The Roly Sussex Short Story Competition, affectionately known as the Rolys, is one of the flagship events of the English-Speaking Union (Queensland Branch). This prestigious competition celebrates the art of storytelling and attracts a wide range of entries from writers across Australia showcasing their creative talents.
The competition is named for long-time English-Speaking Union (Qld) member and its immediate past president, Professor Roly Sussex. Roly is an Emeritus Professor of Applied Language Studies at The University of Queensland and a leading champion of language and languages in Australia. His ABC Radio program “A Word in Your Ear” has been running since 1997. This prized literary award was launched in 2015. It fosters original creative writing of outstanding quality, including experimental, challenging or thought-provoking work.
Each year, the competition receives an impressive number of submissions, demonstrating the continued popularity and vibrancy of short fiction. Entries are judged based on creativity, the effective use of language and the ability to craft a powerful ending that leaves a lasting impression. With a focus on publishing quality work, the judges – experts with backgrounds in editing and publishing – seek stories that not only captivate but also resonate with a broad audience.
Through the Roly Sussex Short Story Competition, the ESU proudly supports and nurtures emerging writers, fostering a community dedicated to the craft of storytelling.
Submission dates
Entries for the 2026 competition are now open.
Entries close 5pm (AEST) 18 September 2026.
No submissions will be accepted after this date.
Eligibility
Authors must be Australian citizens or Australian residents who are not related to the judges or members of the board of the English-Speaking Union (Queensland).
Only one entry to be submitted per entrant in each division. Secondary School Division entrants may submit a different story to the Open Division.
Entrants to the Secondary School Division must be enrolled full time at an Australian secondary school.
Submitted stories should not have been published before.
Please see the Submission Guidelines for further information
Prize categories
Open Division
First Prize: $7500
Second Prize: $1500
Secondary School Division
First Prize: $1000
Second Prize: $500
Results
The results will be announced by December 2026 through the website of the ESU: https://www.esu.org.au/
The release of the results will be notified to entrants by email.
Judging panels
Chair: David Fagan
Open Division:
Chief Judge: David Fagan
Judges: Kerry Davies and Erica Fryberg
Secondary School Division:
Chief Judge: Brian Clarke
Judges: Talisa Pariss-Proby and Dr Jo Skinner
“The Roly Sussex Short Story Competition celebrates and rewards the use of the English language to do its most important job – to provoke through stories that effectively and powerfully use language as their tool. The judges look for stories that thrill, entertain and then leave an aftertaste for the mind but with the discipline of brevity essential for a short story.
“Our panel has a variety of backgrounds and different experiences of reading, writing and publishing. We are united by the passion the competition’s namesake has for language, both its beauty and precision. The range of winners and finalists over the years shows the range of interests that will capture the judges’ attention. But they carry one common attribute – each of them is a story worth sharing, written skilfully. These stories showcase the English language at its best.”
—David Fagan, Chair of the Judging Panel
David Fagan
David Fagan is a former decade-long editor and editor-in-chief of The Courier-Mail. He is the author of four nonfiction books and has contributed to many others. He has been a judge of the competition since 2015 and chair of its judging panel since 2022.
“The short story is a special genre of its own. Far from being just a cut-down version of the resonant caverns of long-form novelists like Tolstoy or Proust, in the hands of writers like Chekhov or Maupassant it has its own proper space and dimensions, its own rhythm. Its very brevity is an art form and a challenge. Each word counts, and one superfluous word can destroy the whole.
“Like a Schubert Lied compared to an opera, or an impromptu compared to a symphony, a short story is concentrated, sharp, focused, and all the details count. It isn’t easy to be brief and excellent. Achieving a successful short story is a wonderful act of focusing the mind on what is strictly necessary, and resolutely excluding everything that is not.”
—Roly Sussex
Emeritus Professor Roland (Roly) Sussex
OAM, FQA, Chevalier des Palmes Académiques
Roly Sussex retired from the position of Professor of Applied Language Studies at the University of Queensland in 2010. Since then he has been president of the Alliance Française (Brisbane) and the English-Speaking Union (Queensland Branch). He is involved in research into pain and communication, and intercultural communication. He fulfils a role as a public intellectual by radio broadcasting on language with the ABC in Queensland (since 1997) and South Australia (since 2000), and a wide-ranging program of public speaking to professional and community groups.
Entries and submissions
Email ESU (Qld) with any queries:
rolysussexstory@esu.org.au
For further information and registration, go to:
https://english-speakingunionqueenslandbranch.submittable.com/submit
Past competitions
