Championing Australian Storytelling
The Heart Awards are the Whitsundays Writers Festival’s national celebration of Australian literary and artistic excellence.
From unpublished manuscripts and poetry to finished books and cover design, the Awards celebrate the craft, courage and creativity of Australian storytelling.
Each year, we invite writers, poets and designers from across Australia to showcase their work, discover emerging voices and celebrate the people shaping our literary culture.
Full eligibility criteria, submission guidelines, prize details, and key dates will be announced late 2026.
The Burley Prize for Best Unpublished Manuscript
First Prize $2,000 and Runner-Up $750
This prestigious award honours the legacy of the Festival’s founder, Whitsundays author Gloria Burley. It is open to any Australian with an unpublished fiction manuscript, offering vital recognition and financial support to emerging and established authors.
- The award is open to unpublished works of fiction only.
- Entries should comprise the first three chapters of the manuscript and/or a maximum of 12,000 words.
- Entrants must have a completed manuscript available on request for consideration by the judging panel.
Short Story Award
First Prize $1,000 and Runner-Up $500
The open-age Short Story Award seeks submissions from around Australia of up to 3,000 words of unpublished creative fiction stories.
Poetry Prize
First Prize $1,000 and Runner-Up $500
The prize seeks submissions from around Australia of up to 50-lines of unpublished poems. The winning poems have been selected based on its originality, creativity and expressiveness.
Book Cover Design Award
First Prize $1,000 and Runner-Up $500
This award celebrates original design works for books published in Australia and offered for sale to the public. Book covers in any genre were eligible, as are printed books, ebooks, and audio book cover designs.