Publishable – Application Guidelines
Annual program. 2025 applications open now: Monday 17 March – Tuesday 20 May 2025
Publishable is Queensland Writers Centre's annual national manuscript development program for emerging writers. The Program accepts submissions of completed, unpublished manuscripts across a broad range of genres and formats.
Up to 25 longlisted applicants take part in a tailored manuscript development program, designed to strengthen, refine and polish a completed manuscript. Writers work with professional authors, QWC’s team, and industry experts, applying that knowledge to their own manuscripts to take them closer to publication.
Up to 10 shortlisted writers, selected following the manuscript development phase, receive mentorship with an industry professional, and are given the opportunity to attend pitch interviews with specially matched agents and publishers.
One-on-one Feedback Sessions to receive reader feedback on the submitted manuscript and discuss next steps (regardless of the application outcome), are available as an add-on for all applicants.
To ensure all writers receive value from their application, QWC has also committed to providing a relevant development workshop to all applicants as part of the Program (included in the application fee), tailored to address commonalities found by reviewers across the cohort of applications.
Submit:
The first 50 pages, industry formatted, of a complete unpublished manuscript, alongside a 400-word synopsis and other information as requested in the Application Form.
Examples of acceptable entries include:
fiction novels & novellas
non-fiction books
poetry collections
children’s books
graphic novels and comics
short story collections.
Manuscripts for general adult fiction and non-fiction should be approximately 55,000 and 110,000 words in length; manuscripts for other genres and formats of work should be of industry standard length in their genre (contact QWC for more information).
Manuscripts should be presented according to standard formatting:
12pt Times New Roman font
Left aligned paragraph formatting
Double line spacing
1” or 3cm margins on an A4 page
Page numbered
Manuscript title at top of first page, bolded and centred.
Submissions accepted in unrestricted Word (.docx) or PDF format. Include the title of the manuscript in the file name. Please do not include the author’s name or identifying details on any portion of the manuscript.
Manuscripts for general adult fiction and non-fiction should be approximately between 55,000 and 110,000 words in length; manuscripts for other genres and formats of work should be of industry standard length in their genre (contact QWC for more information).
Application criteria
Applications are accepted via the online Application Form. By making an application, applicants acknowledge to have read and understood these Guidelines.
Applications should be unpublished and uncontracted for publication.
Applicants should submit their own original work.
Emerging writers – defined as writers who are unpublished or who have no more than one commercially published, full-length work – are eligible to apply.
A writer who has had one work published and has contractually agreed to give the option on their next work to their incumbent publisher is not eligible.
Applicants should be Australian or New Zealand citizens or reside in Australia or New Zealand.
Applicants under 18 years are eligible but should contact QWC prior to applying, and will need permission from a guardian.
Multiple applications are permitted.
Up to 3 places on the Program shortlist may be reserved for Queensland-based writers (currently residing in Queensland).
Manuscripts may be of any genre or style, with the exception of self-help, business, and cookery manuscripts, or works designed for the education, training, advertising, marketing, or tourism sectors.
Applications may be made by agents or authors’ representatives on behalf of and with the written consent of the applicant.
Applicants who have applied for previous years’ Programs are eligible to enter, however resubmissions of work without substantial changes are not eligible.
Writers making resubmissions may be asked to provide a short statement regarding changes made since the previous application.
Previously shortlisted applicants are eligible to enter but not with a previously shortlisted manuscript.
Where there is Indigenous content or participation in the work, applicants should comply with Screen Australia’s First Nations Australian Content or Participation guidelines and Creative Australia’s Protocols for using First Nations Intellectual and Cultural Property.
Applicants under 18 years are eligible but should contact QWC prior to applying, and will need permission from a guardian.
Manuscripts should not be part of a current program of study or coursework. (Work completed as part of a prior program of study or coursework is eligible.)
Key dates
Applications open: Monday 17 March – Tuesday 20 May 2025
Longlist announced (Program commences): Late July 2025
Development workshop (all applicants): August 2025
Shortlist announced (mentorships commence): September 2025
Feedback Sessions: late September – October 2025
Pitching: September – October 2025
Successful applicants will be publicly announced on QWC’s website and Pen & Pixel email newsletter. Applicants will be personally notified of the outcome of their application prior to public announcements.
Fees & charges
Standard application fees:
Member application fee ($55)
Non-member (standard) application fee ($65)
Fees include GST. Fees contribute toward Program administration expenses.
