Australian Jewish Book Award

The establishment of an Australian Jewish Book Award is to recognise excellence in contemporary Australian non-fiction writing on Jewish subjects; to promote the reading of these texts; and to inspire and support current and future Australian authors on Jewish subjects. In addition, we hope that the existence of this award will help cultivate and support a flourishing local arts community; provide a platform for authors to receive further exposure and publicity; and award writers with a monetary prize to further support their literary pursuits.

The first award to be offered in 2023 is the Award for Non-Fiction in Memory of Sophie and Leslie Caplan, supported by the Caplan Family to honour the memory of their parents, pillars of the Australian Jewish community who had a keen interest in modern Jewish history and literature.

Prize

The winner will receive a monetary prize, an on-stage interview at the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival (SJWF) as part of the award ceremony at the SJWF, and excerpts published in The Australian Jewish News (TBC).

Key Dates

1 December 2022 Submissions close
December 2022 – February 2023 Judging period
March 2023 Prizes awarded at the SJWF

Submission Guidelines

  1. A book in one of the following categories: Jewish studies, autobiography, biography, memoir, history, and journalism.
  2. The topic of the book must be of significant relevance to the Jewish experience and must not be considered by the judges to be antisemitic in accordance with the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
  3. The book must be published between 31 December 2021 – 31 December 2022.
  4. Final copies, galleys or bound manuscripts will be accepted. Books only published as e-books will also be accepted, as are books that have been self-published.
  5. The book must be distributed in Australia.
  6. The author must be an Australian citizen, or ordinarily residing in Australia.
  7. A book written by two or more authors in collaboration will be eligible for consideration for the prize, with the prize being divided between the authors.
  8. The judges reserve the right to refuse a submission which they consider does not meet the eligibility criteria.
  9. The prize organisers reserve the right to call for submissions which they consider are eligible, but have not previously been submitted.
  10. Posthumous submissions will not be accepted – all authors must be living at the time of submissions.
  11. Translations will be accepted if the English translation is published during the award dates of submission. The prize will be shared between author and translator. The eligibility criteria apply to original author and not the translator.
  12. Anthologies or collections with articles or essays by a single author previously published will be accepted.
  13. Authors or publishers must consent to their book being submitted to the award.
  14. There is no limit as to the number of submissions an author or publisher may make.
  15. All submissions must include a completed registration form, a digital copy of the book and five printed copies of the book. Hard copies of books submitted will not be returned.
  16. Authors who are longlisted, shortlisted or award recipients will be expected to take part in media requests organised by Shalom. The winner will be expected to appear at the SJWF for a live interview.

Please fill out the form to enter


For further information about the award, please contact Anna Stern at anna@shalom.edu.au or on +61 2 9381 4016