Information (226)
Children categories
Thanking our Partners (9)
Australian Book Review is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. ABR is supported by the South Australian Government through Arts South Australia.
We also acknowledge the generous support of university partner, Monash University, and we are grateful for the support of Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund, Good Business Foundation (an initiative of Peter McMullin AM), Australian Communities Foundation, the City of Melbourne, and Arnold Bloch Leibler.
View items...ABR Cultural Tour to the USA 2016
Australian Book Review in the United States
Australian Book Review’s seventeen-day US tour – led by Peter Rose and Christopher Menz – took us from Washington, DC to New York City. It was the first of its kind undertaken by the magazine. Our aim was to take ABR on the road with a party of keen readers and supporters. The tour began at the Australian Embassy in Washington, where the Editor was in conversation with Geraldine Brooks (newly gonged at the Ambassador’s residence an hour earlier) and Anna Funder, before a capacity audience.
Along the way we visited writers’ homes (Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, and Edith Wharton’s opulent The Mount), great libraries (Morgan, Beinecke, Library of Congress, the New York Public Library), and several new or reopened art museums, including the Met Breuer and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the magnificent Art Museums in Cambridge, as well as several museums that weren’t known to everyone in the group (Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Phillips Collection, Wadsworth Atheneum, Philip Johnson’s Glass House, Yale Center for British Art, and the Clark in Williamstown, with Tadao Ando’s superb new extension).
There was also much theatre and opera, all in a spirit of enquiring conviviality. We met writers, librarians, publishers, journalists, curators, and diplomats. Two highlights on our penultimate day in New York were visits to the offices of the New York Review of Books (where Peter Rose and Robert Silvers exchanged copies of their magazines) and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, whose president and publisher, Jonathan Galassi, spoke about his new books and his keen interest in Australian writers.
Photographs from ABR's US tour
The tour group in Concord
Geraldine Brooks AO, Ambassador Caroline Millar, and Anna Funder
At the Clark Institute in Williamstown
Peter Rose and Robert Silvers
The Dickinson family plot in Amherst
The Mount, Lenox
ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
The 2024 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Prize is worth $12,500 and has now closed for entries.
The Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is one of Australia's leading prizes for an original short story. It honours the work of the great Australian writer Elizabeth Jolley (1923–2007). Maria Takolander won the inaugural Australian Book Review Short Story Competition in 2010. In 2011 the prize was renamed the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize.
Past Jolley Prize winners
2010: Maria Takolander
2011: Carrie Tiffany and Gregory Day
2012: Sue Hurley
2013: Michelle Michau-Crawford
2014: Jennifer Down
2015: Rob Magnuson Smith (UK). Magnuson Smith was the first international winner of the Jolley Prize.
2016: Josephine Rowe
2017: Eliza Robertson (Canada)
2018: Madelaine Lucas (USA/Australia)
2019: Sonja Dechian
2020: Mykaela Saunders
2021: Camilla Chaudhary (UK)
2022: Tracy Ellis
2023: Rowan Heath
Click here to find out more about the 2024 Jolley Prize
Click here for more information about past winners of the Jolley Prize and to read their stories.
ABR gratefully acknowledges the support of Ian Dickson.
'To win the Jolley Prize is a surreal and wonderful feeling. At this stage of my writing life, when I am working on my first book, to receive this vote of confidence from such a respected literary establishment as Australian Book Review is incredibly meaningful. Most of all, this encouragement has given me new motivation to focus on my work and continue down this path.'
Madelaine Lucas, 2018 winner
‘My very first publication came from a magazine contest, so I know first hand the opportunities they provide to new writers. I am incredibly grateful to ABR and the judges for choosing my story and helping me to connect with Australian readers.’
Eliza Robertson (Canada), 2017 winner
Winning the Jolley Prize after being overseas for several years was an immensely bolstering welcome back – all the more so for the honour it pays to one of the most influential and tenacious forces in Australian literature.’
Josephine Rowe, 2016 winner
'I am thrilled to be this year's winner of the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. This important prize encourages all international writers of fiction who want their work to be judged as it should be – on its own merits and strictly anonymously. I am very grateful to Australian Book Review and the judges.'
Rob Magnuson Smith (UK), 2015 Winner
'To win the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is a delicious honour.'
