The John Marsden & Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers is open to writers aged 18 and under, across the categories of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Now in its eleventh year, the prize is open exclusively to Australian secondary school students. It provides a unique and unforgettable opportunity for young writers to develop their skills, and win cash, prizes and publication in Voiceworks Magazine.

If you’re aged 12-18 and have a flair for writing, we want to read your fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry! But if you don’t know where to start, we have some prompts below to motivate you and give you a head start on your writing journey.

John Marsden has written the prompts below to help get you started on your entry. Use them in the beginning, middle or end of your piece, or draw inspiration from them! Keep in mind your entry can be about whatever you want, and these prompts are just some extra motivation to get you on the right track. Good luck, young writers, and we can’t wait to read all your entries!

For more information on The John Marsden/Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers, and to submit, click here.