Are you ready to see your fiction shine on a national stage? The 2026 Peter Carey Short Story Award is inviting writers from across Australia to share their most compelling stories and compete for prestigious prizes and publication opportunities. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or finding your voice, this is your chance to be part of a celebrated literary tradition that honours one of Australia’s greatest storytellers. Think you need to level up your short storytelling? Short Story Essentials is the perfect place to deepen your skills and polish your work.
From the Moorabool Shire Council website:
Moorabool Shire Libraries and local writers Jem Tyley-Miller and Wayne Marshall are proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Peter Carey Short Story Award. For a decade, this award has honoured Bacchus Marsh's own Peter Carey – arguably Australia's greatest living writer. Born and raised in our community, Carey is the author of fourteen critically acclaimed novels and four works of non-fiction, winning the Miles Franklin three times and the Man Booker twice. Early in his career, he published two short story collections of rare and startling power – The Fat Man in History and War Crimes – both of which remain, decades on, unrivalled in their mastery of the short story form. It was only natural to name this award after one of Moorabool's most gifted storytellers, and for ten years, that choice has inspired writers across Australia to follow in his footsteps.
This award is for short stories between 2000-3000 words, and is open to all Australian residents aged over 18. To be eligible for the Best Local Entry Award, entrants must live, work or study in Moorabool Shire
2026 Head Judge
Longlisted entries in 2026 will be judged by Laura Jean McKay.
Laura Jean McKay is the author ofThe Animals in That Country (Scribe 2020) – winner of the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award, The Victorian Prize for Literature, the ABIA Small Publishers Adult Book of the Year and co-winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel 2021. The French edition, Les animaux de ce pays (éditions Dalva 2025, translated by Lise Garond), won the 2025 Prix Gargantua. Laura is also the author ofHoliday in Cambodia and her latest collection is Gunflower (Scribe 2023). An Adjunct Lecturer in Creative Writing at Massey University, Laura was awarded the 2022 NZSA Waitangi Day Literary Honours and is the 2025 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow to Cork, Ireland.
Prizes
The winning entry receives $2000, while the runner-up wins $1000. The winning story will be published in an upcoming edition of Overland Literary Journal, with the runner-up published at Overland Online.
In 2026, we will also be presenting one outstanding entry with the Moorabool Shire Libraries’ Best Local Entry Award. Writers who enter the Peter Carey Short Story Award and who live, work or study in Moorabool Shire are eligible for consideration. The winning story will receive $500.
Submissions
Submissions open Monday February 2 at 8.30am and close 6pm AEDT on Thursday March 12 2026.
Entries will be accepted via online application only and will be judged blind, so please, no names on your work. The entry fee is $15 per story and you may enter as many times as you like. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know immediately if your piece has been accepted elsewhere. See our Terms & Conditions for further details.
The longlist will be posted on our website in May, while the winner and runner-up will be announced at an awards ceremony held at the Bacchus Marsh Library on Saturday 13 June 2026.
For full details, eligibility and entry guidelines, visit the official awards page.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to bring your short fiction to life – submit your story and let your imagination take centre stage!
