Advances

And the winner is …

Stephen Edgar has won the inaugural ABR Poetry Prize with his poem ‘Man on the Moon’. The three judges, Morag Fraser, Peter Rose and Peter Steele, were impressed by the overall quality of the entries and were pleased to be able to choose from such a strong short list, but the final decision was quick and unanimous because of the formal and imaginative qualities of Stephen Edgar’s poem. He receives $2000, and ‘Man on the Moon’ reappears on page 13. Elsewhere in the magazine, we publish the two poems that received honourable mentions (by Judith Bishop and Lisa Gorton). ABR also apologises to Mark Tredinnick, and our readers, for the ludicrous break that somehow infiltrated his villanelle ‘Ubirr Rock’, which we published with the other short-listed works in the previous issue.

2004 National Biography Award

There have been some big developments with this award, which is administered and presented by the State Library of New South Wales on behalf of its benefactor, Dr Geoffrey Cains. As we go to press, the organisers tell us that this year’s prize money has been increased from $15,000 to $20,000, because of the generosity of Michael Crouch, Director of Zip Heaters and a supporter of the Library. This makes it one of our wealthiest literary awards. The judges (Edmund Campion, Amanda Lohrey and Gerard Windsor) have compiled an interesting short list: Robert Adamson’s Inside Out (Text), Li Cunxin’s Mao’s Last Dancer (Viking), Robert Hillman’s The Boy in the Green Suit (Scribe), Gaylene Perry’s Midnight Water (Picador) and Peter Skrzynecki’s Sparrow Garden (UQP). On March 2, Belinda Hutchinson will announce that Robert Hillman (not the Robert Hillman who gets stuck into Geoff Page in our ‘Letters’ this month) is the winner of this year’s award.

And the winners are ...

The judges of the 2004 ABR Reviewing Competition were gratified by the level of interest in this competition and by the overall standard of entries. We received almost 100 entries (a third of them from subscribers). Fiction and non-fiction were evenly divided; there were rather fewer children’s/young adult book reviews. To no one’s surprise, the most popular book was Helen Gamer’s Joe Cinque’s Consolation: A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law, followed by Shirley Hazzard’s The Great Fire and Peter Goldsworthy’s Three Dog Night. In the non-fiction category, the field was eclectic, from poetry to memoir to academic monograph. The judge had to hand it to Alan Whitehead of Blackheath NSW, who chose to review the 2005 Sydney and Blue Mountains Street Directory. Next time we look forward to his critique of the telephone directory.

ABR's inaugural poetry prize

Australia boasts several worthy poetry prizes, but the inaugural ABR Poetry Prize is one of the most lucrative: the author of the winning poem will earn $2000. The other short­listed poems will each receive $200, as well as being published in the March 2005 issue – one month before we announce the winner. Often, in poetry competitions, suites of poems are eligible, and the effect can be to privilege a group of poems over the shorter, discrete poem. Our prize is limited to a single poem of no more than 100 lines. Poets are invited to enter as many works as they like. Once again, ABR subscribers receive a $10 discount off the entry fee. Guidelines and entry form appear on page 17. (You can also download them from our website.) Entries close on December 15, so we know how our three judges will be spending the summer.

Vale Thea Astley (1925-2004)

As we were finalising this issue, word reached us of the sudden death of Thea Astley, just a fortnight after she had entertained an audience at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival. Ms Astley’s publications, distinctions and awards are too many to list here other than in summary form. Girl with a Monkey (1958) was the first of fourteen novels, culminating in Drylands (1999), which won Ms Astley her fourth Miles Franklin Award. She was a bracing satirist and moralist, with a wholly original prose style and a tenacious commitment to the art of fiction, even during much less propitious decades. None of her books made it into 50 Books You Must Own (about which literary agent Jenny Darling has a thing or two to say in her letter on page 4), but happily many of her titles are still in print.

An evening with J.M. Coetzee

ABR (in association with La Trobe University and the City of Melbourne) is delighted to be able to invite all our readers, but especially our subscribers, to what promises to be one of our major events for the year, when the masterly novelist and critic J.M. Coetzee will read from his work. This rare opportunity for Victorians to hear the Nobel Laureate and author of Disgrace and Life and Times of Michael K will take place at the Melbourne Town Hall at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4 (we suggest you arrive at 5.30 to ensure you get a seat). Full details appear on page 5. This is a free event. La Trobe University will also confer the degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) on J.M. Coetzee during his visit to Melbourne.

Changes at ABR

At our recent AGM we farewelled Vicki Nicholson our longest-serving board member, and welcomed two new members. Bridget Griffen-Foley and Paul Hetherington (from Sydney and Canberra, respectively) have both served on the editorial advisory board. Paul Hetherington reviews both poetry and fiction in our pages. Dr Griffen-Foley’s bimonthly media columns appear in alternate issues. Her subject this month is the grotesque row between John Laws and Alan Jones.

ABR goes to London

Hot on the heels of our inaugural ABR Forum in Canberra on March 28, when a capacity audience attended the session on life-writing at the National Library, ABR will host its first event in London on Tuesday, June 8. Peter Rose and Morag Fraser will present an evening of readings and ideas, with special appearances by Clive James and Peter Porter. We’re delighted to be able to present this special event in association with the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, Kings College London. The event will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Bookings are essential: please direct them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ABR has many subscribers and supporters in the UK; we look forward to meeting them – and to reaching new ones.

The poet Bruce Beaver died on February 17, something we couldn’t note in the March issue of ABR, as we had just gone to print. Since then, the tributes have been many, and utterly deserved. We publish Beaver’s poem ‘October 1999’ in this issue, along with a tribute from Tom Shapcott. UQP informs us that it will release the poet’s posthumous collection, The Long Game and Other Poems, on 17 February 2005.

This month we welcome back Aviva Tuffield, who returns as Deputy Editor, a new position for ABR and one that reflects her seniority and her long commitment to the magazine. We also farewell, with many thanks, Anne-Marie Thomas, who filled in while Aviva Tuffield went on maternity leave. Dianne Schallmeiner remains as Office Manager, and Alastair Lamont joins our admirable team of volunteers.