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Australian Book Review is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and is also supported by the South Australian Government through Arts South Australia. We also acknowledge the generous support of our university partner, Monash University; and we are grateful for the support of the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, Good Business Foundation (an initiative of Peter McMullin AM), the Sidney Myer Fund, Australian Communities Foundation, Sydney Community Foundation, AustLit, Readings, our travel partner Academy Travel, the City of Melbourne; our publicists, Pitch Projects; and Arnold Bloch Leibler.
View items...ABR Laureates
In creating the ABR Laureateship our intentions are twofold: to celebrate our finest writers, but also to advance the work of a younger writer admired by the Laureate. Accordingly, we invited the Laureate to nominate an ABR Laureate’s Fellow, who will work closely with the Editor over a period of weeks or months, and who will give the magazine a substantial work for publication – an essay, a suite of poems or long poem, a short story, or a memoir.
Sheila Fitzpatrick (2023)
Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick is a distinguished historian of modern Russia and migration. Her many books include White Russians, Red Peril: A Cold War history of migration to Australia (2021) and The Shortest History of the Soviet Union (2022). Her many awards include the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for On Stalin’s Team (2015). She was based in the United States for many years, latterly as Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, before her return to Australia in 2012. Since 2013, when she began writing for ABR, she has contributed 26 articles. She brings immense scholarship and brio to everything she writes, and she is among ABR’s most popular writers. Sheila Fitzpatrick’s chosen ABR Laureate’s Fellow, Dr Ebony Nilsson, will contribute a series of articles to ABR over the coming year, funded by the ABR Patrons.
Robyn Archer (2016)
Robyn Archer – a performer and writer of many accomplishments – is an internationally renowned exponent of classic European cabaret. Audiences here and abroad have relished her inimitable voice, artistry, and superlative diction. In addition to her writing and artistic work, she has directed numerous arts festivals, including Adelaide and Melbourne. She is a ceaseless advocate for the arts and a respected mentor to new generations of artists and artistic directors. Robyn Archer will nominate an ABR Laureate’s Fellow, who will work closely with the Editor on a substantial work for publication. The Fellow will receive $7,500, courtesy of the ABR Patrons.
David Malouf (2014)
David Malouf was named as the inaugural ABR Laureate in April 2014. He is one of our most distinguished authors, with an internationally renowned body of work in fiction, poetry, essays, libretti, and memoir. The Laureateship reflects the Editor’s and the Board’s high regard for David Malouf’s artistry, for his principled and eloquent advancement of literature, and for his generosity to readers and writers – and indeed to this magazine. Michael Aiken was chosen as the first ABR Laureate's Fellow and received $5,000 for his Fellowship poem ‘Satan Repentant’, which was published in the August 2016 issue of Australian Book Review.
ABR Fellowships - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ABR Fellowship program?
ABR Fellowships are intended to reward outstanding Australian writers, to enhance ABR through the publication of long-form journalism, and to advance the magazine’s commitment to ideas and critical debate. The Fellow will work closely with the Editor of ABR. The chosen Fellow will contribute three review essays and/or commentaries in the field of Australia history and culture. ABR will publish these articles in print and online. Each article will run from 1500 to 2000 words. The articles (agreed on with the ABR Editor) will be staggered over twelve months.
Who can apply for an Inglis Fellowship?
Any writer aged thirty-five and under is eligible to apply: scholars, academics, journalists, commentators, creative writers, etc. Applicants must be Australian citizens or have permanent resident status in Australia. ABR staff and board members are ineligible. Contributors to the magazine are encouraged to apply. We welcome applications from First Nations writers and those with diverse backgrounds.
Who can apply for a Science Fellowship?
Any writer is eligible to apply: scientists, scholars, academics, journalists, commentators, creative writers, etc. Applicants must be Australian citizens or have permanent resident status in Australia. ABR staff and board members are ineligible. Contributors to the magazine are encouraged to apply. We welcome applications from First Nations writers and those with diverse backgrounds.
How much are the Fellowships worth?
The Fellow will receive a total of $5,000.
I don’t know anything about ABR. May I still apply?
Applicants must demonstrate real familiarity with the magazine and convince the panel that their article would complement other writings in ABR and win us new readers. Applications that do not refer to the magazine, or demonstrate any awareness of ABR’s own needs and directions, are unlikely to be successful.
Are the Fellowships themed?
The ABR Inglis Fellow will contribute articles in the field of Australia history and culture. The ABR Science Fellow will contribute three reviews essays or commentaries over twelve months in the field of science and/or the history of science. This reflects the breadth of ABR’s interests and content.