Discounted member application fees are available to current members of state writers’ centres in the National Writers’ Centre Network, including QWC. Applicants may be asked to verify membership of another Centre.
Participants, including shortlisted writers, are required to arrange and pay for all other expenses throughout the Program, if applicable, except as expressly identified by QWC in written agreements.
Application fees with add-ons:
Application fee + One Year Membership ($120)
Application fee + Feedback Session ($105)
Application fee + One Year Membership + Feedback Session ($164)
Applicants can take advantage of a discounted One Year Membership ($60, valued at $89) with QWC. If the applicant is already a member their current membership will be extended by one year.
During the application period, applicants can take advantage of a half-price Feedback Session ($49, valued at $99). After applications close, Feedback Sessions may be made available to book separately at full price for a limited time through QWC’s Writer’s Consults program.
Process
QWC staff and trained readers will assess all submissions.
QWC will select up to 25 applicants, at its discretion, for the Program longlist.
Longlisted applicants will take part in a manuscript development program, which may include consultation and workshops.
Applicants may be asked to submit full works (within 72 hours of being notified) for proof of completion. This does not guarantee selection for the Program longlist or shortlist. The full manuscript may not be read or assessed in its entirety by QWC’s reading team.
Any advice given will be based off the submission and synopsis, and is provided to allow writers to work through the rest of the manuscript.
Following the selection of the longlist, QWC will select up to 10 writers (the shortlist), at its discretion, to:
attend an interview with at least one matched agent or publisher, and
receive mentorship with a matched writer, editor or industry professional.
Once matched with a mentor, the format of the meetings and usage of the mentorship time will be agreed upon by the writer and mentor. QWC will continue to monitor progress.
Every effort is made to ensure an appropriate and mutually beneficial match between shortlisted writers and mentors. However, QWC acknowledges creative relationships are subjective and may not always be found to be suitable for both mentor and writer; in these circumstances QWC will negotiate for the best possible mutual outcome but is unable to guarantee the provision of mentorship hours or further administration, additional to what is ordinarily provided to participants as part of the Program.
One-on-one Feedback Sessions (up to 30 minutes) with QWC staff are available as a paid add-on, for applicants to receive deidentified reader feedback on their manuscript and discuss next steps. All feedback is constructive and the opinion of the reader/s.
Correspondence with QWC will be a mixture of remote and in-person communication depending on availability. All required elements of the Program will be made available in an online format.
QWC is committed to providing a relevant development workshop, delivered by an industry professional, to Program applicants, regardless of application outcome.
Additional terms
QWC does not guarantee the future publication of manuscripts submitted to or developed during the program.
The final numbers selected for the Program’s longlist and shortlist are at the discretion of QWC, and may depend on the quality and number of applications received.
QWC reserves no rights over manuscripts submitted to or developed during the program. QWC allows writers to submit their manuscript to competitions, courses, or publishers prior to, during or following their participation in the Program, unless/until longlisted and/or shortlisted, in which case a temporary embargo will apply.
Works selected for the Program shortlist will be exclusively embargoed (successful applicants cannot continue to separately enter this work into competitions, promote, pitch or sell rights to the work) until 3 months after the pitch meeting/s, per standard practice.
QWC does not take a percentage of any future royalties, option or sale of submitted work, and all rights and intellectual property remain with the author, regardless of their final placement in the competition.
Application materials (manuscripts) will be stored securely and disposed of per standard QWC protocols. QWC will record and keep other information provided on the application form as necessary.
While QWC will take all reasonable steps to secure an interview/s for shortlisted writers, entry into the Program shortlist may not guarantee an interview.
If work selected for the Program shortlist is contracted by a publisher or agent, the applicant will be requested to acknowledge the assistance provided by QWC and the Program in published/produced outcomes and/or associated promotional materials (i.e. press releases), according to direction/consultation provided by QWC.
Successful applicants are expected to promote and support the Program and QWC through social media sites, website, and other forms of media. Successful applicants may also be asked to provide a testimonial for the program.
Credit publicly offered towards QWC and the Program should comply with directions given by QWC, approved graphics used, and notification given.
Whilst not obligated and ultimately at the applicant’s discretion, if successful in future due to exposure or experience gained from the Program, appropriate credit and acknowledgement of QWC’s role is expected.
QWC may offer unsuccessful applicants the opportunity to participate in a tailored Program at a cost additional to the initial application fee.
These Application Guidelines were developed and updated for the 2025 Publishable program.
Queensland Writers Centre reserves the right to amend Program guidelines for this and future Programs.