Human Rights
Essay Prize

The Portside Review Human Rights Essay Prize is a new international prize funded by Centre for Stories’ Founder’s Circle and Centre for Stories’ esteemed donors Baden Offord, Christopher MacFarlane and John Ryan. 

Celebrating writing excellence, a selection of ten shortlisted essays will be published in a special edition of Portside Review in 2025. The winner will receive a prize of AUD $10,000 and a round economy trip to Perth, Western Australia, to lecture on the essay’s theme and/or run workshops in September 2025.

First Place: AUD $10,000

Second Place: AUD $5,000

Shortlisted essays: AUD $300 

Submissions open 9 April 2025 and close on 6 June 2025, 11.59pm Australian Western Standard Time (GMT +8).

The shortlist will be announced in late June 2025.

The winner will be announced and published in July 2025.

Please read the guidelines carefully before applying. Submit your application using the form below.

More information on the Human Rights Essay Prize can be found here.

Guidelines

Entries will demonstrate an aesthetic excellence with high quality writing; and attention to human rights values with ethical integrity aligned with Centre for Stories.

  • Essays must be in English and can include essays translated from other languages.

  • Essays must be a non-fiction essay between 2,000 and 3,000 words. 

  • Essays must be on the topic of social justice and human rights. It is preferred that they are located in the Indian Ocean and Oceania as per the journal’s editorial mandate.

  • Essays may be activist oriented and engage with truth-telling, peacebuilding, social inclusion and/or cultural diversity. 

  • Essays may be analytical, include formal creativity, and/or provide a personal testament, as long as they are non-fiction. 

  • Essays may include references and evidence, but do not need footnotes.

  • Essays must be an original essay written by an individual living author.

  • Essays must not be previously published in print or online.

  • We encourage authors to make creative use of the essay form as appropriate to their subject. 

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPENED.

Submit Your Essay