The Spiers Prize

The Spiers prize is a national unpublished children's fiction manuscript named after Australian primary school teacher and philanthropist Gail Spiers, run by UWA Publishing.

The Prize is made possible through a generous endowment from Gail Spier's to UWA Publishing. The Prize runs as an annual award open to Australian writers of middle grade and young adult fiction.

Gail Spiers became enamoured with children’s literature during her studies in Reading Education as a mature age student. Thereafter, the promotion of quality Australian children’s literature and their creators became the focus of her career as a primary school teacher and her life, as a decades-long volunteer with the Children’s Book Council of Australia WA Branch. UWA Publishing is proud to have established The Spiers Prize in honour of Gail Spiers’ support and love for children’s fiction.

The Spiers Prize is awarded annually to an unpublished manuscript, between 25,000 to 80,000 words, written for a readership of 8+ and suitable for the formats of middle grade fiction or young adult fiction. The winner will be offered a publishing contract with UWA Publishing and a cash prize of $5,000. The award is open for entry annually in the month of May. Submission guidelines can be found within the terms and conditions below.

Submissions for the Prize will open at 10am AWST 1 May 2025 and will close at 11.59pm AWST 31 May 2025. 

Terms and conditions can be viewed here. Please direct any queries to admin-uwap@uwa.edu.au