The Barbara Jefferis Award is an Australian literary award prize. The award was created in 2007 after being endowed by John Hinde upon his death to commemorate his late wife, author

Barbara Jefferis Barbara Jefferis AM (25 March 1917 – 3 January 2004) was an Australian author. Early life, and character formation Barbara Jefferis was the daughter of (Arthur) Tarlton Jefferis (1884–1965) and Lucy Barbara Ingoldsby Jefferis, ''née'' Smyt ...

. It is funded by his $1 million bequest. Originally an annual award, it has been awarded biennially since 2012. Jefferis was an Australian writer, and a founding member and first female president of the

Australian Society of Authors The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was formed in 1963 as the organisation to promote and protect the rights of Australia's authors and illustrators. The Fellowship of Australian Writers played a key role it its establishment. The organisat ...

. She died in 2004.Wyndham (2007) Australian author,

Tom Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel '' Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, ...

, described Jefferis as "a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted".James Bennett (Firm) The Award, which comprises $50,000 for the winner with $5,000 distributed amongst the shortlist, is one of Australia's richest literary prizes. It is awarded to "the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society". The novel can be in any genre and does not have to be set in Australia. The award does not specify the author's gender. It is administered by the

and is expected to rival the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

($42,000) and the biennial

Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

($40,000). The prize was first awarded in 2008 to Rhyll McMaster for ''Feather Man'' (Brandl & Schlesinger).

Controversy

The announcement of the award caused a minor controversy in Australian literary circles due to its target. Susan Wyndham, journalist and literary editor, best summarises the issue in the questions opening her article in ''The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs'': "Does Australia need a new fiction award that encourages 'positive' portrayals of women and girls? Or is it an outdated gesture in a post-feminist culture rich with female authors, characters and readers?" Wyndham reports Rosalind Hinde, daughter of John Hinde and Barbara Jefferis, as saying that her father had "the very clear and strong intention to honour my mother's writing, her feminism and her devotion to other writers". Several writers have supported the award, including

Helen Garner Helen Garner (née Ford, born 7 November 1942) is an Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garner's first novel, ''Monkey Grip (novel), Monkey Grip'', published in 1977, immediately established her as an origina ...

Frank Moorhouse Frank Thomas Moorhouse (21 December 1938 – 26 June 2022) was an Australian writer. He won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing. His work has been published in the United Kingdom, ...

Gerald Murnane Gerald Murnane (born 25 February 1939) is an Australian writer, perhaps best known for his novel ''The Plains'' (1982). ''The New York Times'', in a big feature published on 27 March 2018, called him "the greatest living English-language writer ...

Anne Deveson Anne Barbara Deveson (19 June 1930 – 12 December 2016) was an Australian writer, broadcaster and filmmaker who also worked in England. Early life Deveson was born in Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya, Malaya. During World War II, her family ...

Kerryn Goldsworthy Dr. Kerryn Lee Goldsworthy (born 14 May 1953) is an Australian freelance writer and former academic. Life and career Goldsworthy has edited four anthologies of Australian writing. She has also written many articles, essays and reviews. She has ...

and

Brian Castro Brian Albert Castro (born 16 January 1950) is an Australian novelist and essayist. Biography Castro was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Australia since 1961. He was Chair of Creative Writing (2008-2019) at the University of Adelaide and Di ...

. However, writer and critic, Andrew Reimer dislikes the idea of focusing on "social agenda" over "novelist's skill and imagination", and novelist Emily McGuire agreed, stating that she doesn't "like the idea of judging fiction based on its message". Author and critic,

Debra Adelaide Debra Adelaide (born 1958) is an Australian novelist, writer and academic. She teaches creative writing at the University of Technology Sydney. Biography Adelaide was born in Sydney and grew up in the Sutherland Shire. A contemporary of writers ...

, expressed her concern that the award might encourage "safe and constrained" writing and wondered whether "we are getting to the point where we have more awards than publishing opportunities".

Winners

* 2008 – '' Feather Man'',

Rhyll McMaster Rhyll McMaster (born 1947 in Brisbane) is a contemporary Australian poet and novelist. She has worked as a secretary, a nurse and a sheep farmer. She now lives in Sydney and has written full-time since 2000. She is a recipient of the Barbara Je ...

