The Spiers Prize has reopened for the month of May 2026 for submissions. This year, the prize will be accepting middle grade fiction manuscripts only. If you are an Australian author with an unpublished manuscript we highly encourage you to submit your work.
We are looking for unpublished manuscripts by Australian authors that are:
- middle grade fiction
- for readers aged 8 to 12 years old
- between 25,000 and 50,000 words
We will next be accepting young adult manuscripts in 2027. The prize will alternate between middle grade fiction (on even years e.g. 2026, 2028, 2030 etc) and young adult fiction (on odd years e.g. 2027, 2029, 2031). Full terms and conditions can be found here.