Barbara Jefferis Award

The Barbara Jefferis Award is offered for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”.

Barbara Jefferis was a feminist, a founding member of the Australian Society of Authors, its first woman President and, in the words of Thomas Keneally, “a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted. She was a professional and internationally published writer long before most of us dreamed of such things”.

The Award is supported by the Barbara Jefferis Literary Fund, which was established as a result of a bequest from Barbara Jefferis’ husband, ABC film critic John Hinde, who died in 2006. The Australian Society of Authors is the Trustee of the Fund.

In 2024, the Award prize pool is valued at $55,000, with $50,000 for the winner and $5,000 to be shared among the short-listed authors, making this one of the most generous literary awards in Australia.

Eligibility for Entry

1. The Award is for a novel (book-length work of fiction) first published commercially and distributed in the period 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2023 (“Publication Period”).

2. The novel must be in English. Translation of novels into the English language are eligible provided that the English language version was first published in the Publication Period.

3. The author of the novel:

(a) must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident;

(b) must be aged 18 years or over;

(c) must be living at the time of entry;

(d) may identify as any gender.

4. Novels written by two or more authors are eligible for entry.

5. Novels for adults and young adults are eligible for entry. Works of non-fiction, poetry, or children’s books are not eligible.

6. Novels published in print format or ebook format (including digital-only editions) are eligible for entry.

7. Self-published novels are eligible for entry, provided that they were first made available for purchase to members of the public via a retail platform during the Publication Period.

8. Novels may be submitted by an author, or by a publisher or literary agent on behalf of an author. If a novel is entered by a publisher or agent, the author’s consent to enter the novel must be obtained.

9. Publishers and literary agents may submit a maximum of eight titles per imprint or agency respectively.

10. All contact details for the author, publisher and agent (if applicable) must be included on the entry form for the entry to be valid.

11. The judges, Board members and employees of the Australian Society of Authors, and their immediate families, are ineligible to enter this Award. Immediate family means any of the following: spouse, ex-spouse, de-facto spouse, child or step-child (whether natural or by adoption), parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, or first cousin.

Key Dates

12. Entries open on 17 April 2024.

13. Entries close at 5pm, AEST, on 24 May 2024.

14. Late entries will not be eligible for entry.

15. A shortlist, from whom the winner will be chosen, and highly commended entries (if any) will be released on 18 September 2024.

16. The winner will be announced in early November at an award ceremony held during the Colin Simpson Memorial Keynote. The winner’s name will also be published on the ASA’s website and social media by no later than 20 November 2024.

Entry fees

17. Fee: The fee per entry for novels submitted is $65.

How to enter

18. Each entrant must:

(a) complete and submit the online application form; and submit an electronic copy of the novel, in Word, PDF, or epub format, using the upload function on the online submission form.

(b) post or deliver one (1) hard copy of the submitted novel to:

Services and Awards Coordinator
Australian Society of Authors
Suite C1.06, 22-36 Mountain Street
Ultimo NSW 2007

19. Receipt of applications will be acknowledged by email after submission.

20. Application material will not be returned.

Selection Criteria

21. The novels will be assessed by a judging panel comprised of three (3) people. The judges will be announced on the ASA website in May 2024. The judges will consider which novel is best and will recommend a winner to the Trustee, having considered:

(a) the literary merit of each novel, defined as the entrant’s writing ability, focusing on style, appropriateness of form, skilled use of language, clarity of expression and sustained development of themes or ideas; and

(b) the work’s success in depicting women and/or girls in a positive way or in a way that otherwise empowers the status of women and/or girls in society.

22. Shortlisted titles will be those whose narratives are significantly driven by or concerned with depicting women and/or girls in a positive way or in a way that otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society.

Judging Process

23. The judges may call for novels which have not been entered in the Award. Called-for entries must submit an online application form and pay the entry fee in order to be considered.

24. The shortlist and winner of the Award will be decided by the Trustee, guided by the recommendation of the judges. The decision of the Trustee is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

25. The judges may recommend to the Trustee that no Award be made if they consider that no entry is of sufficient merit.

26. The judges may recommend to the Trustee that the Award be divided between a number of entries.

Disqualification

27. The judges, in their absolute discretion, may disqualify any entrant or entries if they reasonably suspect any unlawful or improper conduct, such as infringing a third party’s intellectual property rights, or if there has been a breach of these terms and conditions.

Intellectual property

28. Each author warrants that:

(a) they have all necessary rights to submit their entry;

(b) their novel is their original creation; and

(c) their novel is free from any claims that it infringes any third party rights.

Privacy

29. By entering this Award, the author is consenting to the ASA collecting their contact details for the purposes of administering this Award. The ASA may disclose their contact details to the judging panel. Shortlisted authors will be asked to provide the ASA with a biography of approximately 250 words, a headshot and video footage to be used on the ASA website and social media for the purpose of announcing the shortlist and winner of the Award and associated publicity purposes.

30. Each entrant warrants that he or she meets the entry requirements, all details included in their entry is true and accurate, and accepts these terms and conditions.