, Brandl & Schlesinger, Blackheath, * 2009 – '' The Spare Room'',

, Text, Melbourne, * 2010 – ''The China Garden'', Kristina Olsson, University of Queensland Press, * 2011 – ''Come Inside'', G.L. Osborne, Clouds of Magellan * 2012 – '' All That I Am'',

Anna Funder Anna Funder (born 1966) is an Australian author. She is the author of '' Stasiland'' and '' All That I Am'' and the novella ''The Girl With the Dogs''. Life Funder went to primary school in Melbourne and Paris; she attended Star of the Sea Co ...

* 2013 – not awarded. The 2014 award was for 2013/2014 * 2014 – ''Sea Hearts'',

Margo Lanagan Margo Lanagan (born 1960 in Waratah, New South Wales) is an Australian writer of short stories and young adult fiction. Biography She grew up in Raymond Terrace and moved to Melbourne circa 1971/1972. After overseas travel, she moved to Sydney ...

AND ''The Night Guest'',

Fiona McFarlane Fiona McFarlane (born 1978) is an Australian author, best known for her book ''The Night Guest'' and her collection of short stories ''The High Places''. She is a recipient of the Voss Literary Prize, the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing a ...

* 2016 – ''Hope Farm'',

Peggy Frew Peggy Frew (born 1976) is an Australian novelist. Background Frew was born in 1976 and grew up in Melbourne, Australia and attended RMIT University. Works Frew's writing often explores relationships between women within an Australian set ...

* 2018 – ''The Trapeze Act'', Libby Angel, Text, Melbourne *2020 – ''Wolfe Island'',

Lucy Treloar Lucy Treloar is an Australian novelist. Her first novel, ''Salt Creek'', won the 2016 Dobbie Literary Award and was shortlisted for the 2016 Miles Franklin Award and the 2016 Walter Scott Prize. Her second novel, ''Wolfe Island'', won the 2020 ...

, Pan Macmillan Australia

Shortlisted works

Winners are listed in bold type.

2008

* ''The Anatomy of Wings'', Karen Foxlee, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, * '' Feather Man'',

, Brandl & Schlesinger, Blackheath, Austlit – "Barbara Jefferis Award"
/ref> * '' The Seamstress'', Geraldine Wooller, University of Western Australia Press, Perth, * '' The Lost Dog'',

Michelle de Kretser Michelle de Kretser (born 1957) is an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), and moved to Australia in 1972 when she was 14. Education and literary career De Kretser was educated at Methodist College, Colombo, and in Melbou ...

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

, Sydney, * ''Burning In'', Mireille Juchau,

Giramondo Giramondo Publishing (Giramondo Publishing Company) is an independent Australian literary small press founded in 1995. It is a publisher of poetry, fiction and non-fiction by Australian and overseas writers, and works in translation from Chinese, ...

, Sydney, * ''The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles'', Elizabeth Stead, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia,

2009

* ''

People of the Book People of the Book or Ahl al-kitāb ( ar, أهل الكتاب) is an Islamic term referring to those religions which Muslims regard as having been guided by previous revelations, generally in the form of a scripture. In the Quran they are ident ...

'', Geraldine Brooks, Fourth Estate (HarperCollins), Sydney, * '' The Spare Room'',

, Text, Melbourne, * ''The Lifeboat'', Zacharey Jane,

University of Queensland Press Established in 1948, University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house. Founded as a traditional university press, UQP has since branched into publishing books for general readers in the areas of fiction, non-fiction, poetr ...

, St Lucia, * ''

Addition Addition (usually signified by the Plus and minus signs#Plus sign, plus symbol ) is one of the four basic Operation (mathematics), operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication and Division (mathematics), division. ...

'',

Toni Jordan Toni Jordan (born 1966 in Sydney, Australia) is a Melbourne-based novelist best known for her debut novel ''Addition'', an international bestseller long listed for the Miles Franklin Award. In 2017 her fourth book, ''Our Tiny Useless Hearts'' ...

, Text, Melbourne, * ''

The Good Parents ''The Good Parents'' is the second full-length novel written by Joan London. It was first published in 2008. The book concerns an eighteen-year-old girl, Maya de Jong, who moves to Melbourne and becomes involved in a relationship with her boss. ...

'', Joan London, Vintage (Random House), Sydney, * ''The Last Sky'',

Alice Nelson File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 15 ...

