Australian Book Review

Australian Book Review

Editor	Peter Rose
Frequency	Monthly
First issue	1961 (1961-month)
Country	Australia
Based in	"Boyd", Southbank, Victoria
Language	English
Website	www.australianbookreview.com.au
ISSN	0155-2864

Australian Book Review is one of Australia's leading arts and literary reviews. Created in 1961 the ABR is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to foster high critical standards, to provide an outlet for fine new writing, and to contribute to the preservation of literary values and a full appreciation of Australia's literary heritage'.

History and profile

Australian Book Review was established by Max Harris and Rosemary Wighton as a monthly journal in Adelaide, Australia, in 1961. In 1971 production was reduced to quarterly releases, and lapsed completely in 1974. In 1978 the journal was revived by the National Book Council and, moving to Melbourne, began producing ten issues per year.

ABR is currently sponsored by Flinders University, and supported by various organisations including the Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, Arts SA, and Copyright Agency Limited.

Editors

• 1961 to 1974 - Geoffrey Dutton, Max Harris and Rosemary Wighton
• 1978 to 1986 - John McLaren
• 1986 to 1987 - Kerryn Goldsworthy
• 1988 - Louise Adler
• 1989 to 1995 - Rosemary Sorensen
• 1995 to 2000 - Helen Daniel
• 2001 to present day - Peter Rose

Calibre Prize for an Outstanding Essay

The Calibre Prize is an annual Australian Book Review initiative intended to generate brilliant new essays and to foster new insights into culture, society, and the human condition. The Prize, first awarded in 2007, is worth A$5,000.

ABR welcomes entries from published authors and commentators, and from emerging writers. All non-fiction subjects are eligible, from life writing to literary studies, history to politics, biography to philosophy, natural history to popular science, travel writing to environmental studies.

Winners

• 2007 - Elisabeth Holdsworth: 'An die Nachgenborenen: For Those Who Come After'
• 2008 - Rachel Robertson: 'Reaching One Thousand' and Mark Tredinnick: 'A Storm and a Teacup'
• 2009 - Kevin Brophy: ‘"What’re yer looking at yer fuckin’ dog": Violence and Fear in Žižek’s Post-political Neighbourhood’ and Jane Goodall: 'Footprints'
• 2010 - Lorna Hallahan: 'On being Odd' and David Hansen: 'Seeing Truganini'
• 2011 - Dean Biron: 'The Death of the Writer' and Moira McKinnon: 'Who Killed Matilda?'
• 2012 – Matt Rubinstein: 'Body and Soul: Copyright and Law Enforcement in the Age of the Electronic Book'
• 2013 - Martin Thomas: '"Because it's your country": Bringing Back the Bones to West Arnhem Land'
• 2014 - Christine Piper: 'Unearthing the past'
• 2015 - Sophie Cunningham: 'Staying with the trouble'

Peter Porter Poetry Prize

Australian Book Review established its annual Poetry Prize in 2005, and in 2010 renamed it the Peter Porter Poetry Prize in memory of the Australian poet. The Prize is one of Australia’s most lucrative and respected awards for poetry, and guarantees the winning and short-listed entries wide exposure through publication in ABR.

Entrants must submit a single poem of no more than 75 lines. Multiple entries are permitted, and all poems are judged anonymously.

Winners

• 2005: Stephen Edgar: 'Man on the Moon'
• 2006: Judith Bishop: 'Still Life with Cockles and Shells'
• 2007: Alex Skovron: 'Sanctum'
• 2008: Ross Clark: 'Danger: Lantana'
• 2009: Tracy Ryan: 'Lost Property'
• 2010: Anthony Lawrence: 'Domestic Emergencies'
• 2011: Judith Bishop: 'Openings' and Tony Lintermans: 'Self-portrait at Sixty'
• 2012: Michael Farrell: 'Beautiful Mother'
• 2013: John A. Scott: 'Four Sonnets'
• 2014: Jessica L. Wilkinson: ‘Arrival Platform Humlet’
• 2015: Judith Beveridge: 'As Wasps Fly Upwards'

ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize

Australian Book Review revived its annual short story competition in 2010, and in 2011 renamed it the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize in memory of the late Australian writer, Elizabeth Jolley. The total prize money rose in 2016 from $8000 to $12,500, thanks to the support of ABR Patron Mr Ian Dickson.

