Fisher’s Ghost Writing Prize

Work will be judged on:

• Originality and creativity,
• Construction and use of language,
• Engagement with the stated theme, ‘Years in the making’

All submitted work must be original and not copied in any way:

• All work must be original and unpublished.
• The use of any generative AI tools are strictly prohibited.
• This competition will not accept any work generated or edited by A.I. (large language models). Several layers of plagiarism tools are applied to every entry, as well as the discernment of our judges. Any work discovered to be A.I. generated will be disqualified.

An independent judging panel will assess all submissions:

• A winner and highly commended will be awarded in each age category. Winners will be announced at the presentation ceremony TBA. Winners & Highly commended entrants will be contacted and invited to the event.
• The competition is open to everyone who lives, works or attends school (including University or TAFE) in Campbelltown, Grade 4 and above.
• WestWords staff are ineligible to enter this competition.

By entering this competition you agree to your work being published both in hardcopy and online, and used for promotional purposes in relation to the competition by Campbelltown City Council and WestWords.

The copyright of each entry remains with the entrant. The moral rights of each individual author are asserted.

The judging process for the entries will be conducted blind. Do not include your name within the text of your entry.

Entries must be written primarily in English, and may be in the form of short story, poetry, or creative non fiction. 

Do not include external links, such as video or audio, within your text. Doing so will invalidate your entry.

Entries can only be submitted online.

The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Judges’ reserve the right to allocate no winner or highly commended in a category.

Only winners and highly commended entrants will be individually notified.

By entering this competition, you agree to the potential publication of your work by WestWords/Campbelltown Libraries, both in hard copy and digital forms. Copyright and ownership of intellectual property remains with the author.

All winners and highly commended entrants of the 2026 Prize will receive (1) free copy of the 2026 Fisher’s Ghost Writing Prize: Years in the Making anthology.

If selected as a winner or highly commended writer, the FIRST and LAST names that entrants provide on their entry forms will be used to publicly announce the results across social media, the WestWords website, and EDM mailing lists. Submit your entry under the FIRST and LAST name you wish to be publicly known by. 

WestWords reserves the right to edit the winning and highly commended entries for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and comprehensibility before publication in the anthology. 

Cash prizes will be arranged and delivered by Campbelltown Libraries. 

Applications open: Friday 26 June, 2026, 10am
Applications close: Monday 7 September, 2026, 10am

For more information, please contact WestWords: Western Sydney’s Centre for Writing, on admin@westwords.com.au