• A digital graphic promoting the Opal award by Romance Writers of Australia. The design features a reflective, iridescent heart in the center, resembling an opal gemstone with shimmering colors. The Romance Writers of Australia logo is positioned at the top left, with elegant typography and a stylised pen flourish. Below the heart, the word "OPAL" is displayed in bold, serif font. A tagline at the bottom reads, "Members & Non-Members with published works," indicating the award’s eligibility criteria.
  • A digital timeline graphic outlining key dates for The Opal award by Romance Writers of Australia. The timeline follows a curved path with colour-coded markers for each milestone: 3 March - 31 March 2025 (Orange) – Submissions open!! 7 April 2025 (Pink) – All entries are sent out to judges. 12 May 2025 (Purple) – Scoresheets due back from judges. 19 May 2025 (Blue) – Results sent to all entrants. 23 August 2025 (Green) – Winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner.
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Romance Writers Australia

Opal Award

Opal Award

$70.00 AUD
$70.00 AUD
Sale Sold out

Eligibility Aspiring and Emerging romance writers.

Discount Code for Member Entry: Opal2025

The Opal is a contest for aspiring and emerging romance writers to win the opportunity for short mentorships with established RWAus authors.

Opens: 3 March 2025

Closes: 31 March 2025 

Eligibility: Aspiring and Emerging romance writers. 

Entry: There will be two tiers to the Opal; one for aspiring romance writers and one for emerging writers. All entrants will need to submit the first 10,000 words of an unpublished/uncontracted romance or romantic elements manuscript along with a 1,000 word synopsis that depicts the main plot points of your romance story or story with romantic elements, complete with the ending/resolution.

Emerging writers will also need to submit a 500 word pitch depicting how they would benefit from a mentorship. The top 6 entries from each tier will proceed to a second round, judged by a panel of RWAus established authors who will determine final placings and be available for mentoring. Winners will be announced at the RWAus Gala Dinner at the annual conference in August 2025.

Each entry will be scored against a number of criteria including (but not limited to):
- spelling, grammar and punctuation 
- how understandable and comprehensive the synopsis is
- how quickly readers become immersed in the story
- writing technique (pacing, dialogue, characterisation and description)
- reader enjoyability

Entry Fee:

RWAus Members - $50 per entry.
Non-Members - $70 per entry.
A maximum of two entries are permitted per entrant.

Terms and Conditions

Contest Formatting Sample

 

Entry

There will be two tiers to the Opal; one for aspiring romance writers and one for emerging writers. All entrants will need to submit the first 10,000 words of an unpublished/uncontracted romance or romantic elements manuscript along with a 1,000 word synopsis that depicts the main plot points of your romance story or story with romantic elements, complete with the ending/resolution. Emerging writers will also need to submit a 500 word pitch depicting how they would
benefit from a mentorship. The top 6 entries from each tier will proceed to a second round, judged by a panel of RWAus established authors who will determine
final placings and be available for mentoring. Winners will be announced at the RWAus Gala Dinner at the annual conference in August 2025.

The Ruby Award Terms and Conditions 2024

Opens:

Closes:

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