Entries are invited for The Good Oil 2023 Writers’ Award, an initiative of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. Entry is free and open to both emerging and published writers.
The theme for this year’s award is Finding My Voice.
Entrants are strongly encouraged to look at past editions of The Good Oil, the e-journal of the Good Samaritan Sisters, to gain an understanding of the type and style of articles published, and the publication’s vision to nourish the spirit, stimulate thinking, promote social justice, and encourage reflection and dialogue about issues of the day from a Christian, Catholic, Good Samaritan perspective. To view current and past editions of The Good Oil, click here.
Guidelines for entrants
Entrants are invited to submit a single piece of writing adopting one of the following styles:
Reflection – creative writing or first person reflective writing
Opinion – first person personal opinion
Profile – profile of a person based on an interview and research
News feature – issues-based article written in journalistic style
In their chosen writing style, entrants are asked to submit a piece of writing on the theme Finding My Voice.
Length: 800 – 1200 words for articles. This word count does not apply to poems.
A judging panel will award first, second and third place. The prize for the winning entry will be $600; second $400; third $200. The judges may award up to two highly commendeds.
The submission must be the entrant’s original work, written in English, and must not have been published previously in any forum (including web sites and blogs). Any entry found to be plagiarised will be disqualified. Anonymous entries will not be eligible.
Only individual submissions will be accepted, i.e. no group submissions.
Entry is open to residents of Australia, Kiribati, the Philippines and Japan – countries where the Sisters of the Good Samaritan live and minister.
Entry is free and open to writers aged 18 and over. Only entries submitted online will be eligible. All entries will be acknowledged.
Entrants may submit more than one piece of writing, to a maximum of three (3) pieces. Each entry must be submitted separately. Entrants are advised to keep a copy of their entry.
By submitting their entry, entrants confirm that they are the author of the submitted work, that it has not been published or submitted in any other awards or competitions, and that they have read and agreed to The Good Oil 2023 Writers’ Award Guidelines.
Entrants give the Sisters of the Good Samaritan the right to publish their article along with their name, biographical details and their photo in The Good Oil, on the website of the Good Samaritan Sisters, via Twitter and Facebook, and distribute for publication in Catholic and other media.
Prize-winning entries will be announced in The Good Oil, on the website of the Good Samaritan Sisters and via Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday 19 September 2023. The successful entrants will be contacted via phone and email.
Prize-winning entries will be published in The Good Oil.
The judges will base their decision on the entries which best explore the theme Finding My Voice in their chosen writing style. In particular, the judges will be looking for writing that is topical, engaging, creative, original, and well written.
The Good Oil 2023 Writers’ Award will be made only if the judges consider the prize-winning entries are of sufficient quality.
The decision of the judging panel is final; no correspondence will be entered into by The Good Oil and the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, or any other party involved in the conduct of The Good Oil 2023 Writers’ Award.
How to submit your entry
Entry is free and open to writers aged 18 and over. Only entries submitted online will be eligible.
As entries will be judged anonymously, do NOT include any identifying information in the text of the article.
Entrants may submit more than one piece of writing, to a maximum of three (3) pieces. Each entry must be submitted separately. Entrants are advised to keep a copy of their entry.
Only online entries will be eligible. Entries close at 5pm AEST on Sunday 20 August 2023.
