The Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Writing (NPCW) is a biennial writing award. It is a counterpart to the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art (NPCA), which is also a biennial prize.
The writing prize and the art prize are held on alternate years.
The 2026 Prize builds on the Shire's strong tradition of supporting contemporary Australian writing. It is offered in partnership with Writers Victoria and Yarra Plenty Regional Library.
Entries are open from 1 July to 30 September 2025 in the following genres:
The prize awards the best work in each genre under each category (six awards in total).
The Alan Marshall Short Story Award is awarded to the best short story in the Short Story Open Category.
A Mayor's Award is also awarded from shortlisted entries in the Short Story Local Category.
The winning entries are published in an anthology and announced at a public awards ceremony in May 2026.
More information including the Conditions of Entry will be published soon.
Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Writing Anthology 2024(PDF, 468KB)
Nillumbik Prize Contemporary Writing Anthology 2022(PDF, 616KB)
Nillumbik Prize Contemporary Writing Anthology 2020(PDF, 1MB)
Literary Nillumbik Anthology of Writing 2018
Literary Nillumbik Anthology of Writing 2017
Literary Nillumbik Anthology of Writing 2016
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