Media Background The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards celebrate the contribution Australian literature and history make to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life. The Awards recognise the importance of literature and history to our national identity, community and economy. In 2012, awards will be presented for excellence in fiction, non-fiction, young adult fiction, children’s fiction, poetry and Australian history. $100 000 will be awarded in each category—$80 000 for the winning entry and $5000 each for a maximum of four shortlisted entries. All prizes will be tax-free. New poetry award A poetry category has been introduced to reflect the significant contribution poetry makes to Australia’s literary landscape. Collections of poems by one or two that were first published in book form between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011 are eligible for entry. Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History In 2012 the Awards will incorporate the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History. This is the nation’s pre-eminent award for excellence in Australian history. It is awarded for an outstanding publication or body of work that contributes significantly to an understanding of Australian history. Previously the prize has been administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Any work that documents Australian history, first published, produced or broadcast between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011 is eligible to enter and may include a published book, a film or radio documentary, CD-ROM, DVD, other form of multimedia or a series of these works. History of the Awards The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were introduced in 2008 to fulfil a Government election commitment. A total of 194 entries were received in two categories: 91 fiction entries and 103 non-fiction entries. Seven books in each category were short-listed. In 2010, two new categories were introduced to recognise excellence in literature for children and young adults. Across the four categories, 332 books were considered by the judging panels. In 2011, Arts Minister Simon Crean redistributed the prize money attached to the Awards to provide support to even more authors, with winning authors receiving $80,000 each and shortlisted authors each receiving $5000. Biographies of the judges Non–fiction and history panel Chair Mr Christopher (Chris) Masters PSM Chris is a multi–Walkley Award winning and Logie Award winning Australian journalist and author. He has recently retired. He has written three books to date: 1992’s Inside Story and 2002’s Not for Publication, both of which were about his career in television, and 2006’s Jonestown, a controversial biography of radio personality Alan Jones. The latter won the 2007 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Literary Work Advancing Public Debate—the Harry Williams Award. He was appointed Adjunct Professor in Journalism at RMIT University in 2004 and was awarded the Public Service Medal in 1999 and the Centenary Medal in 2001 for "service to Australian society in journalism". Dr Faye Sutherland Faye has worked in the book retail industry for over twenty years. After working as manager of renowned independent bookstore, Lesley McKay's Bookshop in Sydney, in 2001 she became the manager of the University Co-op Bookshop at Macquarie University. In 2007 she was named the recipient of the fifth Unwin Trust UK-Australian Fellowship. This fellowship, which was established to benefit the book industry of both countries, alternates annually, allowing a UK recipient to research in Australia and an Australian recipient to research in the UK. Faye's research in the UK examined the British academic bookselling sector's response to market change and the relevance of this to Australia. She has been on the non-fiction panel since 2010. Mr Colin Steele Colin is an Emeritus Fellow of the Australian National University, having been University Librarian 19802002. He is a prolific writer of chapters and articles on matters regarding books and publishing and is currently a book reviewer for a number of publications including the Canberra Times. In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society and the humanities in the study of information strategies. Colin has been on the non-fiction panel since 2010. Dr Michelle Arrow Dr Michelle Arrow is a senior lecturer in Modern History at Macquarie University, Sydney. A historian of popular culture, she is the author of two books: Friday on Our Minds: Popular Culture in Australia since 1945 (shortlisted for the 2010 NSW Premier’s Australian History Prize) and Upstaged: Australian Women Dramatists in the Limelight at Last (shortlisted for five awards). Michelle held the NSW History Fellowship in 2001 and worked as a presenter on the ABC TV series Rewind in 2004. Michelle is currently working on a history of the Royal Commission on Human Relationships (1974-77) and she won the National Archives of Australia’s Frederick Watson Fellowship for 2012 to work on this project. Michelle has been on the panel for the Prize for Australian History since 2008. Fiction and Poetry panel Chair Mr Joel Becker Joel has been CEO of the Australian Booksellers' Association since May 2010. Prior to this that he was Executive Director of the Victorian Writers' Centre for eight years. A participant in the bid to make Melbourne a UNESCO City of Literature, Joel was integral in the development of The Wheeler Centre. His clients have included Gleebooks, Readings and the Sydney Morning Herald. Dr Lyn Gallacher Lyn has been a Fiction judge since 2009. She is the Executive Producer of Artworks on ABC Radio National. She has been a Creative Fellow at the State Library of Victoria, where she studied the Magic Collection. Lyn is involved in setting up the Australian Literary Compendium which so far features five radio programs on classic Australian Poems and will soon include classic Australian novels, all to be broadcast on ABC Radio National's Bookshow program. Professor Chris Wallace-Crabbe AM Chris is the Chair of Poetry Australia Limited, Australia’s peak body for poetry. He is a poet and essayist, also Professor Emeritus in the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for his study of literature and the arts. In June 2011 he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for his service to the arts as a leading poet, critic and educator, and as an ambassador and advocate for the humanities both nationally and internationally. This award also recognised his support for emerging writers. In October 2011, Chris took a tour to the UK to strengthen Poetry Australia’s connections overseas. Mr Peter Craven Peter is one of Australia's best known literary critics. He was one of the founding editors of Scripsi, a literary magazine that published Australian and international writing. He went on to be the first editor of Best Australian Essays, Best Australian Stories and Best Australian Poems. His essays have appeared in such publications as The Sunday Age, Australian Financial Review, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He was a 2008 Australia/Asia Literary Award panellist. Children’s and Young adult fiction panel Chair Ms Judith White Judith is a published author, editor, and an illustrator of children's books. She has 35 years experience in book, newspaper and magazine publishing in both London and Sydney. Judith has a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History and a Bachelor of Philosophy from Oxford University. Her freelance editing experience includes art catalogues, history and fiction. Judith comes at the recommendation of Mr Brian Johns, outgoing Chair of the non-fiction panel. Ms Mary-Ruth Mendel Mary-Ruth is a speech and language pathologist with a private practice in Sydney (The Speech Language and Literacy Centre) that specialises in helping people of all ages with literacy and learning difficulties. She is also a Founder of The Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation (ALNF). ALNF is a philanthropic organisation dedicated to raising language, literacy and numeracy standards in Australia and raises funds to develop, implement and sustain innovative projects for individuals, families and communities. ALNF's programs span the developmental spectrum from early years learning through to adolescent and adult learning needs and address the needs of a diverse range of individuals and communities, including Indigenous, refugee and migrant communities. Mary-Ruth was named a Local Hero for NSW in the Australian of the Year Awards in 2008 and has written on literacy and language issues for The Sydney Morning Herald. She has been on the children’s and young adult fiction panel since 2010. Mr Robert (Bob) Sessions Bob is a book publisher and editor with over 40 years of experience. During his career, he has published a wide range of Australian adult and children’s authors for various publishing companies, including Penguin Books and Thomas Nelson Australia. Bob has served on a number of industry committees and is currently Chair of the Course Advisory Committee for the Graduate Diploma in Editing and Publishing at RMIT University. He also sits on the board of the Australian Film Institute.