Hungerford Award 2026
Ends on
In 2026 the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award will celebrate its 35th year
Proudly sponsored by Fremantle Press, the City of Fremantle and the Centre for Stories, the biennial Hungerford Award is Western Australia’s most prestigious award for an unpublished work of adult fiction, narrative non-fiction, young adult fiction or a verse novel by an unpublished writer. It offers a cash prize of $15,000, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press and a fellowship at the Centre for Stories.
ENTRIES
Award entries will open on Friday 6 February 2026 and close at 11.59 PM AWST on Sunday 15 March 2026. Entrants who fail to do this by the closing date and time of 11.59 PM AWST on Sunday 15 March 2026 will be disqualified. A maximum of one entry per person may be submitted.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Shortlisted authors will be notified by phone or email. The winner will be announced at a special event in October 2026.
SUBMISSIONS: All submissions are to be made electronically via Submittable. Before commencing your submission, please carefully read the terms of use below. Also make sure you have a pseudonym, a 100-word biography, a provisional title for your work, and that you know the word count of your manuscript.
PSEUDONYMS: We require that you use a pseudonym to ensure anonymity. The author’s real name should only appear on the electronic entry form. It should not appear anywhere on the manuscript itself. Manuscripts which do not meet this requirement will not be processed, and entrants will be required to reupload a new manuscript. As per the terms and conditions, Fremantle Press takes no responsibility for this error, which may incur an additional fee of A$35 plus conversion. Entrants who fail to do this by the closing date and time of midnight AWST on Sunday 15 March 2026 will be disqualified.
ENTRY FEE: You will require a credit card or PayPal account for payment of the entry fee. Entry costs A$35. This is a non-refundable fee that is split between the judges and Fremantle Press to cover administrative tasks associated with judging. Please note that Submittable will also charge a small additional fee to cover the cost of international processing fees.
MORE INFORMATION: To ensure your anonymity is retained, any queries in relation to your entry should be directed to admin@fremantlepress.com.au or Siana Liffers or Emily Maunder on 08 9430 6331. Queries directed to other members of staff may result in disqualification.