Is it possible to write the article with a friend or colleague?
No. Single-author works only.
Is ABR looking for academic papers?
No. ABR is not an academic journal. We seek engaging literary journalism of the kind you will find in The New Yorker or the London Review of Books. Links to essays by past Fellows can be found here.
Are you looking for finished articles from applicants?
No. We seek cogent proposals for articles to be developed over the course of the Fellowship, in collaboration with the Editor. Unlike the Calibre Essay Prize, the Fellowship program is not for finished works.
How do I apply?
Applicants must read the guidelines of the Fellowship for which they are interested in applying and send us a succinct but comprehensive proposal (two pages maximum), plus a CV of no more than two pages. Note that we are looking for proposals – not finished articles or chapters. Applications must be received by the closing date of the relevant Fellowship. There is no application fee. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposals with the Editor before submitting them: (03) 9699 8822 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
How are Fellows selected?
The Fellowship will be awarded by Australian Book Review on the advice of a committee including the Editor of ABR. No correspondence will be entered into once the decision has been announced. ABR reserves the right not to award a Fellowship during a particular round.
Are the ABR Fellows expected to complete their projects at the ABR office in Melbourne?
No. Most of the editorial contact is via email or the telephone. Some meetings may be desirable during the course of the Fellowship. These are important collaborative partnerships between the magazine and the Fellows.
What kind of editorial support do Fellows enjoy?
We edit promptly, closely, and respectfully. ABR is committed to presenting the Fellow’s work in the best-possible form. The Editor is always available to discuss the project, to respond to ideas, and to read drafts. Peter Rose edits the articles in consultation with the Fellows, and each article is then proofread by at least three editors.
Where are the Fellowship articles published?
In the print and digital editions of ABR.
Would I be required to take part in the promotion of the published article?
Yes.
ABR Cultural Tour to the UK 2017
Shakespeare: Australian Book Review in England
June 14–25, 2017
The Globe Theatre
ABR’s second international tour, in partnership with Academy Travel, was a twelve-day Shakespeare-themed visit to England. We visited Stratford-upon-Avon, the Glyndebourne Opera Festival, and London. Highlights included performances of Antony and Cleopatra and Salome by the RSC in Stratford, Brett Dean's new opera Hamlet in its premiere season at Glyndebourne, and Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare's Globe in London. The tour included a fascinating walking tour of Stratford, as well as visits to Charleston, house of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and to Middle Temple Hall, where Twelfth Night was performed in 1602. In London we also visited the National Portrait Gallery, The Wallace Collection, the Courtauld Institute and the British Library. The tour was led by Peter Rose and Christopher Menz.
Endorsements from ABR’s 2016 US tour.
‘My recent experience travelling on the east coast of the United States with the inaugural ABR tour group was a truly exceptional one. The knowledge and expertise of the tour leaders meant our itinerary took us to places, and even introduced us to people, not usually accessible to ordinary travellers. In all, it was truly memorable!’
‘ABR’s small group tour to the United States in 2016 focused on literature, history, art and theatre. The program was well-thought-out, varied and balanced. The tour leaders were attuned to particular interests of individual group members and helped them where necessary to further explore those interests in the different venues we visited. One of the excellent features was the number of private viewings and guided tours specially tailored for our group.’
2017 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
Australian Book Review is delighted to announce that Eliza Robertson has won the 2017 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story ‘Pheidippides’. Author David Malouf announced Eliza Robertson as the overall winner at a ceremony at Potts Point Bookshop, Sydney. Dominic Amerena placed second for his story ‘The Leaching Layer’ and Lauren Aimee Curtis came third for her story ‘Butter’. Subscribers can read all three shortlisted stories in the August 2017 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 attracted almost 1,200 entries from forty-two countries. The 2017 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 – ‘Contributory Negligence’ by Stevi-Lee Alver (New South Wales), ‘The Man I Should Have Married’ by Catherine Chidgey (New Zealand), and ‘The Fog Harvester’ by Marie Gethins (Ireland). The commended authors each receive $850 and their stories will appear in ABR in coming months.
The 2017 Jolley Prize was judged by ABR Deputy Editor Amy Baillieu, and authors Ellen van Neerven and Chris Flynn. Click here for more information about the judges.
About the 2017 Jolley Prize shortlisted authors
Eliza Robertson studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia, where she received the Man Booker Scholarship. In 2013, she won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and was shortlisted for the Journey Prize and CBC Short Story Prize. Her début story collection, Wallflowers, was shortlisted for the East Anglia Book Award and selected as a New York Times editor’s choice. Her first novel, Demi-Gods, comes out with Penguin Canada and Bloomsbury in late 2017.
