Writers Victoria

Applicant Terms and Conditions

1. Applications must be made online. If the online application form isn’t accessible to you, let us know: (03) 9094 7855 or caitlin@writersvictoria.org.au
2. Applicants must be Australian citizens or residents (currently living in Australia).
3. Applicants must be aged 18 or over.
4. Applicants must be emerging, midcareer or established Australian writers and literary sector workers (not beginners) with a demonstrated publication and/or career history.
5. Applicants can only make one submission per round.
6. Where relevant, activities must comply with the Australia Council's First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts.
7. Joint applications for collaborative travel projects will be accepted. Collaborative projects are subject to the same $10,000 maximum grant request as individual projects.
8. Late applications will not be accepted. Please note the deadline time of 11:59pm AEDT on Monday 5 September 2022 – you will not be able to apply after this time. Due to high internet traffic, the online form might be slow to load around the cut-off time; Writers Victoria is not responsible for connection issues, and we recommend submitting your application well in advance of the 11:59pm cut-off time to avoid potential delays that may cause you to miss the deadline.
9. The judges’ decision will be final. No correspondence will be entered into.
10. Applicants from former rounds (both successful and unsuccessful) may reapply in this round. However, preference will be given to writers who haven’t previously received a Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund grant.
11. Recipients agree to abide by the terms of the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund agreement.
12. All recipients agree to comply with public health restrictions before, during, and following travel.
13. Travel activity must be undertaken within one year following the date of the agreement. For Round 8, this means travel must take place between 1 November 2022 and 31 October 2023 (dates inclusive). If unexpected restrictions impact a recipient’s travel, changes to this timeline may be negotiated with Writers Victoria staff.
14. Recipients will be fully responsible for coordination and delivery of travel activity (including appropriate insurances, etc).
15. Recipients will be required to complete an acquittal within two months of the end of the travel activity.
16. Recipients will be required to write a 500-word article about the travel activity for potential publication by Writers Victoria and/or The Myer Foundation.
17. Recipients will be required to acknowledge the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund, The Myer Foundation, and Writers Victoria in any promotion or publication resulting from the work supported during the activity.
18. Recipients will be required to reimburse the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund should any of the conditions be breached, or the project not undertaken as outlined (without prior written agreement).
19. Writers Victoria staff or Committee of Management members are not eligible to apply.
20. Uploaded documents must be in either PDF or Word Doc formats. If providing audio support material, you must upload it in .mp3 format. If providing video support material, you must upload it in .mp4 or .avi format.
21. Supporting documentation must be meet the size limits: a maximum of one A4 page for each uploaded file, or a maximum of three minutes for an audio or video file.

Writers Victoria welcomes pitches and submissions to our in-house print magazine ‘The Victorian Writer’.

We strongly advise all who submit that they read the most recent issues of ‘The Victorian Writer’ to acquaint themselves with material the magazine has previously published, and check out our upcoming themes.

2022 Themes

• September – November 2022 (Spring Edition): Tapestry. Submissions close June 6.
• December 2022 – February 2023 (Summer Edition): Unravel. Submissions close September 5.

Submission Guidelines

We publish poems ($70), and articles/writing of 600 words ($100) and 1200 words ($200) in the print edition with particular interest in the craft of writing and the writing life.

If you would like to be considered for print publication, please submit either: 

• Your article, or a 100-word pitch with your article idea;
• Your poem/s;
• Your short fiction or non-fiction.

Also include a short author bio (and an example of your work if you haven’t been published with us before) by the issue’s deadline date.

All submissions are to be made via Submittable.

We particularly encourage member contributions and member pitches will be considered for both print and online publication. Extracts from member publications including fiction and memoir can also be submitted.

If you are successful in your pitch, our commissioning editor will be in touch regarding the article, licence agreements and final copy deadlines.

Please note, online article fees will be negotiated with the Writers Victoria team and there are no fees payable for book extracts or promotional material.

While we aim to publish as much as we can and support writers, we receive many more submissions than we can place, and can’t provide feedback on all pitches. But don’t be deterred! Keep submitting for following editions.

The 2022 Regional Small Grants program is now open. Applications close when all grants have been allocated.
Regional writing groups, literary organisations and arts organisations in Victoria are able to apply for grants of $880 to subsidise literary activities in their area, thanks to the support of the Grace Marion Wilson Trust.
Applicants must be current regional members of Writers Victoria (in the non-profit organisation or regional writers’ group membership category), and based in one of the 48 Local Government Authorities in Regional Victoria as listed on the Creative Victoria website.
If your organisation is not a member, please renew your membership or join us prior to submitting your application.
Due to government public health directives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, funding may also be used towards delivery of an online event, such as a webinar. If you would like to use a small grant to deliver an online workshop/webinar to your writing community, please contact our Program Manager, Anna, to discuss the options: anna@writersvictoria.org.au
For general queries about the Regional Small Grants program, please email our Competitions Administrator, Caitlin: caitlin@writersvictoria.org.au

Terms and Conditions
In order to apply:

• Applicants must be regional members of Writers Victoria (in the non-profit organisation or writers’ group membership category).
• Only one application may be submitted per group or organisation.
• All activities must take place in Victoria between August and December 2022. Activities cannot be supported retrospectively.
• The grant must be used (in part or in full) for artist fees.
• Proposals that clearly respond to a community need will be highly regarded.
• Small grant funds can be used to complement funds/in-kind support from other sources.
• To be eligible for funding, proposed activities need to comply with government public health directives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If successful, your group or organisation will be responsible for:

• Contracting your author or speaker.
• Using the grant to go towards costs related to the writer’s fee, travel and accommodation.
• Providing a safe, accessible venue or online platform for the event.
• Coordinating bookings for the event (you are encouraged to charge an entry fee to help cover your costs).
• Crediting Writers Victoria and the Grace Marion Wilson Trust in all publicity for the event.
• Distributing Writers Victoria evaluation forms at your event and returning them to Writers Victoria.
• Completing an artistic and financial report (acquittal) by 15 January 2023.

All activities must take place in regional Victoria (within one of the 48 Local Government Authorities in Regional Victoria listed, as listed on the Creative Victoria website).
Writers Victoria will be happy to assist organisations to deliver online workshops for their local writing community with the small grants funds.

How to Apply
The number of grants is limited, and applications will be assessed as they arrive. Grants will be allocated to the first ten applications that meet the requirements. Writers Victoria is particularly keen to see applications from groups that have not received funding before, as well as from previous recipients seeking to deliver literary activities in new areas.
To apply, please complete this online application form, filling out your details in the fields below. Applications will close when the grants have been allocated.
All funding allocation decisions will be final. Feedback may be provided on request.