Terms and Conditions

  • Entrants must be a current member of Australian Crime Writers Association.

  • Entrants must also be an Australian citizen or resident.

  • Members of the Australian Crime Writers Association committee are not eligible to enter.

  • Entries must be an original unpublished piece of fiction in the crime genre.

  • Entries must be written by an individual author (no co-authors)

  • Entries can be up to a maximum of 500 words.

  • Entries must be written in English.

  • Entries must contain a reference to the key theme for the year which will be published on the Australian Crime Writers Association website.

  • Entries must not infringe upon anyone’s copyright.

  • Entries deemed to be plagiarism will be disqualified.

  • Entries must not contain anything obscene, libellous, unlawful, defamatory, or anything that Australian Crime Writers Association considers to be inappropriate.

  • Translations are not eligible.

Formatting Your Entry

  • Entries must be submitted as a Word Document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

  • The text should be a plain, 12 pt font.

  • The text should be 1.5 or 2 x line spacing.

  • The pages should be numbered.

Exclusivity

  • Entries can not be offered elsewhere during the judging period of The Louie Award and cannot be previously published in any format including digital, online or audio.

Entries

  • Entries must be submitted online via the Australian Crime Writers Association website entry page.

  • Multiple entries are not permitted. Only one entry per author.

  • Must include membership number (refer to your payment receipt or payment order confirmation number).

  • Entrants will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt to the email address used when entering.

The Judging Process

  • The judges are Australian Crime Writers Association committee members and invited guest judges.

  • The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into about the judgements or the judging process.

  • The Australian Crime Writers Association will not provide feedback about individual entries.

Announcements

  • A shortlist will be announced approximately two weeks before the winner is announced.

Copyright

  • Copyright in all stories remains with the authors.

Publication

  • The shortlisted stories will be published on the Australian Crime Writers Association website. (Please note, entries may receive minor editing to meet house style.)

  • While copyright of the shortlisted and winning stories resides with the author, the shortlisted entrants grant Australian Crime Writers Association an exclusive licence to publish their stories on its website following announcement of the shortlist and to promote that publication on its social media platforms for an exclusive period of two weeks. Stories can then be reproduced and published anywhere the author wishes.