Terms & Conditions

General Terms & Conditions

• By submitting your work, participants agree to grant the Whitsundays Writers Festival permission to publish excerpts of winning entries for promotional purposes.
• Short story entries might be used with the permission of the author in an edited Festival publication.
• Shortlisted nominees and overall category winners will be promoted, and an image and further author and book information might be requested for publicity purposes.
• The decision of the Heart Award judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding evaluation or feedback on submissions.

The Gloria Burley Award for Unpublished Manuscript

• Submissions must be original and unpublished works of fiction by an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• Entries should consist of the at least the first three chapters, totalling no more than 12,000 words.
• A fully completed manuscript should be available on request.
• Manuscripts must be written in English.
• Applicants must pay the entry fee for this category.
• Multiple entries are allowed, but each entry requires a separate entry fee.
• Submissions must be made electronically through the official Whitsunday Literary Heart Awards website.
• The deadline for submissions is final. Late entries will not be accepted.
• Shortlisted entries will be notified by email and posted on the website.
• The winner will be announced at an event during the 2025 Whitsundays Writers Festival.
• The winner will receive a monetary prize, certificate, and digital assets.

Published Book Cover Design Award

• Entries must be covers of published books, including full cover paperbacks, digital covers, or audio covers by an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• Applicants must pay the entry fee for this category.
• Multiple entries are allowed, but each entry requires a separate entry fee.
• Submissions must be made electronically through the official Whitsunday Literary Heart Awards website.
• The deadline for submissions is final. Late entries will not be accepted.
• Shortlisted entries will be notified by email and posted on the website.
• A best of genre recognition may be awarded within the shortlist.
• The winner will be announced at an event during the Whitsundays Writers Festival.
• The winner will receive a monetary prize, certificate, and digital assets.

Short Story Award

• Submissions must be original short stories by an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• There are two divisions: Adult and Under 18 years old.
• Stories should not exceed 3,000 words.
• Entries must be written in English.
• Applicants must pay the entry fee for this category.
• Multiple entries are allowed, but each entry requires a separate entry fee.
• Submissions must be made electronically through the official Whitsunday Literary Heart Awards website.
• The deadline for submissions is final. Late entries will not be accepted.
• Shortlisted entries will be notified by email and posted on the website.
• The winner will be announced at an event during the Whitsundays Writers Festival.
• The winner will receive a monetary prize, certificate, and digital assets.

Poetry Prize

• Submissions must be original poems of any length within the genre of poetry by an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• Entries can be written in any language but must include an English translation.
• Applicants must pay the entry fee for this category.
• Multiple entries are allowed, but each entry requires a separate entry fee.
• Submissions must be made electronically through the official Whitsunday Literary Heart Awards website.
• The deadline for submissions is final. Late entries will not be accepted.
• Shortlisted entries will be notified by email and may posted on the website.
• The winner will be announced at an event during the Whitsundays Writers Festival.
• The winner and runner-up will receive a monetary prize, certificate, and digital assets.