will be awarded book vouchers.
The author owns their story. In entering the competition, the author gives permission to The Long Way Home to lightly edit and publish their story – if shortlisted – in ‘Stories from the Clarence Valley 2026 – Under the Bridge’ under the author’s name.
The Long Way Home does not generate enough income to pay authors for published stories, but each author will receive free copy of the book. (We don’t pay ourselves either).
Frequently asked questions
Am I eligible to enter?
If you live in the Clarence Valley, or you have lived here in the past, you can enter. Students need to attend a school in the Clarence Valley, or be of school age and have an address in the Clarence Valley.
What are the judges looking for?
We are looking for well crafted, powerful, original stories that move us. We look for authentic voices – with a touchstone of your own culture, your own experience, enlivened by your own imagination.
Can I enter more than one story?
Yes. But make sure any story you send is the best it can be. Read it at least ten times, keep improving it, make every sentence work. Then send it.
Do I have to pay to enter?
No. Entry is free.
How will I find out if my story will be published?
If your story was selected to be published, we’ll contact you by email. The results will be posted on this website, and on Facebook. We expect judging to be complete in August.
How should I format my entry?
As a Word document.
First Nations writing
The Long Way Home has been proud to publish Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl writers in all our collections. If your piece is written in the voice of an Aboriginal person, or telling an Aboriginal story, are you Aboriginal? If not, leave it for Aboriginal people to tell their own stories. Use your own voice to tell your own story. The most powerful writing comes from our own voice and experience and identity.
The Long Way Home 