If you love writing crime fiction with strong female characters, the Scarlet Stiletto Awards 2026 offer one of Australia’s most exciting opportunities to showcase your storytelling. Run by Sisters in Crime Australia, this long-running competition celebrates original short crime and mystery fiction written by women, with a wide range of categories, cash prizes, and publication opportunities for standout entries. But if you want to sharpen your crime writing skills first, take a look at our Crime and Thriller Writing course.
From the media release:
Australia's premier short story competition for women crime fiction writers is now open, with $13,500 in prize money. The Scarlet Stiletto Awards, now in its 33rd year, is designed to encourage and support women and girls to find their voice through storytelling.
The competition is open from 1 June to 31 August 2026, and this year we are excited to announce two new initiatives: the Carmel Shute Young Writers' Award and a new category – Cosy Cat Capers.
“The Scarlet Stiletto Awards are not only a celebration of women's new writing, they're also a celebration of the short story and its crucial role in the history of the crime genre. The awards are a launching pad – so many winners have gone on to become published authors with the skills they learnt from crafting a perfect crime short story. This year might be your year.” – Dr Kelly Gardiner, President, Sisters in Crime
The first prize winner takes home $2000, sponsored by Swinburne University of Technology, plus the coveted stiletto trophy: a scarlet stiletto shoe with a steel stiletto heel plunging into a mount. Second and third prizes will also be awarded, and 11 additional category prizes, including: Body in the Library, Cross-genre, Great Film Idea, Most Satisfying Retribution, Forensic Clue, and others. Winners will be published in an anthology and may have their story narrated for our podcast.
Several former winners have gone on to establish highly successful careers. Dervla McTiernan, Tara Moss, Aoife Clifford, Cate Kennedy and Anna Snoekstra among them.
Dr Sandra Thom-Jones, the 1st prize winner in 2025 Scarlet Stiletto Awards, never dreamt she would win the coveted shoe. She said that, previously, “winning prizes in the 2023 Scarlet Stilettos was instrumental in convincing me that I could write crime stories people wanted to read and motivated me to start work on my first novel”.
Entry information
Who can enter: The competition is open to all women, including transgender or intersex, who are citizens/residents of Australia.
Closing date: 31 August 2026
Maximum story length: 5000 words.
Entry fee (per story): $30 non-members, $20 for Sisters in Crime members and youth/student concession. Maximum two entries per person.
If you’re ready to take a stab at this competition, you can find out more and enter here.
