The Calibre Essay Prize is an annual Australian Book Review essay-writing award. The competition is open to all essayists writing in English. There is no age limit.

Essays of all kinds are wwelcome: personal or political, literary or speculative, traditional or experimental.

Entries must be a single non-fiction essay of 2,000 and 5,000 words.

Essays must be written in English.

Previously published, prize-winning, or broadcast essays will not be accepted.

Entries must be submitted online via the ABR website entry page.

Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of AU$30, or AU$20 for current ABR subscribers.

Prizes

• The winner will receive AU$5,000.
• The runner-up will receive AU$3,000.
• Third place will receive AU$2,000.

The winning essay will be published in the April 2024 issue (print and online).

We are keen to encourage quality submissions, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.