ACT Writers have postponed the publishing component of the 2021 ACT Writing & Publishing Awards until early 2022

ACT Writers regretfully announce that the 2021 ACT Publishing Awards have been postponed until February 2022. The final date for entry submissions will be announced once there is a clearer understanding of Canberra’s COVID-19 restrictions in the coming weeks. It will be ensured that all entrants have an appropriate amount of time to safely drop off their entries.

ACT Writers will release the publishing awards shortlist on 31 January 2022, with winners announced on 25 February 2022. ACT Writers opened submissions for the 2021 Publishing Awards in July this year, and those who have already made an entry have the option to retain it, or withdraw it and receive a full refund.

“It has been a difficult decision to move the ACT Publishing Awards into next year, and one that has not been taken lightly,” ACT Writers CEO, Meg Wilson says.

“These awards recognise and celebrate Canberra-region works published by small presses as well as self-published titles, and require the physical drop-off and collection of books for judging. With uncertainty over the lockdown timeframe in the ACT and continuing restrictions, it is our priority to ensure the safety of entrants, judges and the broader community. We will not compromise the calibre or purpose of these awards. Given these time and safety constraints, the delivery of these awards is untenable for this year.”

ACT Writers, like many organisations, have had to accept that staging an in-person end-of-year celebration for its writing audience, and customary platform for the awards is also an impossibility this year.

The ACT Writers’ suite of family-funded awards: the Marjorie Graber McInnis Short Story Award, the June Shenfield Poetry Award and the Anne Edgeworth Emerging Writer’s Fellowship will still run to plan in 2021.

“We’re extremely conscious that the impacts of COVID-19 on the arts community in the ACT and right across the country are significant and demoralising. For us, the focus is on ensuring we create the best platform and space to recognise the writing talents of our region safely.” Ms Wilson says.

“We remain dedicated to our role advocating for, connecting, developing and celebrating our ACT-region writers, and these awards – bigger and better in 2022 – will be a key part of this.”

You can reach ACT Writers by email, phone or on social media. Operation hours are Thursday-Friday from 10am to 4pm. For enquiries related directly to the awards, please contact admin@actwriters.org

The ACT Writing and Publishing awards are designed to recognise, reward and promote ACT region authors whose works have been self-published, or published by a small publisher. The 2021 awards are open to books published in the prior year; 2020, in the categories of poetry, fiction, nonfiction and children’s books.

Entries for the June Shenfield Poetry Awards close on Sunday 12 September. Entries for the Marjorie Graber-McInnis Short Story Award close on Monday 13 September. Applications for the Anne Edgeworth Emerging Writer’s Fellowship close 1 October 2021.