stern-preis 2026 - photo story of the year
The STERN-Preis 2026 – Photo Story of the Year will be awarded to a photo series for a photojournalistic work published in a German-language journalistic medium (newspaper, magazine, website) in 2025.
The project should masterfully illustrate a major event of the year 2025, global and socially relevant topics, or a significant aspect of our social life. The photo series should demonstrate a high level of journalistic understanding and at the same time be visually convincing.
Single images will not be accepted, the published photo story from a magazine, weekly newspaper, daily newspaper or website must contain at least five images.
The award focuses on the journalistic, narrative, and the multifaceted presentation of relevant content. The STERN-Preis recognises the dedicated photographic and journalistic work of professional photographers who tell compelling stories through powerful imagery.
Although we welcome submissions from international photographers, the STERN-Preis only accepts entries that were published in a German-language journalistic media outlet (newspaper, magazine, website) during the year 2025.
Works submitted to the competition must not contain any watermarks, signatures, markings or other identifying features of the creator. Works containing such features will be rejected and excluded from the competition. The date, location and name of the photographer must be included in the metadata of the image files.