2023 Long Way Home writing competition open now

Terms and Conditions

The theme for 2023 is ‘Grow.’ Interpret it any way you like.

Primary students in Year 1- 6 can enter stories of up to 150 words

High school students can enter stories of up to 500 words

Open section stories can be up to 2,500 words

The closing date for entries is 11pm June 1st, 2023. Late entries will not be accepted.

The shortlisted stories from each category will be edited and published in ‘Stories from the Clarence Valley 2023 – Grow.’

Primary school students: Each story must include the author’s name, story title, word count, school year, school, teacher’s name, and the category (Primary). Home schoolers are welcome. Teachers, please email us stories attached as separate word files.

High school students: Each story must include a cover page with the author’s name, story title, word count, school year, school, teacher’s name, and the category (High School). Home schoolers are welcome. Make sure we have your email contact.  Write the title on each page. Your name only goes on the cover page.

Open category: Each story must include a cover page with the author’s name, the title of the story, word count, the category (Open). Write the title on each page. Your name only goes on the cover page.

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 the story. In entering the competition, the author gives permission to The Long Way Home to edit and publish the shortlisted stories in ‘Stories from the Clarence Valley 2023 – Grow’ 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).

Stories can be emailed to cvshortstories@gmail.com

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?

We’ll contact you by email. The results will also be posted on this website, and on Facebook. We expect judging to be complete by August.

How should I format my entry?

As a Word doc, using a plain, 12 pt font. Use double spaces between the lines. Please number the pages, and include the title on each page. If you need help to format your story, email us.

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 is committed to supporting First Nations writers and the authentic voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island storytelling. When judging stories we are guided by Australia Council’s Protocols for Producing Indigenous Australian Writing.

Out now!

We can’t wait to show you this remarkable book. Here’s an opportunity to meet everyone who helped create it, and to celebrate our talented writers.

You can pick up a copy on the night. Books will also be available at Grafton Book Warehouse, South Grafton News and Gifts, The Nook in Yamba, Coldstream Gallery in Ulmarra, Grafton Regional Gallery, and at markets in Grafton and Yamba in December.

Many thanks to Grafton Regional Gallery for hosting the launch. We appreciate the generous support of South Grafton Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank, First National Real Estate Yamba, Grafton Book Warehouse and Clarence Valley Council.

The verdict is in . . .

The Long Way Home writing competition – the verdict is in. We had a fabulous bunch of poignant, hopeful and quirky stories to read.

Maggie McDade wins the open section for her story ‘Neighbour.’ Grafton High School’s Nadia Smith wins the high school section. Aidan Menzies (also Grafton High) is highly commended. Jacquiline Diaz, who is home schooled, is highly commended. The winner of the primary school section is Evie Rae from Gulmarrad Public School. Highly commended for their stories are Oscar Woods from Grafton Public, Alyssa Dixon from Tucabia Public, and Locklen Baker from Harwood Public.

Congratulations to all! The stories, along with shortlisted stories, will be published in December in The Long Way Home’s new collection: Stories from the Clarence Valley 2022 – Let Go.

The Long Way Home is a community project, open to anyone with a connection to the Clarence Valley. We’re grateful for the generous support of South Grafton Community Bank, and also First National Real Estate Yamba. We thank Grafton Book Warehouse and Clarence Valley Council for their support.

Announcing the shortlist!

Thank you to everyone who wrote a story for the 2022 Long Way Home story competition. There were so many good stories and poems jostling for the shortlist, too many to fit into one book. There’s been a lot to write about. Dramatic times call for brave story-telling, and nothing can stop a writer.

These 65 shortlisted works will be published in Let Go – Stories from the Clarence Valley 2022, with the book going on sale in early December. The winners will be announced in September. Judges were Kathryn Goldie, Ilana Kaplin, Janelle Brown, Roweena Shakespeare, Jacqui Hinshaw and Claire Aman.

We take our hats off to everyone who wrote a story. To bring a short story from idea stage to deadline, takes imagination, effort and courage. We hope everyone keeps writing. We appreciate the South Grafton Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank for their generous support of this community project.

