The Mona Brand Award for Women Stage and Screen Writers is Australia’s premier biennial prize celebrating and championing the remarkable contributions of women and non-binary writers to theatre and screen, offering $40,000 in total prize money across both established and early-career categories and is now open for entries.
Information from Mona Brand Awards:
About the Award
The Mona Brand Award for Women Stage and Screen Writers was established in 2016 to celebrate Australian women’s contribution to the screen and stage and to promote the interest of the public in their work. The Award also fosters new talent in the industry.
The Award/s are an initiative of the late Mona Alexis Fox née Brand (1915– 2007), trailblazing Australian poet, author and playwright, who in her will established a fund to offer a prize in memory of her work. The Award/s are administered and presented biennially by the State Library of NSW.
Total prize money in 2026 is $40,000, which is awarded over the following two categories:
- The Mona Brand Award ($30,000), which is open to women and nonbinary writers for a body of outstanding work displaying broad array, and which has been widely performed or screened to critical acclaim. The recipient of this Award is selected by the Award judging panel, there is no application process necessary.
- The Early Career Writer Award ($10,000), which is open to women and non-binary writers who are in the early stages of their career and have had a compelling, professional work first produced, broadcast or screened between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025. This Award is open for applications.
Key dates
- Entries open for the Early Career Writer Award: Wednesday 10 December 2025
- Entries close for the Early Career Writer Award: 5 pm, Wednesday 4 February 2026 (AEDT)
- Winners announced: May/June 2026
To be eligible for the Early Career Writer Award, the entrant’s debut work must have first been professionally produced, screened or broadcast between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025.
