Hope Prize Free Submission Deadline Approaches October 10 as October 31 Competition Deadline Nears

Writers who qualify for The Hope Prize’s fee-free Voices We Need programme have until October 10, 2026, to apply for a free submission place. The programme is intended for writers directly affected by war, conflict or occupation, forced migration or statelessness, entrenched poverty, or systemic barriers that make the competition’s entry fee unaffordable. The 2026 Hope Prize is open to writers aged 18 and above from anywhere in the world, with a total prize pool of AUD $13,000, including a first prize of AUD $10,000 jointly funded by Readings Books and Simon & Schuster Australia.

The Voices We Need programme offers a limited number of fee-free places and accepts applications on a rolling basis until 11:59 p.m. AEDT on October 10. Eligible writers are asked to email the prize with the subject line “The Voices We Need” and a short statement explaining their need; no detailed personal information is required. Writers who do not qualify for the fee-free pathway can still enter the main competition for the standard AUD $33 fee, with submissions remaining open until 11:59 p.m. AEDT on October 31. Entries must be unpublished prose short stories of up to 5,000 words, either fiction or narrative nonfiction, and the prize does not accept poetry or essays.

With the Voices We Need deadline now only days away, the programme offers an immediate route into a competition whose winning and shortlisted stories will be published in the 2026 Hope Prize Anthology by Simon & Schuster Australia. The competition’s longlist is expected in late January 2027, with the shortlist and winners to be determined between February and March. For writers considering the prize this month, October 10 is the first deadline to watch, followed by the general October 31 closing date.

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