View the full album of photos from the 2025 Award Ceremony here.

The prize winners of the WLCU Sydney Inc. Dr Charles Malik Literary Awards 2025 were announced at a December ceremony in Sydney CBD. 

Congratulations to our the place-winning entries from the 2025 Competition.

This was the fourth year of our competition, and it continues to grow, not just in the number of entries, but in the quality of the submissions. As Chief Judge, Dr Joe Rizk, commented: “This year was very challenging for us, given the extent of extremely high entries”.

Fellow Judge, Antoinette Elias commented: “I thank all the entrants on their submissions. It was a pleasure and a privilege to read all the submissions. The quantity and quality of this year’s entries were outstanding; they encompassed a wide range of writing styles and topics. Some entries invoked emotion, others sparked curiosity, whilst others were informative and educational.

Collectively,  the submissions captured the essence of being Lebanese, provided an insight into being part of the diaspora, and paid homage to the sacrifices that Lebanese people have made and continue to make in order to give their families a better future.” On the evening, Marcus Khoudair, a new judge on the panel who is an awarded screenwriter and facilitator of writing workshops, was so impressed by the number of outstanding submissions, he read a series of quotes from submissions that did not even place in the competition!

Click on the hyperlinks below to read the outstanding quality of the submissions in full.

Congratulations to our the place-winning entries from the 2024 Competition.

The judges also awarded two additional awards this year: the WLCU Literary Award for Outstanding Contribution and the WLCU General Merit Award.

The WLCU Literary Award for Outstanding Contribution was awarded to John Abi-Saab in recognition of his consistent authorship of five articles over the past three years, as well as his initiative in proposing a marking template to assist judges, promote objectivity, and offer guidance to entrants.

The WLCU General Merit Award recognised Christina Assy, the author of LEBANON 2024 who is a 17 year old student in Lebanon, whose entry touched us all, given the current tragic events in Lebanon.

Click on the hyperlinks below to read the outstanding quality of the submissions in full.

Congratulations to our winning entries from the 2023 Competition.

Click on the hyperlinks below to read the outstanding quality of the submissions in full.

Congratulations to all those who were recognised as high-calibre entrants in the inaugural essay writing competition held in 2022.

Click on the hyperlinks below to read the outstanding quality of the submissions in full.