Everyone can write at least one good story. That was the belief of J. F. Archibald, the editor and founder of the famous nineteenth-century weekly, The Bulletin, who invited his readers to become contributors. It was this encouragement that led Joseph Furphy, working in his brother’s foundry at Shepparton, to write his ‘offensively Australian’ novel, Such is Life, using the pseudonym of ‘Tom Collins’. The book, full of stories derived from Joseph’s experience in the Riverina and told in a voice uniquely his own, is now acknowledged to be a classic of Australian literature.
In the spirit of Archibald and honouring the author of Such is Life, the Furphy Literary Award has been established to promote and extend the tradition of story telling, both factual and fictional, that is so much part of Australian life.
From 2020 the Furphy Literary Award will invite entries of short stories of 5000 words for a first prize of $15,000 in the open category (2nd prize - $ 3,000, 3rd prize - $2,000. A junior & youth category with a prize pool of $1800 will seek entries for short stories and poetry. In addition to the monetary prizes it is intended that selected works will be included in a collection to be published annually and that the winner of the open category will also be invited to participate in a residency program in Shepparton.
The Furphy Literary Award includes award winning judges, generous prizes and most importantly the platform and opportunity for all writers to use their talents to compete at the highest standard.
The Furphy Literary Award, both national & regional is made possible from the generous support and contribution provided by the sponsors and to the many people that have contributed to the Joseph Furphy Literary Awards since 1992.
Junior / Youth Category General Conditions of Entry
1. Entrants must meet the age requirement at the time of competition close.
2. Junior & Youth entrants must be current Australian residents and live or attend a school within the Goulburn Valley - specifically within Greater Shepparton City Council, Moira, Strathbogie, Mitchell, Murrindindi, Benalla or Campaspe Shires.
3. Writing may be works of fiction or narrative non-fiction.
4. All submissions must be written in English and must be the original work of the entrant and must not be generated in any form by Artificial Intelligence programs (AI).
5. Junior entries open Saturday, March 1, 2025, and must be typed or handwritten (and scanned) and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025, via the following link – www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
6. Youth entries open Saturday, March 1, 2025 and must be typed and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025 via the following link –
www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
7. More than one entry may be submitted by each entrant.
8. All entries must follow the online registration and submission process.
9. To preserve anonymity and the 'blind' judging process, uploaded manuscripts must only contain the text and title of the entry/poem/story - any other personal identification (e.g. the author's name) relating to the entrant must not appear on the manuscript including the header or footer. The author's name must not appear on the digital file. The filename of the entry being uploaded to Submittable must be the name/title of the entry/story.
10. The Furphy Literary Award reserves the right to retain all entries, publish winning entries in newspapers and reproduce winning and shortlisted entries for loan. Copyright remains with the writer.
11. In all matters relating to conditions of entry, the decisions of the Furphy Literary Award organisers are final. In all matters relating to judging of the Furphy Literary Award the decisions of the judges are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
12. Short-listed writers will be invited to the presentation ceremony and all entrants will receive a certificate.
13. The winners and place getters of the 2025 Furphy Literary Award Junior & Youth categories will be announced in July 2025 and published on www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
Youth Short Story
Age 13 – 17 years old
Word limit 2000 words
Production Typed
Subject / Theme Any Subject
1st Prize $300
2nd Prize $100
3rd Prize $50
Junior / Youth Category General Conditions of Entry
1. Entrants must meet the age requirement at the time of competition close.
2. Junior & Youth entrants must be current Australian residents and live or attend a school within the Goulburn Valley - specifically within Greater Shepparton City Council, Moira, Strathbogie, Mitchell, Murrindindi, Benalla or Campaspe Shires.
3. Writing may be works of fiction or narrative non-fiction.
4. All submissions must be written in English and must be the original work of the entrant and must not be generated in any way by Artifical Intelliegence (AI) programs.
5. Junior entries open Saturday March 1, 2025, and must be typed or handwritten (and scanned) and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday May 31, 2025, via the following link – www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
6.Youth entries open Saturday March 1, 2025 and must be typed and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday 31, 2025 via the following link –
www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
7. More than one entry may be submitted by each entrant.
8. All entries must follow the online registration and submission process.
9. To preserve anonymity and the 'blind' judging process, uploaded manuscripts must only contain the text and title of the entry/poem/story - any other personal identification (e.g. the author's name) relating to the entrant must not appear on the manuscript including the header or footer. The author's name must not appear on the digital file. The filename of the entry being uploaded to Submittable must be the name/title of the entry/story.
