__NOTOC__ The Mary Gilmore Award is currently an annual Australian

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. M ...

for poetry, awarded by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Since being established in 1956 as the ACTU Dame Mary Gilmore Award, it has been awarded in several other categories, but has been confined to poetry since 1985. It was named in honour of writer and journalist

Mary Gilmore Dame Mary Jean Gilmore (née Cameron; 16 August 18653 December 1962) was an Australian writer and journalist known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. She wrote both prose and poetry. Gi ...

(1865–1962).

History

The Mary Gilmore Award was established in 1956 by the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...

(ACTU) as the ACTU Dame Mary Gilmore Award to encourage literature "significant to the life and aspirations of the Australian people". Over the years it has been awarded for a range of categories, including

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

, a three-act (full-length) play, and a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

. In 1959 it was organised by the

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

Committees of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

in partnership with the New Theatre in Newtown, Sydney, as an award for the best new play. The Mary Gilmore Award for a First Book of Poetry was established in 1985, named in honour of the Australian writer and journalist

Dame Mary Gilmore Dame Mary Jean Gilmore (née Cameron; 16 August 18653 December 1962) was an Australian writer and journalist known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. She wrote both prose and poetry. Gi ...

. it is known simply as the Mary Gilmore Award. The award is conducted by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature and given to a first book of poetry published in Australia in the previous year. From 1998 to 2016, it was awarded every two years; prior to 1998 it was awarded annually.

Poetry

Past winners of the poetry prize include: *2022: Jelena Dinic ''In the Room with the She Wolf'' (Wakefield Press) *2021: Em König ''Breathing Plural'' (Cordite Books) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

: Thom Sullivan ''Carte Blanche'' (Vagabond Press) *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

: Marjon Mossammaparast ''That Sight'' (Cordite Books) *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Quinn Eades Quinn Eades is a Senior Lecturer in Gender, Sexuality & Diversity Studies, best known for both academic work and poetry on queer theory and experience. He is particularly known for integrating his trans-masculine perspective into both academic ...

''Rallying'' (UWA Publishing) *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

: Aden Rolfe ''False Nostalgia'' (Giramondo Publishing) *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Benedict Andrews Benedict Andrews is an Australian theatre and film director, based in Reykjavík. Born in Adelaide in 1972, he was educated at Flinders University Drama Centre. His first feature film '' Una'' (an adaption of '' Blackbird'' by David Harrower) ...

''Lens Flare'' (Pitt Street Poetry) *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: Rose Lucas ''Even in the Dark'' (UWA Publishing) *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Fiona Wright Fiona Wright (born 1983) is an Australian poet and critic. Life and career Fiona Wright grew up in Menai, New South Wales. Wright has completed residencies including an Island of Residencies placement at the Tasmanian Writers' Centre in 2007. S ...

''Knuckled''"Fiona Wright wins the Dame Mary Gilmore Award", Giramondo Publishing
/ref> (Giramondo Publishing) *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Joanna Preston Joanna Preston (born 1972) is an Australian poet, editor and creative writing tutor based in New Zealand. She has published two award-winning collections of poetry. Life and career Preston was born in Sydney in 1972, and grew up in rural New S ...

''The Summer King'' (Otago University Press) *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Nathan Shepherdson Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David and ...

''Sweeping the Light Back Into the Mirror'' (University of Queensland Press) *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

David McCooey David McCooey (born 1967 in London), poet, critic, musician, and academic. He is Personal Chair in Literary Studies and Professional & Creative Writing at Deakin University in Geelong. Early life and education David McCooey was born in London i ...

''Blister Pack'' (Salt Publishing) *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

: Michael Brennan ''Imageless World'' (Salt Publishing) *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Geraldine McKenzie Geraldine may refer to: People * Geraldine (name), the feminine form of the first name Gerald, with list of people thus named. * The Geraldines, Irish dynasty descended from the Anglo-Norman Gerald FitzWalter de Windsor * Geraldine of Albania, ...

''Duty'' (Paper Bark Press) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Lucy Dougan Lucy Dougan (born 1966) is an Australian poet who began publication in 1998. Early life and education Dougan was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1966. In 2009 she completed her PhD thesis at the University of Western Australia in dual forma ...

''Memory Shell'' (Five Islands Press) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Emma Lew Emma Lew (born 1962) is a contemporary Australian poet. Born in Melbourne, Emma Lew studied arts at Melbourne University and worked as a deckhand, shop assistant, proof-reader, and clerical assistant, only beginning to write poetry in 1993.

''The Wild Reply'' (Black Pepper Publishing) *

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Morgan Yasbincek Morgan Yasbincek (born 1964) is a contemporary Australian poet, novelist and academic. Morgan Yasbincek lives in Western Australia where she completed her PhD at Murdoch University.1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

Jordie Albiston Jordie Albiston (30 September 1961 – 28 February 2022) was an Australian poet. Early life Jordie Albiston grew up in Melbourne, the second of four children. She studied music at the Victorian College of the Arts before completing a doct ...

''Nervous Arcs'' (Spinifex Press) *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Aileen Kelly Aileen is a feminine given name. Its common used in Ireland. It comes from the Turkish name Aylin, which means "Halo of the moon". Notable people with the name include: * Aileen Adams (born 1923), British consultant anaesthetist *Aileen Allen (1 ...

''Coming Up for Light'' (Pariah Press) *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

: Deborah Staines ''Now, Millennium'' (Spinifex Press) *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

Jill Jones Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who performed as a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. Overview Jones was born in Lebanon, Ohio on July 11, 1962. Her mother, a fashion model ...

''The Mask and Jagged Star'' (Hazard Press) *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

Alison Croggon Alison Croggon (born 1962) is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist. Life and career Born in the Transvaal, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to England before settling in Australia, first in B ...

''This is the Stone'' (Penguin Books) *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Jean Kent Jean Kent (born Joan Mildred Field; 29 June 1921 − 30 November 2013) was an English film and television actress. Biography Born Joan Mildred Field (sometimes incorrectly cited as Summerfield) in Brixton, London in 1921, the only child of va ...

''Verandahs'' (Hale & Iremonger) *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

: Kristopher Rassemussen ''In the Name of the Father'' (False Frontiers) *

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

Alex Skovron Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...

''The Re-arrangement'' (Melbourne University Press) *

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

Judith Beveridge Judith Beveridge (born 1956) is a contemporary Australian poet, editor and academic. She is a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Beveridge was born in London, England, arriving in Australia with her parents in 1960. She ...

''The Domesticity of Giraffes'' (Black Lightning Press) *

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

: Jan Owen ''Boy with Telescope'' (Angus & Robertson) *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

: Stephen J. Williams ''A Crowd of Voices'' (Pariah Press) *

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

: Doris Brett ''The Truth about Unicorns'' (Jacaranda Press)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Australian poetry awards Australian literature-related lists 1985 establishments in Australia Awards established in 1985 1956 establishments in Australia Awards established in 1956 Australian literary awards

History

Poetry

See also

References

External links