Nominations for the Northern Territory Literary Awards have opened for 2022 for all Territory writers across a range of categories.

The awards, which have been running since 1984, have a prize pool of $5700 across seven categories; creative non-fiction, short story, poetry, essay, youth, theatre, and flash fiction.

Writers should submit their work for consideration by May 14.

“After receiving an excellent response of more than 450 submissions last year, I look forward to seeing the creativity and skills of Territory writers on display again this year.” Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Chansey Paech stated.

The shortlist will be announced in July.

The official categories for the 2022 awards are:

• ZipPrint Short Story Award– An original work of short fiction – up to 3000 words;
• NT Writers’ Centre Poetry Award– A single poem – up to 300 lines, limited to three entries per person;
• Charles Darwin University Creative Non-Fiction Award– A factually-accurate work written with attention to literary style and technique – up to 3000 words;
• Charles Darwin University Essay Award– A referenced academic essay – up to 3000 words;
• Kath Manzie Youth Award– An original work of short fiction or a single poem by a person aged 12 to 18 years as of 1 January 2022 – up to three poetry entries per person with a 300 line limit or a short story up to 3000 words;
• Browns Mart Theatre Award– An original, unperformed play script of more than 30 minutes; and
• Flash Fiction Award– A blog post, fan fiction, short story, fictional diary entry or fictional letter – up to 500 words and up to three entries per person.

For more information on the awards and how to submit a piece, click here.