Guidelines, terms and conditions

Please read these guidelines before entering.

Who can enter?
We welcome entries from writers residing in Australia, of all ages.

What does it cost to enter a story?
Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of $25 (includes GST).
Payment is taken as part of the entry form.

How to enter

• Stories must be submitted online via the Olga Masters Short Story Award entry form and pay the entry fee.

• Entries should be text documents (MS Word, Open Office, TXT or RTF) or PDF. Format the text with 1.5 line spacing and in 12 pt Times Roman or similar. Include the story title in the file name. Please make sure that your file name does not contain any apostrophes or other symbols as your file will not upload (don’t worry if your story title contains apostrophes – we will be able to match it with your details later).


• The author’s name must not appear in the document or in the name of the digital file.

• Entrants will receive email confirmation of receipt.

• We will not accept entries by email or post.

• Entries must be a single story of 2000 to 4000 words, written in English, with the theme of life in rural Australia.

• Multiple entries are permitted. Each entry must be accompanied by a $25 (incl. GST) payment.

• Entries must be original works written by an individual author. 

• Use of AI (generative AI / LLM / NLP) must be declared.

• Entries must not infringe upon anyone’s copyright.

• Simultaneous submissions to other writing competitions are acceptable but please do us the courtesy of letting us know immediately if your work is accepted or wins a prize elsewhere.

• We will not accept previously published, prize-winning or broadcast stories (previous online appearances constitute prior publication). Entries will be deemed ineligible if they are under contract to a publisher or broadcaster.

• You may re-enter stories previously entered in this competition, but not past winners.

• Once you have submitted a story, please do not plead with the organisers to replace it with a new version, as refusal may offend. If you resubmit a story online (you will need to pay again), please give it the same file name; it will over-write your old version.

• Entries close at midnight 5 September 2025.

• If you subsequently withdraw your entry, we will not refund your entry fee.

• Entrants retain copyright in their story/ies.

Prizes

• Main Prize is $1500 for first and $500 for runner-up.

• Supplementary prizes for all age groups may be offered at the discretion of the organisers.

Publication

• The first-prize winning story will be published in Island Magazine (islandmag.com).

• All winning story/ies will be published on the Olga Masters Short Story Award (OMSSA) website.

The judging process

• Judging is completely anonymous.

• The entrant’s name must not appear in the file name, header, footer or in the file’s title – only on the entry form.

• The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into about the judgments or the judging process.

• OMSSA reserves the right to not award a prize.