Here are the shortlisted authors:

Open category

Jan Booth, Letting Go of Joy

Jo Parry, Two Worlds

Karla Hubbard , The Rains

Loueen Winters, My Nephew

Maggie McDade, Neighbour

Meg Rowe, Ant

Sarah Rose-Cherry, Letters to Georgia

Stephanie Haines, Hold On

Zach Jones, Changing Tides

High school category

Aidan Menzies, Paddlin’ the Zambezi, Year 7, Grafton High School

Ada Hitchins Sage, Move On, Year 9, Home School

Brooke Chapman, Unreal, Year 9, McAuley Catholic College

Matilda Neal, Round One of the 2022 Floods, Year 10, Clarence Valley Anglican School

Elsie Stewart, Lockdown, Year 7, Grafton High School

Harmin Singh, Camping, Year 8, Grafton High School

Jacquiline Diaz, Let Go! Year 7, Home School

Lotte Pereira, Grief, Year 9, Grafton High School

Nadia Smith, Facing the Forest, Year 11, Grafton High School

Syian Thompson, The Slam of the Door, Year 10, Clarence Valley Anglican School

Primary school category

Alyssa Dixon, The Spider, Year K, Tucabia Public School

Alva Eastwood, Flooded Soil, Year 6, Grafton Public School

Ashton Rainbow, An Adventure, Year 2, Ulmarra Public School

Autumn Enns, The Flood, Year 5, St James’ Primary School, Yamba

Buddy Walker, Catching Bingiing, Year 6, Baryulgil Public School

Chainey Gosper, My Life So Far, Year 6, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton

Chloe Edwards, Let Go, Year 6, St James’ Primary School, Yamba

David McLean, Let It Go! Year 1, Baryulgil Public School

Dusty Ellem, Invisible, Year 1, Copmanhurst Public School

Ellie Denem, Let Go, Year 5, Ulmarra Public School

Ember McKittrick, Unicorn Mystery, Year 2, Copmanhurst Public School

Emily Archer, Gone Too Soon, Year 5, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton

Emmitt Caldwell, Petie, Year K, Cowper Public School

Evie Rae, The Tale of a Dandelion, Year 5, Gulmarrad Public School

Felicity Causley, Let Go, Year 6, Iluka Public School

Isobel Keane, The Memory, Year 5, Grafton Public School

Jaali Walker, Let Go, Year 3, Baryulgil Public School

Jamieson Allen, The Falls, Year 5, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton

Jonah Plummer, Let Go, Year 6, Iluka Public School

Joseph Hartley, Corn Crows, Year 6, Nymboida Public School

Kaden Burnside, Cutie The Elephant, Year 1, Tucabia Public School

Locklen Baker, Bob and the Megalodon Tooth, Year 2, Harwood Public School

Luke Sanna, My Dog, Year 2, Cowper Public School

Lyla Woodlock, Duchess, Year 3, Copmanhurst Public School

Mia Quelch, Learning to Let Go, Year 6, Pacific Valley Christian School

Noah Robinson, My Dog, Year K, Baryulgil Public School

Olive Pereira, When the Seasons Change, Year 6, Grafton Public School

Oscar Woods, First Day of School, Year 6, Grafton Public School

Pippa Brown, Two Hands on the Wheel, Year 5, South Grafton Public School

Pippi Short, Let Go, Year 5, St James’ Primary School, Yamba

Rhys Staples, Lacher Prise, Year 6, South Grafton Public School

Scott Halls, Let Go, Year 2, Cowper Public School

Stella Skeels, The Forest Shadows, Year 6, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton

Willow Seivers, The Sandon River Bay, Year 5, St James’ Primary School, Yamba

Zoe Cameron, The Eagle Soars, Year 6, South Grafton Public School

Zoe Commerford, Free Fall, Year 5, Westlawn Public School

The Long Way Home Writing Competition 2022 is now closed. Watch this space in early August to see the list of stories we’ll publish this year.

The judges are Kathryn Goldie & Claire Aman (open section), Ilana Kaplin & Jacqui Hinshaw (high school section), Roweena Shakespeare, Janelle Brown & Claire Aman (primary school section). The winner of the open category will receive a $100 cash prize. Winning high school and primary school students will be awarded book vouchers. In entering the competition, the author gives permission to The Long Way Home to edit and publish the shortlisted stories in ‘Stories from the Clarence Valley 2022 – Let Go’ under the author’s name. The author owns the story. The Long Way Home does not make enough income to pay authors, but each author will receive free copy of the book.

The Long Way Home thanks South Grafton Community Bank branch of Bendigo Bank for their major sponsorship in 2022. We are a small non-profit collective, working for love of writing. We deeply appreciate our sponsors.