Gregory Day, 2011 joint winner
2016 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
Australian Book Review is delighted to announce that Josephine Rowe has won the 2016 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story 'Glisk'. Ian Dickson announced Josephine as the overall winner at the 2016 Melbourne Writers Festival. Anthony Lawrence placed second for his story 'Ash' and Jonathan Tel came third for his story 'The Water Calligrapher's Women'. Subscribers can read all three shortlisted stories in the August 2016 Fiction issue. We would like to congratulate all three shortlisted entrants and thank all those who entered their stories
This year the prestigious ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize Prize attracted almost 1,400 entries from thirty-eight countries. The 2016 Jolley Prize is worth a total of $12,500, with a first prize of $7,000 and supplementary prizes of $2,000 and $1,000.
The judges also commended three stories – ‘Help Me Harden My Heart’ by Dom Amerena, 'Window’ by Cate Kennedy, and ‘Slut Trouble’ by Beejay Silcox. The commended authors each receive $750 and their stories will be published by ABR.
The 2016 Jolley Prize was judged by ABR Deputy Editor Amy Baillieu, and authors Maxine Beneba Clarke and David Whish-Wilson. Click here for more information about the judges.
About the 2016 Jolley Prize shortlisted authors
Anthony Lawrence has published sixteen books of poems and a novel. His most recent collection is Headwaters (Pitt Street Poetry, 2016). His books and poems have won a number of awards, including the Peter Porter Poetry Prize (for 'Domestic Emergencies' in 2010) and the NSW Premier's Award. He lives on the far north coast of New South Wales. Read his shortlisted story 'Ash'
Josephine Rowe is the author of two short story collections and the novel A Loving, Faithful Animal (2016). Her fiction and essays have appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Best Australian Stories, The Monthly, The Saturday Paper, and elsewhere. She is a recent recipient of a Stegner Fellowship in fiction from Stanford University. Her story ‘Suitable for a Lampshade’ won the Reader’s Choice Award in the 2010 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. Read her winning story 'Glisk'.
Jonathan Tel’s stories have won the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Prize 2016, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2015, and the VS. Pritchett Prize from the Royal Society of Literature 2015. His story ‘Year of the Panda’ was commended in the 2015 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. He has lived in Tokyo, Jerusalem, Berlin, London, New York and San Francisco. Read his shortlisted story 'The Water Calligrapher's Women'
The 2016 Jolley Prize longlist
'Help Me Harden My Heart' by Dom Amerena (Vic) - Commended
'Like Family' by Glendaliz Camacho (US)
'Material Remains' by Stephanie Buckle (NSW)
'Batons and Ropes' by SJ Finn (Vic)
'Blue Monsters' by Anthony Howcroft (US)
'Window' by Cate Kennedy (Vic) – Commended
'Ash' by Anthony Lawrence (NSW) - Shortlisted
'First Regret' by Jessica Lim (QLD)
'The other girl' by Beth McMullan (WA)
'Shearwater' by Astrid O'Neill (ACT)
'Honeysuckled' by Elisabeth Passmore (NSW)
'Dignity' by Mirandi Riwoe (QLD)
'Glisk' by Josephine Rowe (Vic) – Winner
'Perfect' by Kate Ryan (Vic)
'Slut Trouble' by Beejay Silcox (ACT) – Commended
'Will it leave a scar?' by Elizabeth Smyth (QLD)
'The Water Calligrapher's Women' by Jonathan Tel (UK) – Shortlisted
'Black Soil' by Jessica White (QLD)
'Mothership' by Michelle Wright (Vic)
Please read our list of Frequently Asked Questions before contacting us with a question about the Jolley Prize.
You may be interested in reading the shortlisted stories from previous years.
More information about all our past winners is available here, along with links to their stories.
2015 Jolley Prize winner: Rob Magnuson Smith
Announcing the 2015 Jolley Prize winner
Australian Book Review is delighted to announce that Rob Magnuson Smith has won the 2015 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for his story 'The Elector of Nossnearly'. Award-winning author Steven Carroll announced Rob as the overall winner at the 2015 Brisbane Writers Festival. Michelle Cahill placed second for her story 'Borges and I' and Harriet McKnight came third for her story 'Crest'. Subscribers can read all three shortlisted stories in the September 2015 Fiction issue. We would like to congratulate all shortlisted entrants and thank all those who entered their stories.
Rob Magnuson Smith reads from his story 'The Elector of Nossnearly' at the 2015 Jolley Prize ceremony at the Brisbane Writers Festival
The ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is one of the country’s most prestigious awards for short fiction. This year the Jolley Prize attracted over 1200 entries from over thirty-one different countries, most of stories were newly written for this competition. They kept busy our three judges: Amy Baillieu, Sarah Holland-Batt, and Paddy O'Reilly.
