The Nobels announced last week mostly honor achievement in the sciences (with one prize for literature), but if you think no bells ring for the narrative nonfiction practitioner, think again.
The True Story Award recognizes exceptional journalism from across the globe, published in any of 10 widely spoken languages (entries in translation from other languages are also accepted). The prize was launched in 2018 by an independent journalism consortium based in Bern, Switzerland, with the goal to “make reporters’ voices known beyond the borders of their home countries, and in doing so to increase the diversity of perspectives offered in the media.”
The True Story Award 2025 contest will award prizes in three categories of nonfiction journalism: research, storytelling and impact. Winners of the top prize in each category, to be announced in June, will receive $20,000.
The deadline is fast approaching: Entries for stories published between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, will be accepted until Oct. 22.
In the U.S., submissions are now being accepted for the prestigious National Magazine Awards, which, though once restricted to work published in print magazines, now “recognize magazine storytelling published in any medium, including newspapers and newsletters.”
The awards, now in their 60th year, are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia Journalism School. Winners will be announced in April.
For content published before Oct. 15 of this year, the deadline for submissions is Oct. 24, though late entries will be accepted until Oct. 31 for an additional fee. Submissions for content published in November and December will be accepted at the end of each of those respective months.
