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.