About Rob Magnuson Smith
Rob Magnuson Smith's début novel, The Gravedigger, appeared in 2010 after winning the Pirate’s Alley William Faulkner Award. He has written many articles of investigative journalism for Playboy, where he is contributing editor. His second novel is Scorper (Granta Books, 2015). A graduate of University of East Anglia’s MA in Creative Writing and Bath Spa University’s PhD in Creative Writing, Rob is currently a lecturer at Exeter University and lives in Cornwall. Subscribers can read his winning story 'The Elector of Nossnearly' in the September 2015 Fiction issue.
2016 Calibre Prize Judges
Sophie Cunningham has been a writer and publisher in Australia for thirty years. A former publisher and editor, she is the author of two novels, Geography (2004) and Bird (2008). For the City Series, she wrote Melbourne (2011). Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy, her most recent book, was published by Text Publishing in 2014 and was long-listed for both a Walkley Award and the Kibble Prize. She is a former Editor of Meanjin, and until recently was Chair of the Literature Board of the Australia Council. She is a founding and current board member of The Stella Prize, a prize for Australian women’s writing. She lived in Brooklyn, New York, in 2014 and is now based in San Francisco, California. She is currently writing a novel called This Devastating Fever, about Leonard Woolf’s time in Ceylon in the early 1900s, and a collection of linked essays, tentatively entitled 50. She won the 2015 Calibre Prize for her essay 'Staying with the trouble'.
Peter Rose has been the Editor of Australian Book Review since 2001. Previously he was a publisher at Oxford University Press throughout the 1990s. Rose has published several books of poetry, a family memoir, Rose Boys (2003, now a Text Classic), and two novels, the most recent being Roddy Parr (Fourth Estate, 2010). His essays have appeared in The Best Australian Essays, and he edited the 2007 and 2008 editions of The Best Australian Poems (Black Inc.). Peter Rose’s long experience in publishing and the literary world complement the magazine’s history of central involvement in Australian letters.
ABR Online FAQ
What is ABR Online?
ABR Online is the digital version of Australian Book Review. It is published ten times a year to coincide with the publication of the print edition. It also includes a growing archive of digital editions of the magazine which are accessible to subscribers.
How do I subscribe?
You can subscribe by visiting this page and choosing the subscription option that suits you. If you are interested in subscribing for an institution please visit this page or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . If you are a current individual subscriber to the print edition please contact us so that we can set up your complimentary access to ABR Online: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
How do I login to ABR Online?
You can log in to your ABR Online individual subscription by clicking on the ‘Log in’ button in the top right-hand corner of the website and entering your username and password. Alternatively, you can log in by clicking on the link that appears when you try to read an article that is behind a paywall.
If you have difficulty logging in or forget your password or user name, you can follow the prompts to have them reset or emailed to you. Otherwise, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will let you know your log in details.
I bought a $10 30-day subscription – what can I access?
Purchasing a $10 30-day subscription entitles you to read the current issue of ABR Online. If you purchase a $10 subscription in the middle of March (for example), you will thus be able to read the March issue until the April issue is published and then you will be able to read the April issue until your 30-day subscription runs out. You will not be able to access archive material unless you purchase a subscription plan that includes archive access.
I want to comment on an article but I’m having trouble. What can I do?
If you are accessing ABR Online via a computer that is logged in to an institutional subscription (for example at the National Library of Australia), you will not be able to comment directly on articles. Instead you can email your comment (along with the details of the article you would like to comment on) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and, subject to approval of the comment as per our guidelines, we will post the comment under your name.
If you are (or have been) an ABR Online subscriber or a contributor to the magazine, you may receive the following message when attempting to comment on an article: ‘The Name or Email Address you typed is already in use!’ In order to comment, you will need to log in to ABR Online (see above), even if your subscription is no longer current.
I want to renew my personal subscription to ABR Online, but I am accessing ABR Online at an institution with an ABR Online institutional subscription – what do I do?
Individual subscriptions cannot be renewed on computers that are already logged-in to ABR Online via an institutional subscription. Instead, you can renew your personal subscription from your computer at home or on a personal device not logged into the institution’s ABR Online subscription. If this is not convenient, call us on (03) 9699 8822 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will help you to renew your subscription.
I subscribe to the print magazine – am I entitled to access ABR Online for free?
Yes, all individual subscribers to the print magazine are entitled to access ABR Online for free for the duration of their print subscription. To do so, however, you need a user name and password. If you have not been set up with access to ABR Online, or if you have forgotten your log in details, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will send them through to you.
I subscribe to e-News but when I click on the articles to read them they are often behind a paywall. Why can’t I read them?
