Entries by category: Awards & fellowships

The story of how a son of Irish immigrants, R. H. Matthews, became one of Australia’s most significant early researchers of Aboriginal language, culture and history, has won the $25,000 National Biography Award, Australia’s richest prize for biographical writing and memoir, the State Library of NSW announced today (Monday 14 May 2012).

The Many Worlds of R. H. Mathews, In search of an Australian Anthropologist by historian Martin Thomas, has brought to light the largely forgotten but immensely important contribution Mathews made to anthropology and Australia’s cultural history in the nineteenth century.

The prize for the winning author has been increased this year from $20,000 to $25,000.

See the full media release attached.

Media inquiries:
Vanessa Bond, Media & Communications Branch, State Library of NSW
(02) 9273 1566, 0411 259 898, vbond@sl.nsw.gov.au

The State Library of NSW today (14 May 2012) announced the opening of nominations for the 2012 NSW Premier’s Literary and History Awards.

According to NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, “These prestigious awards are an important part of our state’s cultural landscape, and have been strengthened by my recent decision that the State Library of NSW will now manage the awards.”

“The awards have been further enhanced with a new focus on regional promotion and involvement to ensure they get the attention they deserve,” Mr O’Farrell said.

The winners will be presented at an awards ceremony held in the State Library’s historic Mitchell Library Reading Room in November 2012.

See the full media release attached.

MEDIA CONTACT:  
Vanessa Bond, Media & Communications Manager, State Library of NSW
(02) 9273 1566, 0411 259 898, vbond@sl.nsw.gov.au

Six amazing stories have been shortlisted in Australia’s pre-eminent prize for biographical writing and memoir, the State Library of NSW announced today [Tuesday 1 May].

The shortlisted books for the $25,000 National Biography Award 2012 are:

• Tim Bonyhady, Good Living Street: The Fortunes of My Viennese Family, Allen & Unwin (ACT)
• A J Brown, Michael Kirby: Paradoxes & Principles, The Federation Press (QLD)
• Delia Falconer, Sydney, NewSouth Publishing (NSW)
• Paul Kelly, How to Make Gravy, Penguin Group (VIC)
• Mark McKenna, An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark, Melbourne University Publishing (NSW)
• Martin Thomas, The Many Worlds of R.H. Mathews: In Search of an Australian Anthropologist, Allen & Unwin (NSW)

This year for the first time, shortlisted authors will each receive $1,000 prize money in recognition of their achievement in the field of biography. The prize for the winning author has also been increased from $20,000 to $25,000, bringing the total prize pool for the Award to $31,000.

NSW State Librarian and Chief Executive, Alex Byrne commented that “the National Biography Award has become synonymous with exceptional research and writing, covering biography in a variety of styles. Both the six shortlisted entries and the other six on the longlist this year are of an exceptionally high standard, befitting this esteemed award."

Chair of the Judging Panel Peter Rose said “the variety, calibre and sheer readability of the six shortlisted titles augur well for the ever-protean genre of Biography in the country, notwithstanding the many challenges currently facing authors and publishers. We learned so much from these books – about popular music, Australian history and anthropology, the politics and personalities of the judiciary, the character of our biggest capital city, and the huge personal toll for one family of the Nazi regime”.

See attached media release for the full story and for background information on each of the shortlisted books.

Media contact: Sara Fishwick, Senior Project Officer, (02) 9273 1710, sfishwick@sl.nsw.gov.au