10. The Furphy Literary Award reserves the right to retain all entries, publish winning entries in newspapers and reproduce winning and shortlisted entries for loan. Copyright remains with the writer.
11. In all matters relating to conditions of entry, the decisions of the Furphy Literary Award organisers are final. In all matters relating to judging of the Furphy Literary Award the decisions of the judges are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
12. Short-listed writers will be invited to the presentation ceremonyand all entrants will receive a certificate.
13. The winners and place getters of the 2025 Furphy Literary Award Junior & Youth categories will be announced in July 2025 and published on www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
Youth Poetry
Age 13 – 17 years old
Word limit 30 Lines
Production Typed
Subject / Theme Any Subject
1st Prize $300
2nd Prize $100
3rd Prize $50
Junior/Youth Category General Conditions of Entry
1. Entrants must meet the age requirement at the time of competition close.
2. Junior & Youth entrants must be current Australian residents and live or attend a school within the Goulburn Valley - specifically within Greater Shepparton City Council, Moira, Strathbogie, Mitchell, Murrindindi, Benalla or Campaspe Shires.
3. Writing may be works of fiction or narrative non-fiction.
4. All submissions must be written in English and must be the original work of the entrant and must not be generated in any way by Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs.
5. Junior entries open Saturday, March 1, 2025, and must be typed or handwritten (and scanned) and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025, via the following link – www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
6.Youth entries open Saturday, March 1, 2025 and must be typed and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025 via the following link –
www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
7. More than one entry may be submitted by each entrant.
8. All entries must follow the online registration and submission process.
9. To preserve anonymity and the 'blind' judging process, uploaded manuscripts must only contain the text and title of the entry/poem/story - any other personal identification (e.g. the author's name) relating to the entrant must not appear on the manuscript including the header or footer. The author's name must not appear on the digital file. The filename of the entry being uploaded to Submittable must be the name/title of the entry/story.
10. The Furphy Literary Award reserves the right to retain all entries, publish winning entries in newspapers and reproduce winning and shortlisted entries for loan. Copyright remains with the writer.
11. In all matters relating to conditions of entry, the decisions of the Furphy Literary Award organisers are final. In all matters relating to judging of the Furphy Literary Award the decisions of the judges are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
12. Short-listed writers will be invited to the presentation ceremony and all entrants will receive a certificate.
13. The winners and place getters of the 2025 Furphy Literary Award Junior & Youth categories will be announced in July 2025 and published on www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
Junior Short Story
Age up to 12 years old
Word limit 2000 words
Production Typed or hand-written
Subject / Theme Any Subject
1st Prize $300
2nd Prize $100
3rd Prize $50
Junior / Youth Category General Conditions of Entry
1. Entrants must meet the age requirement at the time of competition close.
2. Junior & Youth entrants must be current Australian residents and live or attend a school within the Goulburn Valley - specifically within Greater Shepparton City Council, Moira, Strathbogie, Mitchell, Murrindindi, Benalla or Campaspe Shires.
3. Writing may be works of fiction or narrative non-fiction.
4. All submissions must be written in English and must be the original work of the entrant and must not be generated in any way by Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs.
5. Junior entries open Saturday March 1, 2025 ,and must be typed or handwritten (and scanned) and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025, via the following link – www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
6. Youth entries open Saturday March 1, 2025 and must be typed and must be uploaded or as otherwise directed by 11:59 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025 via the following link –
www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
7. More than one entry may be submitted by each entrant.
8. All entries must follow the online registration and submission process.
9. To preserve anonymity and the 'blind' judging process, uploaded manuscripts must only contain the text and title of the entry/poem/story - any other personal identification (e.g. the author's name) relating to the entrant must not appear on the manuscript including the header or footer. The author's name must not appear on the digital file. The filename of the entry being uploaded to Submittable must be the name/title of the entry/story.
10. The Furphy Literary Award reserves the right to retain all entries, publish winning entries in newspapers and reproduce winning and shortlisted entries for loan. Copyright remains with the writer.
11. In all matters relating to conditions of entry, the decisions of the Furphy Literary Award organisers are final. In all matters relating to judging of the Furphy Literary Award the decisions of the judges are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
12. Short-listed writers will be invited to the presentation ceremony and all entrants will receive a certificate.
13. The winners and place getters of the 2025 Furphy Literary Award Junior & Youth categories will be announced in July 2025 and published on www.furphyliteraryaward.com.au
Junior Poetry
Age Up to 12 years old
Word limit 20 Lines
Production Typed or Handwritten
Subject / Theme Any Subject
1st Prize $300
2nd Prize $100
3rd Prize $50