Fremantle Press Fremantle Press (formerly known as Fremantle Arts Centre Press) is an independent publisher in Western Australia. Fremantle Press was established by the Fremantle Arts Centre in 1976. It focuses on publishing Western Australian writers and writin ...

, Fremantle,

2010

* ''The Lost Life'',

Steven Carroll Steven Carroll (born 1949) is an Australian novelist. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria and studied at La Trobe University. He has taught English at secondary school level, and drama at RMIT. He has been Drama Critic for ''The Sunday Age'' new ...

, HarperCollins, * ''

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

'', Enza Gandolfo, Vanark Press, * ''The World Beneath'',

Cate Kennedy Cate Kennedy (born 1963) is an Australian author based in Victoria. Life and career Kennedy graduated from the University of Canberra and has also taught at several colleges, including The University of Melbourne. She is the author of the hi ...

, Scribe, * ''The China Garden'', Kristina Olsson, University of Queensland Press (UQP), * '' Headlong'', Susan Varga, UWA Publishing,

2011

* ''

The Good Daughter ''The Good Daughter'' is a 2012 Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Mike Tuviera, it stars Kylie Padilla in the title role. It premiered on February 13, 2012 on the network's Afternoon Prime line up replacing ...

'',

Honey Brown Honey Brown (born 1972) is an Australian novelist who grew up in Campbell Town, Tasmania. She attended Campbell Town High School and Launceston College before moving to Victoria. In 2009 she was involved in a farming accident which left her p ...

, Penguin/Viking, * ''Like Being a Wife'', Catherine Harris, Vintage, * ''Sustenance'', Simone Lazaroo, University of Western Australia Press, * ''

Indelible Ink ''Indelible'' is the fourth book in the Grant County series by author Karin Slaughter. It was originally released in hardback in 2004. Previous books in the series are '' Blindsighted'', ''Kisscut'', and ''A Faint Cold Fear''. These books star Sar ...

'',

Fiona McGregor Fiona Kelly McGregor (born 1965) is an Australian writer, performance artist and art critic whose third novel, '' Indelible Ink'', won the 2011 The Age Book of the Year award. Early life and education McGregor was born in Sydney, New South W ...

, Scribe, * ''Come Inside'', G.L. Osborne, Clouds of Magellan,

2012

* ''Too Close to Home'',

Georgia Blain Georgia Frances Elise Blain (12 December 19649 December 2016) was an Australians, Australian novelist, journalist and biographer. Biography Born in Sydney in 1964 to journalist and broadcaster Anne Deveson (d. 2016) and broadcaster Ellis Blain ...

, Vintage * ''When We Have Wings'', Claire Corbett, Allen & Unwin * '' All That I Am'',

, Penguin * '' Five Bells'', Gail Jones, Vintage * ''

Foal's Bread ''Foal's Bread'' is a 2011 novel by Australian author Gillian Mears. It was the winner of the 2012 ALS Gold Medal, the Age Book of the Year for Fiction, the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award f ...

'',

Gillian Mears Gillian Mears (21 July 1964 – 16 May 2016) was an Australian short story writer and novelist. Her books ''Ride a Cock Horse'' and ''The Grass Sister'' won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, in 1989 and 1996, respectively. ''The Mint La ...

, Allen & Unwin * ''

Cold Light ''Cold Light'' ( is, Kaldaljós) is a 2004 Icelandic film directed by Hilmar Oddsson. Cast Release ''Cold Light'' premiered in Iceland on 1 January 2004. It was released on 26 September 2005. Awards It was Iceland's submission to the 77th ...

'',

, Vintage

2014

* ''Sufficient Grace'', Amy Espeseth, Scribe Publications * ''The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt'', Tracy Farr, Fremantle Press * ''The Pilgrimage'', Jacinta Halloran, Scribe Publications * ''Sea Hearts'',

, Allen & UnwinAustlit – "Barbara Jefferis Award"
/ref> * ''The Night Guest'',

, Penguin * ''The First Week'', Margaret Merrilees, Wakefield Press * ''

The Mountain The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...

'',

Drusilla Modjeska Drusilla Modjeska (born 1946) is a contemporary Australian writer and editor. Life Modjeska was born in London and was raised in Hampshire. She spent several years in Papua New Guinea (where she was briefly a student at the University of Pa ...

