GSV Writing Prize

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1. The GSV is pleased to announce details of its 2026 Writing Prize competition.

Sponsored by

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2. Purpose of the Prize

• to encourage the writing of family history
• to provide an opportunity for recognition and publication
• to publish the winner in the GSV's Ancestor journal as an example of quality family history writin

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3. Eligibility

The competition is open to GSV members and all members of GSV Member Societies. Individuals may submit only one entry.

Members of the Ancestor Editorial Team, the judges, GSV staff and the winner of the previous year's prize are not eligible to enter.

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4. The Prize

We are very pleased to announce that Ancestry™ is again generously sponsoring the competition with a first prize of a 12-month subscription to Ancestry’s AU World Heritage Package, valued at $499.98, plus a DNA test kit. A prize of a DNA test kit for the runner-up may also be offered at the discretion of the judges.

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5. Announcement and Publication

The winner will be announced at the GSV's Annual General Meeting in October, and the winning article will be published in the December 2026 issue of Ancestor.
At the judges’ discretion, a runner-up may be selected.
At the Ancestor Editorial Team’s discretion, one or more of the submitted entries may be published in subsequent editions.

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6. Conditions of Entry

The article should:

• have a family history/genealogy theme
• be the original work of one author (entries co-authored by two or more individuals will not be accepted)
• not have been previously published in any format, or be under consideration or accepted by any other publication
• be between 1200 and 2400 words (not including title, image captions, endnotes and sources)
• contain appropriate citations of sources

In accordance with Ancestor publishing policy, articles of historical fiction will not be accepted.
Accompanying images are desirable but are not part of the judging criteria. Up to four high resolution images (minimum 300 dpi) may be submitted. Images must be in the public domain, or the author's own, or have the owner's permission to publish. Images taken from the internet are often unsuitable for print reproduction and may not be out of copyright.

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7. Before you enter the GSV Writing Prize 

We recommend you read the Ancestor Guidelines for Authors at https://www.gsv.org.au/guidelines-authors, and ‘Tips for writing an article’, Ancestor, volume 35, June 2020 pp26-27.
Entrants are reminded that articles should be targeted to the Ancestor readership.

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8. Judging

The winning article will be that which, in the opinion of the judges, is the most: 

• interesting
• well written
• thoroughly researched and appropriately referenced

Entries will be judged anonymously by a panel consisting of:

• three members of the Ancestor Editorial Team
• the President (or a past or present member of Council nominated by the President, who is not a member of the Ancestor Editorial Team or the Writers Circle)
• one other judge who is not a member of the Ancestor Editorial Team, the GSV Council, or the GSV Writers Circle

The judges reserve the right not to award the prize if the entries are not considered to be of sufficient merit, or there are insufficient entries.The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

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9. How to enter

Please click here for entry form

Submit your article as a Word document, together with your entry form by email to writingprize@gsv.org.au

• OR on a USB stick to the front desk at the GSV (retain a copy as USBs will not be returned).
• Hard copy will not be accepted except by prior arrangement (contact GSV on +61 3 9662 4455)
• Use a plain font, e.g. Times New Roman or Calibri, 12 point.
• Number your pages and include the article title in the header.
• Do not put your name on the pages of the article.
• If submitting images, send them in separate jpg or tiff files scanned at 300 dpi. Do not include images in the text.
• In your article, include the title and, if images are submitted, the image number and caption for each image.

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10. Before submitting your entry, please ensure that you have:

• read and complied with the conditions of entry
• filled in the competition entry form
• checked your article word length
• numbered the pages and put the title in the header
• checked that your name does not appear in the article
• scanned any images being submitted at 300 dpi, and saved them as separate jpg or tiff files
• ensured that any images submitted are sent separately as jpg or tiff files scanned at 300 dpi
• included the title of your article, image number and caption for each image submitted
• obtained permission to use any images that are not your own or in the public domain. 

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11. Closing Date

The closing date is 4.00 pm on Friday 28 August 2026 and articles received after this time will not be considered.
 

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12. For judges report from previous Writing Prize winning entries.

Available here

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13. Winners of the GSV Writing Prize

The Prize was first awarded in 2013

2013    Kath McKay: Finding Shakespeare in family research

2014    Anne Cavanagh: Elizabeth and the doctor elope: the story of Elizabeth Ware

2015    Marilyn Fordred: Every photo tells a story    

2016    Emma Hegarty: Finding Mary Jane

2017    Helen Pearce: Thomas Owen: the skeleton in the family’s closet

2018    Helen Pearce: Daniel Elphinstone: his son’s secret exposed

2019    Louise Wilson: Masters of the road

2020    Brian Reid: ‘Tom were the naughty lad’

2021    Susan Wight: The mystery of the extra Booth Hodgetts

2022    Ian Penrose: Finding Emma: a story of my Lutheran ancestor

2023    Anne Prince: The ancestor box

2024    Sue Reid: Speak now or forever hold your peace

2025    Louise Millar-Hoffmann: The hostile housekeeper

 

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