A subscription to e-News is not the same as a subscription to ABR Online. ABR Arts and e-News are our two free e-bulletins. ABR Arts is sent out every two weeks and includes links to open-access arts reviews published on the website in ABR Arts. e-News is sent out to coincide with the launch of each new issue of the magazine and includes links to some open-access content and some restricted content.
If you are a current ABR Online subscriber and you don’t receive e-News or ABR Arts and would like to do so, please click here to subscribe.
If you are an e-News subscriber and you are interested in subscribing to ABR Online and having access to all the content on our website, please click here to find out more about subscribing to ABR Online.
Will you notify me when new issues are published?
You can assume that each new issue will be published in ABR Online on the first day of the month. We send out e-News, a free e-bulletin, to correspond with the publication of each new issue. You can sign up to receive this here. We also highlight each new issue on social media via Facebook and Twitter.
I want to read an older article, where do I look?
Our digital archive is growing all the time. To see which articles and issues are available, please click on the ABR Online menu tab and then select the ‘ABR Online Archive’ option. Most of the articles in our archive are behind a paywall, so you may wish to purchase an ABR Online subscription to read them.
We also sell past issues of the print magazine and you can purchase these here or by contacting us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I’ve logged in but can’t access articles – why?
Most likely this is because your subscription has expired. Please contact us via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will let you know if your subscription needs to be renewed.
When you are logged in, you can also check on the status of your subscription by clicking on any page containing ABR Online content and then scrolling down until you see the menu on the right hand side titled ‘Subscriber Info’. Clicking on the third option, ‘Your OE Subscription’ will allow you to see when your subscription will expire.
How do I change my password or update my login details?
Log in to ABR Online if you can. If you have forgotten your user name or password, you can follow the prompts to have them reset or sent to you. Alternatively, you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will reset them for you.
If you are already logged in but would like to update your email, user name, or password, you can do so by going to the Online Login area in the sidebar and clicking on the link below which reads 'To update your details, click here'. You will then be directed to a page where you can edit and save your email, user name, password, and user details. Please note that if you are a print subscriber you will still need to let us know if your postal address changes as at the moment our online and print subscriber databases are not connected.
I purchased a print subscription online and I want to access ABR Online – how do I get my login details?
We process all complimentary ABR Online subscriptions manually for print subscribers and email subscribers with their login details once we have done so. If you are not sure if you have been sent this information, if you have lost the login details, or if you are a new subscriber and are particularly keen to get access to ABR Online, please contact us via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (03) 9699 8822.
I work for an institution that might be interested in subscribing to ABR Online – what information is available for me?
We are always delighted to hear from institutions interested in subscribing to ABR Online. Please email Amy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will send you a copy of our 
current institutional brochure as well as information about setting up a free trial access period for your institution. Access via IP address authentication is available.
I have a subscriber number – can I use that to login?
No. Subscriber numbers are not the same as user names and you will still need to be set up with access to ABR Online in order to log in and read complete articles.
I made a mistake with online purchasing - what do I do?
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (03) 9699 8822.
2016 Porter Prize Judges
Luke Davies is a poet, novelist, and screenplay writer. His first collection, Four Plots for Magnets, appeared in 1982, when he was twenty. His novel Candy (1997) was successfully filmed in 2006. He has won many awards, including the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry, the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal, the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards Judith Wright Prize, and the Age Book of the Year. His book Interferon Psalms won the inaugural Prime Minister’s Literary Award for poetry in 2012.
Lisa Gorton, who lives in Melbourne, became ABR’s Poetry Editor in October 2013. She studied at the Universities of Melbourne and Oxford. A Rhodes Scholar, she completed a Masters in Renaissance Literature and a Doctorate on John Donne at Oxford University. Her first poetry collection, Press Release (2007), won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry. Her 2013 poetry collection Hotel Hyperion (also Giramondo) was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards. She was editor of The Best Australian Poems 2013 (Black Inc.). Her latest novel, The Life of Houses, was published in 2015.
Kate Middleton is an Australian writer. She is the author of the poetry collections Fire Season (Giramondo, 2009), awarded the Western Australian Premier’s Award for Poetry in 2009 and Ephemeral Waters (Giramondo, 2013), shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s award in 2014. From September 2011-September 2012 she was the inaugural Sydney City Poet.
The Peter Porter Poetry Prize
The Peter Porter Poetry Prize is one of Australia’s most prestigious prizes for a new poem. The Prize – open to all poets writing in English – is named after the great Australian poet Peter Porter (1929–2010). The Prize was first awarded in 2005 (Stephen Edgar) and was renamed in 2011, following Peter Porter’s death. Past winners include Tracy Ryan, Judith Bishop, and Anthony Lawrence.