Dominic Amerena is a writer, editor, and researcher from Melbourne. His work has appeared in The Australian, The Age, Overland, The Lifted Brow, Meanjin, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, and Vice. His short story ‘Help Me Harden My Heart’ was commended in the 2016 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize.
Lauren Aimee Curtis lives in Sydney where she is a PhD candidate at the University of Technology. Her work has appeared in Catapult, The Atlas Review, The Lifted Brow, Cordite Poetry Review, The Canary Press, and elsewhere. In 2014, she was runner-up in the Overland Story Wine Prize. She is currently writing a novella.
The 2017 Jolley Prize longlist
‘Contributory Negligence’ by Stevi-Lee Alver (NSW) - Commended
‘The Leaching Layer’ by Dominic Amerena (Vic.) - Shortlisted
‘Dreams of a Common Language’ by Jessica Au (Vic.)
‘A Real Man’ by Kate Blandford (US)
‘The Man I Should Have Married’ by Catherine Chidgey (NZ) - Commended
‘Thin Girls’ by Diana Clarke (US)
‘Butter’ by Lauren Aimee Curtis (NSW) - Shortlisted
‘Treading Water’ by Julie Galvin (NSW)
‘The Fog Harvester’ by Marie Gethins (Ireland) - Commended
‘A New Life’ by Anthony Lawrence (Vic.)
‘The Dark Road Home’ by Gabrielle Leago (Vic.)
‘Starry Night’ by Cara Marks (UK)
‘The Dark Ages’ by Margaret Mulvihill (UK)
‘Hinterhaus’ by S.J Norman (NSW)
‘Clementine of the Future’ by Emily O'Grady (Qld)
‘Pheidippides’ by Eliza Robertson (UK) - Winner
‘The Cry Room’ by Gaele Sobott (NSW)
‘Depths Exceeded’ by Jessica White (Qld)
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.
ABR gratefully acknowledges Mr Ian Dickson's generous support for the Jolley Prize.
2017 Calibre Essay Prize Judges
Sheila Fitzpatrick, a professor at the University of Sydney specialising in the history of modern Russia, is one of the world’s most influential Soviet historians. She is the author of two memoirs, My Father’s Daughter (2010) and A Spy in the Archives (2013). Her most recent book, On Stalin’s Team: The years of living dangerously in Soviet politics (2015), shared the 2016 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for non-fiction. Her essays and reviews appear in Australian Book Review and the London Review of Books.
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, two novels, a family memoir, Rose Boys (2003, now a Text Classic). He published The Oxford Book of Australian Essays (1997), and his own essays have appeared in past editions of The Best Australian Essays.
Geordie Williamson was for several years chief literary critic of The Australian. He is now the Publisher at Picador Australia. Geordie Williamson, who published his first review in ABR in 2001, won the 2011 Pascall Prize for Criticism. He edited the 2015 and 2016 editions of The Best Australian Essays (Black Inc.). He is the author of The Burning Library: Our great novelists lost and found (2011).
The Calibre Essay Prize
The Calibre Essay Prize is one of the world’s leading prizes for a new essay and it is now worth a total of $10,000. The Calibre Prize was first presented in 2007 to Elisabeth Holdsworth for her essay 'An die Nachgeborenen: For Those Who Come After' as part of a joint initiative between ABR and Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund. It is now generously funded by ABR Patrons.
Entries are now open for the 2026 Calibre Essay Prize.
More information about past winners and their winning essays can be found here.
Please read our Frequently Asked Questions and Terms of Conditions before contacting us with queries about the Calibre Essay Prize.
We gratefully acknowledge the long-standing support of Peter McLennan and Mary-Ruth Sindrey.
2017 Calibre Essay Prize
Michael AdamsMichael Adams is the winner of the eleventh Calibre Essay Prize. The judges – award-winning author and historian Sheila Fitzpatrick, ABR Editor Peter Rose, and Picador Publisher Geordie Williamson – chose Michael Adams’s essay ‘Salt Blood’ from a field of almost 200 essays submitted from fourteen countries. Michael Adams receives $5,000, and his essay appears in the June–July issue of Australian Book Review.
‘Salt Blood’ is a remarkable and highly original meditation on freediving and mortality. On learning that he had won the Calibre Essay Prize, Michael Adams commented: ‘Winning the Calibre Essay Prize is an incredible honour, and a total surprise. I have followed ABR and Calibre for many years, and drawn much inspiration and insight from previous winners. I hope my essay highlights some hard issues: I take Rebecca Solnit’s position that we write the stories that we can’t tell anyone.’
