Barbara Jefferis Award

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. 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. She died in 2004. ^[1] Australian author, Tom Keneally, described Jefferis as "a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted". ^[2]

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". ^[2] The novel can be in any genre and does not have to be set in Australia. ^[1] The award does not specify the author's gender. It is administered by the Australian Society of Authors and is expected to rival the Miles Franklin Award ($42,000) and the biennial Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize ($40,000). ^[1]

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 Or is it an outdated gesture in a post-feminist culture rich with female authors, characters and readers?" ^[1]

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". ^[1] Several writers have supported the award, including Tom Keneally, Helen Garner, Frank Moorhouse, Gerald Murnane, Anne Deveson, Kerryn Goldsworthy and Brian Castro. 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". ^[1] Author and critic, Debra Adelaide, 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". ^[1]

Winners

Each year's winners and shortlists, along with the past winners, are listed on the relevant Australian Society of Authors page. ^[3]

• 2008 – Feather Man , Rhyll McMaster, Brandl & Schlesinger, Blackheath, ISBN   978-1-876040-83-3
• 2009 – The Spare Room , Helen Garner, Text, Melbourne, ISBN   978-1-921351-39-6 ^[4]
• 2010 – The China Garden, Kristina Olsson, University of Queensland Press, ISBN   978-0-7022-3697-6
• 2011 – Come Inside, G.L. Osborne, Clouds of Magellan ISBN   978-0-9807120-2-5
• 2021 – All That I Am , Anna Funder
• 2013 – not awarded. The 2014 award was for 2013/2014
• 2014 – Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan AND The Night Guest, Fiona McFarlane
• 2016 – Hope Farm, Peggy Frew
• 2018 – The Trapeze Act, Libby Angel, Text, Melbourne ^[5]
• 2020 – Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar, Pan Macmillan Australia ^[6]
• 2022 – Revenge: Murder in Three Parts, S. L. Lim, Transit Lounge Publishing

Shortlisted works

Winners are listed in bold type.

2008

• The Anatomy of Wings, Karen Foxlee, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, ISBN   978-0-7022-3616-7
• Feather Man , Rhyll McMaster, Brandl & Schlesinger, Blackheath, ISBN   978-1-876040-83-3 ^[7]
• The Seamstress , Geraldine Wooller, University of Western Australia Press, Perth, ISBN   978-1-920694-93-7
• The Lost Dog , Michelle de Kretser, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, ISBN   978-1-74175-339-4
• Burning In, Mireille Juchau, Giramondo, Sydney, ISBN   978-1-920882-27-3
• The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles, Elizabeth Stead, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, ISBN   978-0-7022-3602-0

2009

• People of the Book , Geraldine Brooks, Fourth Estate (HarperCollins), Sydney, ISBN   978-0-7322-8037-6
• The Spare Room , Helen Garner, Text, Melbourne, ISBN   978-1-921351-39-6 ^[7]
• The Lifeboat, Zacharey Jane, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, ISBN   978-0-7022-3642-6
• Addition , Toni Jordan, Text, Melbourne, ISBN   978-1-921351-24-2
• The Good Parents , Joan London, Vintage (Random House), Sydney, ISBN   978-1-74166-793-6
• The Last Sky, Alice Nelson, Fremantle Press, Fremantle, ISBN   978-1-921361-12-8

2010

• The Lost Life, Steven Carroll, HarperCollins, ISBN   978-0-7322-8480-0
• Swimming , Enza Gandolfo, Vanark Press, ISBN   978-0-9803500-2-9
• The World Beneath, Cate Kennedy, Scribe, ISBN   978-1-921372-96-4
• The China Garden, Kristina Olsson, University of Queensland Press (UQP), ISBN   978-0-7022-3697-6 ^[7]
• Headlong , Susan Varga, UWA Publishing, ISBN   978-1-921401-23-7

2011

• The Good Daughter , Honey Brown, Penguin/Viking, ISBN   978-0-670-07443-3
• Like Being a Wife, Catherine Harris, Vintage, ISBN   978-1-86471-039-7
• Sustenance, Simone Lazaroo, University of Western Australia Press, ISBN   978-1-74258-071-5
• Indelible Ink , Fiona McGregor, Scribe, ISBN   978-1-921215-96-4
• Come Inside, G.L. Osborne, Clouds of Magellan, ISBN   978-0-9807120-2-5 ^[7]

2012

• Too Close to Home, Georgia Blain, Vintage
• When We Have Wings, Claire Corbett, Allen & Unwin
• All That I Am , Anna Funder, Penguin ^[7]
• Five Bells , Gail Jones, Vintage
• Foal's Bread , Gillian Mears, Allen & Unwin
• Cold Light , Frank Moorhouse, 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, Margo Lanagan, Allen & Unwin ^[8]
• The Night Guest, Fiona McFarlane, Penguin ^[8]
• The First Week, Margaret Merrilees, Wakefield Press
• The Mountain , Drusilla Modjeska

2016

• This Picture of You, Sarah Hopkins, Allen & Unwin
• A Guide to Berlin, Gail Jones, Vintage
• Laurinda, Alice Pung, Black Inc.
• The Protected, Claire Zorn, University of Queensland Press
• Hope Farm, Peggy Frew, Scribe Publications ^[9]
• The Natural Way of Things , Charlotte Wood, Allen & Unwin

2018

• The Trapeze Act, Libby Angel, Text ^[10]
• Troppo, Madelaine Dickie, Fremantle Press
• Storyland, Catherine McKinnon, HarperCollins
• From the Wreck , Jane Rawson, Transit Lounge
• Goodwood, Holly Throsby, Allen & Unwin

2020

• The White Girl, Tony Birch, University of Queensland Press
• Too Much Lip, Melissa Lucashenko, University of Queensland Press
• There Was Still Love, Favel Parrett Hachette
• Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar, Picador ^[11]
• The Yield, Tara June Winch, Hamish Hamilton

2022

• Bodies of Light , Jennifer Down, Text ^[12]
• Ordinary Matter, Laura Elvery, University of Queensland Press
• Benevolence, Julie Janson, Magabala
• Revenge: Murder in three parts, S. L. Lim, Transit Lounge ^[13]
• Smart Ovens for Lonely People, Elizabeth Tan, Brio
• The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld, Penguin

See also

• List of literary awards honoring women

Notes

1. Wyndham (2007)
2. James Bennett (Firm)
3. ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
4. "'The Spare Room' wins ASA Barbara Jefferis Award". Books+Publishing. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
5. "Angel wins 2018 Barbara Jefferis Award for 'The Trapeze Act' | Books+Publishing" . Retrieved 7 November 2018.
6. Steger, Jason (19 November 2020). "Lucy Treloar wins $50,000 Barbara Jefferis award with Wolfe Island". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
7. Austlit – "Barbara Jefferis Award"
8. Austlit – "Barbara Jefferis Award" ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. ""Barbara Jefferis Award Winner 2016"". Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
10. "ASA announces 2018 Barbara Jefferis Award shortlist | Books+Publishing" . Retrieved 7 November 2018.
11. "Barbara Jefferis Award 2020 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
12. "Barbara Jefferis Award 2022 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
13. "Lim wins 2022 Barbara Jefferis Award". Books+Publishing. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2023.

References

• James Bennett (Firm) "Australian Society of Authors: Barbara Jefferis Award" Accessed: 2 September 2007
• Wyndham, Susan (2007) "Rich new award for feminist fiction" in The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: Entertainment Accessed: 1 September 2007