2025 Artist Call Out Open Now!
NYWF will be held from 3-6 October 2025 on the land of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples in Newcastle, NSW.
Applications to be part of the 2025 NYWF are open from 7 April and close 28 April 2025 (11:59pm AEST).
The 2025 National Young Writers’ Festival theme is:
SHARE SPACE: THE ART OF STORYTELLING
Whether personal or collective, timeless or fleeting (or just plain silly), the stories we tell are central to the way we connect within our shared spaces. The written word is a tool for connection–the same way dance, theatre, podcasting, textiles, and comedy are. Share Space: The Art of Storytelling centres the festival as a creative community. We’re inviting contributing artists, festival-goers, and organisations alike to explore the dynamic relationship between storytellers of all forms and the art of telling stories.
What creative pathways are today’s emerging creatives taking to build upon, experiment with, dismantle, or create generative and impactful ways of sharing their stories? What have they learnt, and what can they tell us? Held on the land of some of the oldest storytellers in the world, NYWF 2025 will explore how stories connect us all.
Click here to read the 2025 NYWF Artist Information pack.
NYWF is open for submissions from storytellers, poets, journalists, editors and comedians, songwriters, comic artists, screenwriters, activists and people who create online videos.
As an organisation that values diversity, the NYWF team strongly encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from the LGBTQIA+ community, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people with a disability to apply.
How to apply
Applications open on 7 April and close 28 April 2025 (11:59pm AEST).
Submit your application using our online form found here.
Applicants with digital access needs can submit to us via email by following the below steps:
1. Download and fill out the form available here
2. Send your completed form to info@youngwritersfestival.org with the subject heading ‘ARTIST CALL-OUT NYWF 2025’
After submitting your application, you’ll receive a confirmation email from us.
Successful applicants will be informed via email at the beginning of June. You will then be connected to one of our team, who will be your point of contact for all things organising and preparing for the festival.
Click here to find out more about digitally accessible options.
Want to get involved with NYWF?
NYWF regularly looks for young writers and/or artists who are interested in becoming part of our family in both staff, volunteer AND festival artist roles!
Each year we search for the usual and unusual suspects. Whether you’re a PR student, emerging creative producer, novelist, poet, podcaster, blogger, budding arts director, content maker, lyricist, comedian or anything in between, we want your input into NYWF.
Our core team of directors, producers and other arts geniuses is regularly changing – we have limited-time stints so that the opportunity to work on NYWF is spread widely.
We partner and work with other organisations in the arts, media, education, and more! Would you like to support us or collaborate with us?
Contact us to find out more about volunteering, becoming a team member, or partnering with us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please see frequently asked questions below and if you have any further concerns or queries please do not hesitate to contact us.
Who can apply
We welcome applications from writers across all forms and styles, aged 18 – 35, from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. You can apply as an individual, or as a collective / group. We also accept applications from folks beyond these parameters on a case by case basis. If you’d like to discuss your application including accommodation requirements with us before sending it in, please get in touch.
Age limit (i.e. how young is ‘young?’)
The National Young Writers’ Festival focuses on creating opportunities for writers aged 18 to 35; however, artists and festival-goers of all ages are encouraged to get involved. Having some more experienced writers and industry folk on our panels and in our audiences is an invaluable part of the NYWF experience. If you are a writer between 13 and 17 years of age, you can get involved with our Younger Young Writers’ Program, details coming soon!
Festival Artist application process and timeline
Applications to be part of the 2025 NYWF are open from 7 April to 28 April 2025 (11:59pm AEST) and need to be submitted online.
After submitting your application, you’ll receive a confirmation email from us. Successful applicants will be informed via email at the beginning of June. You will then be connected to one of our team, who will be your point of contact for all things organising and preparing for the festival.
The festival program will be published on our website in late August.
NYWF will be held from 3-6 October 2025 on the land of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples in Newcastle, NSW.
What to include in your application
Great applications tend to be thorough. The first step is to consider questions such as: who are you and what do you do? What are your passions? What do you love to create and for whom? What’s important, special, or unique about your art?
This year’s theme is ‘Share Space: The Art of Storytelling.’ We’re looking for considered and generative conversations about how your creative practice has shaped or influenced the way you tell your story. Questions to ask yourself include:
– How has my story and experience influenced my art?
– How has my creative practice or art form expanded my capacity as a storyteller?
– What does sharing my work with others and my communities mean to me?
– How have I connected with others’ stories and their art? How have others connected with mine?
– What have we learned?
– Why do we share?
If your application doesn’t directly relate to the theme, don’t worry! This is just a guide, and we’d rather hear from you than not.
When it comes to your pitches for events, we favour people with a specific vision. For example, it is good to hear that you want to pitch an event about horror fiction, but it’s great to hear that you want to pitch a panel discussion about the gothic horror tradition in Australian literature, where it succeeds, and the extent to which it misappropriates Indigenous storytelling. The clearer your pitch, the easier it is for us to see your vision and get excited about it!
We may not necessarily program every event pitch we love, but think of your pitch as a window into how you think and the sorts of topics on which you might be well equipped to speak.
Being involved beyond featuring as an artist
To show equal treatment, we don’t accept applications after the closing deadline.
Our directors receive hundreds of quality applications each year and if yours was not selected, it’s not personal! Often a writer’s application may be strong and interesting but not fit with our program, or we may have a surplus of excellent applications for the number of positions our budget allows. Each year applications are selected based on a number of things; on the experience and voice of the writers, on the quality of their event pitches, the strength of their ideas, and how these fit into the festival theme It’s a complicated balancing act, and please know that we read and appreciate each and every one.
If you miss the deadline or your application was not chosen, we’d love you to apply next year, and of course to get involved in events! We always include workshops and other participatory sessions in our festival program. NYWF audience members are predominantly writers themselves. Unfortunately, as we’re a small team of four, we will not be able to give feedback on applications.
We have a strong team of volunteers who keep the festival running each year.
The Younger Young Writers’ Program
The Younger Young Writers’ Program (YYWP), a part of the National Young Writers’ Festival, is designed to ignite the passion for writing in young talents aged 13-17.
This exciting youth outreach program is specially crafted for young writers in remote and regional areas. Participants have the unique opportunity to work alongside inspiring NYWF artists, learn the ropes of the literary world, and share their unique stories.
YYWP isn’t just about writing; it’s about creating pathways for the future. Participants can dive into a bunch of writing workshops, connect with mentors, and be part of an intergenerational exchange of knowledge. Whether they dream of publishing their first novel or simply love to write, YYWP serves as a gateway to the world of writing and publishing.