2016

* ''This Picture of You'', Sarah Hopkins, Allen & Unwin * ''A Guide to Berlin'', Gail Jones, Vintage * ''Laurinda'',

Alice Pung Alice Pung (born 1981) is an Australian writer, editor and lawyer. Her books include the memoirs ''Unpolished Gem'' (2006), ''Her Father's Daughter'' (2011) and the novel ''Laurinda'' (2014). Pung is a practising solicitor. She has also worke ...

, Black Inc. * ''The Protected'', Claire Zorn,

* ''Hope Farm'',

, Scribe Publications * '' The Natural Way of Things'',

Charlotte Wood Charlotte Wood (born 1965) is an Australian novelist. ''The Australian'' newspaper described Wood as "one of our ustralia'smost original and provocative writers". Biography Wood was born in Cooma, New South Wales. She is the author of six ...

, Allen & Unwin

2018

* ''The Trapeze Act,'' Libby Angel, Text * ''Troppo,'' Madelaine Dickie, Fremantle Press * ''Storyland,'' Catherine McKinnon, HarperCollins * '' From the Wreck'', Jane Rawson,

Transit Lounge Transit Lounge Publishing is an independent Australian literary small press founded in Melbourne in 2005. It publishes literary fiction, narrative and trade non-fiction. The books it publishes show the diversity of Australian culture. Distribu ...

* ''Goodwood,''

Holly Throsby Holly Sarah Throsby (born 28 December 1978) is an Australian musician and novelist. As a solo artist Throsby has issued six albums. She was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Female Artist in 2006 for '' Under the Town''; and in the same cate ...

, Allen & Unwin

2020

* ''The White Girl,''

Tony Birch Tony Birch (born 1957) is an Aboriginal Australian author, academic and activist. He regularly appears on ABC local radio and Radio National shows and at writers’ festivals. He was head of the honours programme for creative writing at the Un ...

, University of Queensland Press * ''

Too Much Lip ''Too Much Lip'' (2018) is a novel by Australian author Melissa Lucashenko. It was shortlisted for the 2019 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and the Stella Award. It was the winner of the 2019 Miles Franklin Award. Plo ...

,''

Melissa Lucashenko Melissa Lucashenko is an Indigenous Australian writer of adult literary fiction and literary non-fiction, who has also written novels for teenagers. In 2013 at The Walkley Awards, she won the "Feature Writing Long (over 4000 words) Award" for ...

, University of Queensland Press * ''There Was Still Love,''

Favel Parrett Favel Parrett (born 1974) is an Australian writer. Career Parrett's first novel, ''Past the Shallows'', was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award in 2012 and also that year won the Dobbie Literary Prize and Newcomer of the Year at the Aus ...

Hachette * ''Wolfe Island'',

, Picador * ''The Yield,''

Tara June Winch Tara June Winch (born 1983) is an Australian writer. She is the 2020 winner of the Miles Franklin Award for her book ''The Yield''. Biography Tara June Winch was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia in 1983. Her father is from the Wi ...

, Hamish Hamilton

2022

* ''

Bodies of Light ''Bodies of Light'' (2021) is a novel by Australian writer Jennifer Down. It won the 2022 Miles Franklin Award, and was shortlisted for the 2022 Voss Literary Prize, the 2022 Stella Prize, the 2022 Barbara Jefferis Award, the 2022 Age Bo ...

'',

Jennifer Down Jennifer Down (born 1990) is an Australian novelist and short story writer. She won the 2022 Miles Franklin Award for her novel ''Bodies of Light''. Biography Down was in born 1990. She studied arts at Melbourne University before studying ...

, Text * ''Ordinary Matter'', Laura Elvery, University of Queensland Press * ''Benevolence'', Julie Janson, Magabala * ''Revenge: Murder in three parts'', S. L. Lim, Transit Lounge * ''Smart Ovens for Lonely People'', Elizabeth Tan, Brio * ''The Bass Rock'',

Evie Wyld Evelyn Rose Strange "Evie" Wyld (born 16 June 1980) is an Anglo-Australian author. Her first novel, ''After the Fire, A Still Small Voice'', won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 2009, and her second novel, '' All the Birds, Singing'', won the ...

, Penguin

Notes

{{Reflist

References

James Bennett (Firm) "Australian Society of Authors: Barbara Jefferis Award"
Accessed: 2 September 2007

Accessed: 1 September 2007 Australian fiction awards Literary awards honoring women Awards established in 2007 2007 establishments in Australia

Controversy

Winners

Shortlisted works

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

See also

Notes

References