Entries are now open for the 2020 KYD New Critic Award! Now in its fourth year, this award will assist the vocational development of an early-career critic.

This year the New Critic Award is once again open to critics working in all fields of arts and culture (books, film, television, theatre, music, dance, performance, visual arts, etc). Once again, we’re particularly interested in writing that speaks to the changing nature of cultural criticism – whether that be critiquing an under-examined art form, experimenting with prose style and structure, or highlighting new or underrepresented voices and perspectives.

The winner will receive a total of $3000 prize money, consisting of a $1000 cash prize (generously sponsored by the Monash School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics) and a regular paid column (5 long-form articles at $400 each) in 2020, working closely with KYD editorial staff. Two runners up will each have the opportunity to publish one of their pitch proposals in KYD in 2020 (paid at KYD’s standard contributor rate of $250).

To read the guidelines and to make a submission, go to the submissions page. Entries are open from now until 11:59pm AEDT Sunday 10 November 2019.

Entries are open to writers all over Australia, including rural and regional areas; we strongly encourage writers from all backgrounds and experience levels to apply.

You must have a current KYD Membership to be eligible for this award. You can become a member for less than $1 a week. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers are encouraged to enter without the need for a KYD Membership.

The winner of the KYD New Critic Award will be announced in December 2019.

The full KYD New Critic Award Submission Guidelines and Terms & Conditions can be found here.

The judges for the 2019 Award are 2019 New Critic Cher Tan, book critic and Monash University lecturer Melinda Harvey, and senior KYD staff.

Good luck!

KYD gratefully acknowledges the support of the Monash University School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics in sponsoring this year’s award.