Furphy Literary Award
With a record-breaking 881 entries submitted in 2026, the Furphy Literary Award (FLA) is one of Australia’s most reputable and prestigious short story competitions. Established in 1992 with the goal of encouraging and celebrating Australian writing in the short story form, the Award attracts a strong mix of published writers and fresh new voices.
From the highest number of submissions in the Award’s history, a longlist of 95 was revealed at the end of May, with 16 announced on the shortlist in late June. The shortlist reflects the impressive quality and range that has become synonymous with the Award. The 2026 Furphy Literary Award winner and placings were announced at a lively evening event at the Shepparton Art Museum in Victoria on Saturday 25th of July.
Kailum Graves is this year’s Furphy Literary Award first place winner, for his entry ‘The Magpies Have Unionised’.
Kailum receives $15,000, an invitation to participate in the La Trobe University Shepparton Residency, and publication in the upcoming The Furphy Anthology 2026, along with the other 15 shortlisted submissions. Graves is an exciting emerging writer of speculative fiction and is also an award-winning visual artist who has exhibited around the world. His short stories have been attracting attention in recent years (most recently he won the 2026 Jane Austen Literacy Foundation Writing Competition), with a debut novel currently seeking publication.