The Holt Prize

What is The Holt Prize?

The Holt Prize is a biennial publishing award which recognises excellence in unpublished legal works of an academic or practical nature. The competition is open to first-time authors and the winner is awarded a $12,000 cash prize and a publishing contract with The Federation Press.

The prize is named after the late Christopher Holt, co-founder of The Federation Press, who gave many academics their first publishing opportunity. It was awarded for the first time in 2015.

The next round of submissions will open on 1 December 2023. Please submit your manuscript and an entry form by 31 March 2024. The entry form is available here. If you have any questions about The Holt Prize, please email publishing@federationpress.com.au

List of previous winners and judges

2021: William Isdale, Compensation for Native Title 

The judges for 2021 were The Hon Susan Crennan AC QC, Emeritus Professor Mark Aronson and Perry Herzfeld SC.

2019: Shipra Chordia, Proportionality in Australian Constitutional Law

The judges for 2019 were The Hon Professor William Gummow AC, The Hon Justice Alan Robertson and Ruth Higgins SC.

2017: Dylan Lino, Constitutional Recognition: First Peoples and the Australian Settler State

The judges for 2017 were The Hon Justice Virginia Bell AC, The Hon Keith Mason AC QC and Professor George Williams AO.

2015: The joint winners were Dr Giovanni Di Lieto, Migrant Labour Law: Unfolding Justice at Work in Free Markets and Dr Scott Stephenson, From Dialog to Disagreement in Comparative Rights Constitutionalism.

In 2015, The Federation Press also published the outstanding works of these finalists: Dr Yee-Fui Ng, Ministerial Advisers in Australia: The Modern Legal Context and Dr James Watson, The Origins of the Duty to Account.

The judges for 2015 were Justice Stephen Gageler, Neil Williams SC and Professor Andrew Lynch.