The June Andrews Award for Freelance Journalist of the Year recognises the unique contribution that freelance journalists make across all media platforms to the future of the industry.
The June Andrews Award for Freelance Journalist of the Year is chosen on the basis of journalistic excellence.
Entrants must submit a body of work of three pieces. All forms of media are accepted. This award is only open to individual entrants.
All entries must have been published or broadcast and available in Australia between April 27, 2023 and April 15, 2024.
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs.
Your entry must comply with the Terms & Conditions.
2024 winner: Gabriella Coslovich, Good Weekend and The Saturday Paper, ‘Body of work’ (‘Fine Lines’, ‘The Art of War’, ‘Grand-standing’)
The prize
The winner of the Freelance Journalist of the Year will receive 2 x tickets to the Walkley Awards Gala Dinner.
Entry fee
Thanks to the support of Media Super the entry fee for The June Andrews Award for Freelance Journalist of the Year has dropped to $50.
Entry remains free for MEAA members.
Entry Support
If you have any further questions, please contact: Margie Smithurst, Senior Manager, Walkley Awards and Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism: margie.smithurst@walkleys.com.
2022 winner
2022 Winner: Dale Webster, The Regional, “’Big four’ banks casting a dangerous shadow” “Why I spent a year counting every bank in regional Australia” and “What anyone making a submission to Australia’s latest regional banking inquiry should know first”
Dale Webster has carved a niche telling stories that resonate with regional Australians. She has decades of experience working in print media but after being made redundant from News Corp’s rural masthead, The Weekly Times, she set out on her own and publishes independently through her own title, The Regional.
2022 finalists were announced on May 26:
- Martin McKenzie-Murray, The Monthly and Sydney Morning Herald, “Grace notes” “Australian Purgatory” and “Fringe parties, white supremacists and other grifters are mining the paranoia of our times”
- Andrew Quilty, Harper’s Magazine and Rolling Stone, “When the Raids Came” “Once the World Looks Away We Are All Dead” and “Where the Taliban Rule”
- Dale Webster, The Regional, “’Big four’ banks casting a dangerous shadow” “Why I spent a year counting every bank in regional Australia” and “What anyone making a submission to Australia’s latest regional banking inquiry should know first”
Read the full list of finalists here. Winners were announced at the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism on June 15.