True Story Award 2027 for Journalists ($20,000 prize)
Overview
The True Story Award 2027 is an international prize for journalists, presented at the opening of the True Story Festival. It recognises written reports that stand out for depth of research, quality of writing and societal relevance. The award has three categories: Research, Storytelling and Impact.
The Research category rewards high-quality journalistic investigation, taking into account the scope of the work, time invested, data analysis, difficulty of obtaining information and any risks involved. Storytelling recognises outstanding writing in a feature, judged on structure, the mix of facts and prose, narrative elegance and literary quality. Impact recognises the societal effect of a feature, looking at news value, reader response and possible consequences in politics, the economy and society.
What you get
The main jury selects three winners, one in each category. Each winner receives a prize of USD $20,000.
Who can apply
The award is open to journalists from around the world. Reports published between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026 in daily or weekly newspapers, magazines or online are eligible.
Requirements
Submitted texts must be between 15,000 and 85,000 characters including spaces. Previously published works in book form, unpublished manuscripts, visual and audiovisual works, purely factual texts and academic works are not eligible. Each author may submit only one text, and entries may come from the authors themselves or their editorial teams. By submitting, authors confirm that the text is based on genuinely researched events and meets journalistic standards. If nominated, authors grant the True Story Foundation the right to publish the text on its website in the original language and in English, and to publish it in German in partner media outlets of the Award and the Festival.
How to apply
Entries are submitted online in nine languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Persian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Entries in other languages can be submitted in English translation through one of three regional categories: Europe, World I (Africa and the Middle East), or World II (South Asia and Southeast Asia).
Key dates
The submission deadline is Saturday, 31 October 2026, at 12:00 (UTC). Later entries cannot be considered.