The Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) and AVBOB have announced an extension to the deadline
for entries for the 2026 AVBOB FCJ Annual Excellence Awards.
The new closing date for all entries is now Thursday, May 21 at 17:00.
The awards recognise and reward excellence in local and community print media across South Africa
and are open to permanent and regular freelance editorial staff members. Regular freelance contributors
are defined as individuals who contribute to a publication at least once a month on average.
The competition covers work published between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.
The awards ceremony will take place on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Pretoria, where all finalists will be
invited to attend the prestigious event. The FCJ’s annual training seminar will also be hosted on the
morning of the awards ceremony.
Entrants are encouraged to carefully read all entry instructions and category requirements before
submitting. Entries that do not adhere to the rules and guidelines will be disqualified.
Electronic confirmation will be sent once entries are submitted through Google Forms. Should entrants
not receive confirmation within 24 hours, they are urged to follow up with the judges’ convenor.
No late entries will be accepted after the extended deadline.
The judges’ decisions will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. The judges also reserve
the right not to make an award in categories if insufficient or non-meritorious entries are received.
Follow this link to download entry forms.
For enquiries about entries, contact judges’ convenor Dr André Gouws at andreg@akademia.ac.za
or FCJ, executive director Ben Burger at myfcjinfo@gmail.com or deputy executive director Marietta
Lombard at mariettalombard6@gmail.com
AVBOB FCJ awards deadline extended to May 21