Darius Sepehri (photograph by Elena Carletti)This year ABR has added a second prize, worth $2,500. The winner is Darius Sepehri, a researcher and PhD student at the University of Sydney. His essay – entitled ‘To Speak of Sorrow’ (to be published in the August issue) – is about the many kinds of grief and their different expressions in writing and culture, as lament, testimony, or ritual.
The judges have commended two other essays: ‘Change, We, Art’ by Meng Jin (USA/UK), and ‘Making Things’ by Sara Dowse’ (Australia), which will be published in coming issues.
Michael Adams’s winning essay is published in the June–July 2017 issue of ABR.
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 generous support of Mr Colin Golvan QC.
2016 Jolley Prize winner: Josephine Rowe
Announcing the 2016 Jolley Prize winner
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
Josephine Rowe reads from her winning story 'Glisk' at the 2016 Jolley Prize ceremony at the Melbourne 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 almost 1400 entries from thirty-eight different countries. The 2016 Jolley Prize was judged by ABR Deputy Editor Amy Baillieu, and authors Maxine Beneba Clarke and David Whish-Wilson.
About Josephine Rowe
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'.
2017 Peter Porter Poetry Prize
On March 23, before a big audience at Collected Works Bookshop in Melbourne, Morag Fraser announced the two winners of the 2017 Peter Porter Poetry Prize (worth $7,500). The winners, chosen from a field of nearly 1000 entries from twenty-two countries, are Louis Klee (Vic) for his poem ‘Sentence to Lilacs’ and Damen O’Brien (Qld) for ‘pH’. The winners each receive $2,500.
2017 Porter Prize winners Louis Klee and Damen O'Brien
The other five shortlisted poets – Ronald Dzerigian (USA), Anthony Lawrence (NSW), Michael Lee Phillips (USA), Jen Saunders (NSW), and Jessie Tu (NSW) – each receive $500. The seven shortlisted poems appear in ABR’s March 2017 issue.
The judges were Ali Alizadeh, Jill Jones, and Felicity Plunkett.
ABR Editor Peter Rose commented: ‘The Porter Prize – now in its twelfth year – is dear to our hearts at ABR. Year after year it goes on generating hundreds of new poems around the world. This year’s field was by far the largest to date. We thank everyone who entered and heartily congratulate our two winners and the other five shortlisted poets.’
About the winners
Louis Klee lives in Melbourne and is currently studying in Cambridge. He has studied playwriting at NIDA and is an MFA writing candidate at the VCA. He earned a Bachelor of Philosophy at the ANU. His poetry has appeared in Meanjin, Cordite, and Gargouille, among other places, and his plays have been shortlisted for prizes such as The Silvergull Award. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poems.
Damen O’Brien is a Queensland poet. His work has been published in Cordite and The Courier Mail, and has won or been highly commended in the WB Yeats Poetry Prize, the Nillumbik Ekphrasis Poetry Award, the Philip Bacon Ekphrasis Prize, the Ipswich Poetry Feast, and the FAW Tasmania Poetry 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.
Click here for more information about the 2017 judges.
We gratefully acknowledge the long-standing support of Ms Morag Fraser AM, and the support of ABR Patrons. The print is donated by Mr Ivan Durrant in honour of Georges Mora.
2017 Porter Prize Judges
Ali Alizadeh's collection of poetry, Ashes in the Air (UQP, 2011) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award. His latest book, Transactions (UQP, 2013), was described as 'twisted', 'vicious' and 'remarkable'. His new book, The Last Days of Jeanne d'Arc, will be published in 2017 by Giramondo Publishing. He lectures at Monash University.
Jill Jones has published nine full-length books of poetry, including Breaking the Days (2015), The Beautiful Anxiety (2014), which won the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Poetry, and Ash is Here, So are Stars (2012). Her work is represented in major anthologies, including the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature (2009) and The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry (2009). Her poetry was included in the 2016 ABR States of Poetry anthology for South Australia. She is a member of the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice, University of Adelaide.
Felicity Plunkett is a poet and critic, and has a PhD from the University of Sydney. Her first collection of poetry Vanishing Point won the Arts Queensland Thomas Shapcott Prize and was shortlisted for several other awards. Felicity’s chapbook Seastrands was published in Vagabond Press’s Rare Objects series in 2011, and she is the editor of Thirty Australian Poets (UQP, 2011). She is Poetry Editor with University of Queensland Press and a widely published reviewer.