Dunedin City of Literature bid co-ordinator Liz Knowles said the festival in Melbourne in February provided writers with ideas on ways to share their stories with online audiences.
The festival organisers wanted emerging writers in Unesco Cities of Literature - Dunedin, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Iowa City, Dublin, Reykjavik, Norwich, Krakow, Heidelberg, Prague and Granada - to create a 20-minute livecast stream using two smartphones and a 3G/4G data connection.
Ms Knowles said the tour could include their favourite literary hotspots, bookstores and cafes around their city while answering questions about their own work via Twitter.
''This competition gives the chance for two of Dunedin's emerging writers to collaborate and promote both the city and themselves on a world stage.''
Ms Knowles said the competition helped pull together the synergies of Dunedin being a Gigatown and a City of Literature.
''This competition highlights both the need for speed via Gigabit technology in bringing the world closer to Dunedin and the opportunities that becoming a City of Literature bring with it both culturally and economically.''
Applications are open at www.digitalwritersfestival.com and close January 5.