The 2024 Peter Porter Poetry Prize has concluded. Dan Hogan was the winner of the 2024 Peter Porter Poetry Prize for their poem ‘Workarounds’, which was published in the January-February 2024 issue of ABR. This was announced at an online ceremony on 23 January 2024.
The 2025 Peter Porter Poetry Prize will be open for entries from 1 July 2024 and will close on 7 October 2024. It will be the twenty-first Porter Prize.
Please read our Frequently Asked Questions page before contacting us with queries about the Porter Prize.
Click here for more information about past winners and to read their poems.
We gratefully acknowledge the long-standing support of Morag Fraser AM and Andrew Taylor AM and support in memory of Kate Boyce.
2015 winner
Sophie Cunningham‘Staying with the trouble’ covers very different terrain from that of Martin Thomas’s and Christine Piper’s celebrated Calibre-winning essays: ‘“Because it’s your country”: Bringing Back the Bones to West Arnhem Land’ (2013) and ‘Unearthing the Past’ (2014), which dealt with historical wrongs and biological horrors, respectively. In her essay, Sophie Cunningham describes an epic walk up Broadway in New York, and others like it. The tone is self-deprecating, conversational, and ‘gloriously social’, but all sorts of themes arise along the way: Alzheimer’s, Horseshoe Crabs, history, writers, violence against women, racism, Selma, and climate change. It is a celebration of ‘randomness’, but also testifies to Sophie Cunningham’s belief in the importance of ‘staying with the trouble’.
On learning that she had won the Calibre Prize, Sophie Cunningham, who recently moved from Brooklyn to San Francisco, told Advances: 'I wrote this essay with no expectations, from a concern with how one narrates the personal and fragmented while chronicling issues as broad as climate change and mass extinction. I had become obsessed with walking and needed a deadline. The Calibre Prize has rewarded a rich variety of writers who have tackled an extraordinary range of topics. Each year I’ve read the winner and been inspired. I feel incredibly honoured to now be among these winners’ number.’
This is the ninth time that ABR has offered the Calibre Prize, which is intended to advance the essay form in this country. We look forward to offering Calibre again in 2016.
Sophie Cunningham’s winning essay is published in the May 2015 issue of ABR.
Click here to download the media release.
Purchase the May 2015 print edition.
Subscribe to ABR Online to gain access to this issue online, plus the ABR archive (containing all Calibre Prize essays published from 2011).
Click here for more information about past winners.
Click here for more information about the judges.
We gratefully acknowledge the long-standing support of Mr Colin Golvan QC.
About Reading Australia
Australian Book Review is pleased to contribute to Reading Australia, a visionary initiative of Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. Reading Australia will publish online resources for the teaching and study of Australian literature in Australian schools and universities. Distinguished Australian scholars and commentators will appraise 200 major Australian books in stylish, accessible 2000-word essays, all intended to heighten our appreciation of Australian writing.
ABR will commission and publish some of these essays (and refers our readers to the Reading Australia website for the others). Some of the ABR essays will appear in print. All of them will appear on our website. Students and general readers will learn much from these succinct essays.
Reading Australia essays commissioned and published by Australian Book Review:
Kerryn Goldsworthy on Jessica Anderson's Tirra Lirra by the River
Susan Sheridan on Thea Astley's It's Raining in Mango
Agnes Nieuwenhuizen on A.J. Betts's Zac and Mia
Ruth Starke on Isobelle Carmody's The Gathering
Brian Matthews on Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life
Kerryn Goldsworthy on Robert Dessaix's A Mother's Disgrace
Alice Pung on Garry Disher's The Divine Wind
Kerryn Goldsworthy on Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Danielle Clode on Tim Flannery's Here on Earth
Kári Gíslason on Raimond Gaita's Romulus, My Father
Bernadette Brennan on Helen Garner's The Children's Bach
Miriam Cosic on Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch
Peter Craven on Kate Grenville's Lilian's Story
Felicity Plunkett on Steven Herrick's by the river
Judith Rodriguez on Jack Hibberd's Dimboola
Delys Bird on Elizabeth Jolley's Miss Peabody's Inheritance
Tony Birch on Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
Morag Fraser on Alex Miller's Journey to the Stone Country
Susan Lever on John Romeril's The Floating World
Patrick Allington on Kim Scott's That Deadman Dance
Peter Kirkpatrick on Kenneth Slessor's One Hundred Poems: 1919–1939
Gary Crew on Shaun Tan's The Lost Thing
Kerryn Goldsworthy on Christos Tsiolkas's The Slap
Billy Griffiths on David Unaipon's Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines