Last meeting   For the inaugural meeting for 2026, we picked the theme ‘innocence’. As ever, the prompt elicited wildly differing takes from everyone, and demonstrated that one thing none of us are innocent of is a spur-of-the-moment quirky idea. Enjoy the stories and mini-prompts here .   Member successes   David Gairdner recently wrote and directed a short film, Hiccups , which we are looking forward to seeing soon! I hope to share a link in our next newsletter.   In Decemb

Listed by closing date. 1 February: Stringybark Open Award 2026 Open themed, linked to Australia. Award pool of over $1420 in cash. Entry fee $15.                1 February: The Masters Review Winter Short Story Award for New Writers US based competition, no theme, 6,000 words, with a top prize of $3,000 USD. Entry fee $20 USD. For emerging writers, online publication and agency review.   3 February: 2026 Calibre Essay Prize Open to all essayists writing in English. AU$10,