Entries are now open for the 21st edition of the Boroondara Literary Awards.
The Awards are an annual competition held by the Boroondara Library Service that encourage literacy and celebrate writing and poetry.
A total prize pool of over $8000 is on offer, with over $5000 shared across various age groups in the Young Writers' section and over $3000 available in the Open Short Story section.
The Young Writers' section includes categories for poetry and prose and is open to students from Year 5 to Year 12, and young people not in secondary school aged 15 to 18 years.
The Open Short Story section invites submissions between 1500 to 3000 words. This competition includes the Keith Carroll Award for the best entry submitted by a City of Boroondara resident.
The Boroondara Literary Awards were established in partnership with the Rotary Club of Balwyn in 1999.
Entry is free and closes at 5pm AEST on 30 August 2019.
The winners and highly commended entrants will be invited to a special ceremony at the Hawthorn Arts Centre, and will also have their work published in the Boroondara Literary Awards Anthology.
Mayor of Boroondara, Cr Jane Addis said the Awards provide a great opportunity for emerging writers to share their work and have their efforts recognised.
"We are proud to partner with the Rotary Club of Balwyn, local writers groups and schools to encourage a culture of creativity and literacy in our community," Cr Addis said.
"Schools will have the opportunity to invite professional authors in to conduct workshops and show students new writing techniques and skills that will help them prepare their entries".
The Awards coincide with the Boroondara Literary Festival, which features 70 free events hosted across all libraries in Boroondara from Tuesday 28 May to Wednesday 28 August.