Winners

• 2010: Maria Takolander: ‘A Roānkin Philosophy of Poetry’
• 2011: Carrie Tiffany: 'Before He Left the Family' and Gregory Day: 'The Neighbour's Beans'
• 2012: Sue Hurley: ‘Patterns in Nature’
• 2013: Michelle Michau-Crawford: 'Leaving Elvis'
• 2014: Jennifer Down: 'Aokigahara'
• 2015: Rob Magnuson Smith: 'The Elector of Nossnearly'

Arts Update

In 2012, Australian Book Review launched a major extension of its coverage of Australian culture, Arts Update. At a time of shrinking coverage elsewhere, Arts Update offers lengthy critiques of major films, plays, television features, operas, art exhibitions – and more.

Podcasts

In 2015, Australian Book Review launched two podcasts – Poem of the Week and The ABR Podcast. Both podcasts can be found on iTunes (Poem of the Week and The ABR Podcast) and SoundCloud (Poem of the Week and The ABR Podcast) and can also be listened to on the ABR website. Shownotes are available for every episode.

Fellowships

ABR's Fellowship program began in 2011. Funded by ABR’s generous Patrons and by philanthropic foundations, the Fellowship program is intended to reward outstanding Australian writers and to advance the magazine’s commitment to critical debate and literary values. ABR will offer two or three such Fellowships each year. Each ABR Fellowship is worth at least $5,000.

Fellowships

• ABR Patrons’ Fellowship, Patrick Allington, '"What is Australia, anyway?" The glorious limitations of the Miles Franklin Literary Award' (Published in June 2011, no. 332)
• ABR Sidney Myer Fund Fellowship, Rachel Buchanan, 'Sweeping Up the Ashes' (Published in December 2011–January 2012, no. 337)
• ABR Sidney Myer Fund Fellowship, Felicity Plunkett, 'Sound Bridges: A Profile of Gurrumul' (Published in June-July 2015, no. 372)
• ABR Copyright Agency Fellowship, Jennifer Lindsay, 'Man on the Margins' (Published in October 2012, no. 345)
• ABR Patrons’ Fellowship, Ruth Starke, 'Media Don: A political enigma in pink shorts' (Published in March 2013, no. 349)
• ABR Ian Potter Foundation Fellowship, 'Everyone's a Critic' (Published in May 2013, no. 351)
• ABR George Hicks Foundation Fellowship, Helen Ennis, 'Olive Cotton at Spring Forest: The modernist photographer at Spring Forest' (Published in July–August 2013, no. 353)
• ABR Ian Potter Foundation Fellowship, Andrew Fuhrmann, 'Patrick White: A theatre of his own' (Published in November 2013, no. 356)
• ABR Dahl Trust Fellowship, Danielle Clode, 'Seeing the wood for the trees' (Published in November 2014, no. 366)
• ABR Ian Potter Foundation Fellowship, James McNamara, 'The Golden Age of Television?' (Published in April 2015, no. 370)
• ABR Patrons’ Fellowship, Shannon Burns, 'The scientist of his own experience: A Profile of Gerald Murnane' (Published in August 2015, no. 373)
• ABR Dahl Trust Fellowship, Ashley Hay, 'The forest at the edge of time' (Published in October 2015, no. 375)

Editorial Internships

Each year Australian Book Review offers a one-year, full-time Editorial Internship worth a total of $45,000 – a rare opportunity in the publishing sector. The chosen Intern works closely with the Editor, Peter Rose. He/she is involved in every aspect of the magazine’s business. It is a rewarding and fascinating position for a young, committed editor.

ABR Editorial Interns

• Mark Gomes
• Tim Brewer
• Milly Main
• Sara Savage
• Sam Zifchak
• Luke Horton

External links

• Australian Book Review
• Copyright Agency Limited