Are you a writer looking for an audience, and perhaps some guidance and encouragement? Do you have something to say about what it means to be a pilgrim of hope this Jubilee Year?
The Sisters of the Good Samaritan, in partnership with Garratt Publishing, are calling for entries for The Good Oil 2025 Writers’ Award, which aims to support and encourage the development of aspiring and published writers.
In this Jubilee Year in the Church, the theme of the award is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
Let us become pilgrims of hope! Peoples, nations and all creatures need those who choose to move towards communion. Others will follow. Let us return to building bridges where there are now walls … Let us open doors, connect worlds, and hope will spring forth (Pope Leo XIV, Rome, 14 June 2025).
The winner of The Good Oil 2025 Writers’ Award will receive mentoring by Garratt Publishing to support their writing goals.
A judging panel will award first, second and third place. The prize for the winning entry is $600, with $400 for second prize and $200 for third prize. A new Encouragement Award ‚with a prize of $250, is being sponsored by Garratt Publishing.
Prize-winning entries will be published in The Good Oil. A ministry of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, the publication’s editorial vision is 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.
Entrants are strongly encouraged to look at current and past editions of The Good Oil to gain an understanding of the type and style of articles published.
Entry is open to residents of Australia, Kiribati, the Philippines and Japan—countries where the Sisters of the Good Samaritan live and minister.
Entrants are invited to submit a single piece of writing on the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, 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
The judges will base their decision on the entries that best explore the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ in their chosen writing style. In particular, the judges will be looking for pieces that are topical, engaging, creative, original and well written.
Entry is free and open to writers aged 18 and over.
Entries close at 5pm AEST on Friday 29 August 2025.
By submitting an entry, an entrant confirms that they are the author of the submitted work, that it has not been published previously or submitted in any other awards or competitions, and that they have read and agreed to The Good Oil 2025 Writers’ Award Guidelines.
Banner image: close up of woman’s hands typing on a laptop computer. (Photo by Kaitlyn Baker via Unsplash.)
