Media Release
The Nita B. Kibble Literary Awards: celebrating Australia’s women writers for 20 years 2013 shortlists for the Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards (Kibble Awards) Announced Today 5 June 2013
As trustee and manager of one of the country’s most prestigious and long running prizes for Australian women writers, Perpetual is delighted to announce the 2013 shortlists for the Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards, with the judges hailing this year’s field as “exceptionally sophisticated, multifaceted, experimental and worldly in confidence, style and orientation”.
The three shortlisted writers for the $30,000 Kibble Literary Award for an established writer are Michelle de Kretser for Questions of Travel (Allen & Unwin), Annah Faulkner for The Beloved (Pan MacMillan Australia), and Cate Kennedy for Like a House on Fire (Scribe).
The shortlisted authors for the $5,000 Dobbie Literary Award for a first-time published writer are Romy Ash for Floundering (Text Publishing), Lily Chan for Toyo: A memoir (Black Inc.), and Courtney Collins for The Burial (Allen & Unwin)
2013 marks the 20th year the Kibble Awards have celebrated the achievements and encouraged the recognition of Australian women writers.
The awards commemorate the trail-blazing Nita B. Kibble (1879-1962), the first female librarian at the State Library of New South Wales who was employed in 1899 after her signature was mistaken for a man’s when she applied for a junior position. Her niece, Nita May Dobbie (1904-1992), established the awards in her will to celebrate her aunt’s legacy and to support Australian women’s writing.
The chair of the 2013 Kibble judging committee, Dr Brigid Rooney, said the Kibble Awards had played an influential role in the flourishing of Australian women’s writing in the past two decades.
“Certain themes have dominated this year, demonstrating how far women have come in 20 years, let alone in the century since Nita B. Kibble first joined the NSW State Library,” Dr Rooney said.
“Many of the works this year are steeped in Australian landscapes, culture and experience, yet simultaneously range confidently and naturally beyond national borders. Women writers are imaginatively inhabiting the viewpoint of many different lives and characters, across time and space, as well as gender, age and culture,” she said.
Dr Rooney said it had been a “landmark year” for Australian women writers as various long and shortlists for other literary prizes in 2013 have shown. She said the Kibble Awards are distinctive because they recognise books by women that are about or in connection with life in Australia and can be classified as ‘life writing’ be they novels, autobiographies, biographies, literature or other writing.
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Previous Kibble winners have included Geraldine Brooks, Helen Garner, Drusilla Modjeska and Gail Jones.
Andrew Thomas, Perpetual General Manager, Philanthropy said Nita May Dobbie and Nita B. Kibble’s support for Australian women’s writing was as practical as it was passionate. “As trustee and manager of the Kibble Awards we are privileged to participate in their vision to create opportunities for Australian women’s literature. The strength and breadth of this year’s shortlist affirm how Nita B. Kibble’s ambitions have supported and encouraged Australian women’s literature,” he said.
Kibble Literary Award for an Established Woman Writer: $30,000 prize. Shortlist:
Michelle de Kretser, Questions of Travel (Allen & Unwin) Sri Lankan-born de Kretser moved to Australia at age 14. She is the author of The Rose Grower, The Hamilton Case and the multi-award winning The Lost Dog.
Judges’ comments: “Weaving individual stories into a fateful unity, Questions of Travel is a beautifully accomplished and mature work that richly illuminates Australia in the contemporary world.”
Annah Faulkner, The Beloved (Pan MacMillan Australia) Having previously focused her writing in other areas, the Sunshine Coast-based Faulkner’s debut novel is set in Port Moresby and is informed by her own experiences of growing up there from the age of five. She is now working on her second novel.
Judges’ comments: “The Beloved’s characters leap off the page in their warmth, humanity and vital intensity. Faulkner creates a portrait in words that vividly evoke the painterly vision its protagonist pursues.’’
Cate Kennedy, Like a House on Fire (Scribe) Cate Kennedy, short-story writer, novelist and poet, lives in North-Eastern Victoria. Her works include the acclaimed collection of stories Dark Roots and the novel The World Beneath.
Judges’ comments: “The familiar, quotidian scenarios of Like a House on Fire, acutely and empathetically observed, humorous and poignant, explore a rich gamut of responses to life’s perennial travails.”
Dobbie Literary Award for a First Published Woman Writer. $5,000 prize. Shortlist:
Romy Ash, Floundering (Text Publishing) Floundering is Melbourne writer and food columnist Ash’s debut novel. It has been shortlisted for several literary awards including the 2013 Miles Franklin Award and was longlisted for this year’s Stella Prize.
Judges’ comments: “Floundering leaves us with indelible images of natural and human landscapes, of two children who are bereft survivors in a discomforting world, and whose plight places on the reader a powerful, unspoken ethical demand.”
Lily Chan, Toyo: A memoir (Black Inc.) Chan was born in Kyoto and raised in Narrogin in Western Australia and now lives in Melbourne. Her debut work charts her grandmother’s extraordinary life from pre-war Osaka to modern day Australia.
Judges’ comments: “Lily Chan’s stunning book threads contemporary Australian experience through Japan’s twentieth century modernity, performing an imaginative recovery of her family’s deeper history.”
Courtney Collins, The Burial (Allen & Unwin) 2
Collins grew up in the Hunter Valley and now lives on the Goulburn River in regional Victoria. The Burial is her first novel and has been optioned for a feature film by Pure Pictures.
Judges’ comments: “The Burial is a remarkable, exquisitely composed first novel that vividly evokes a woman’s flight from captivity and her determination against the odds to survive.”
The Kibble Awards will be announced on Wednesday, 24 July
2013 Kibble Awards Judges: Dr Brigid Rooney, Senior Lecturer in Australian Literature at the University of Sydney. Ms Jean Bedford, Novelist and short story writer, board member of the NSW Writer’s Centre and co-editor of the online journal the Newtown Review of Books. Ms Maggie Patton, Manager of the Original Materials Branch of the State Library of NSW.
For further information, please contact: Ray Gill - 0417 325 985
@Perpetual_Ltd #KibbleAwards
About Nita May Dobbie Nita May Dobbie (1904-1992) established the Kibble Literary Awards for Women Writers in recognition of her aunt, Nita Kibble, who raised her from birth after her mother died.
Miss Nita Kibble was hired as a junior assistant at the Public Library of New South Wales, when her signature was taken for a man’s in 1899. She later became the first woman to be appointed a librarian with the State Library of New South Wales and held the position of Principal Research Officer from 1919 until her retirement in 1943. Throughout her career she worked hard to raise the status of the library profession and was a founding member of the Australian Institute of Librarians. Miss Dobbie followed her aunt into the library profession and recognised the need to foster women’s writing. She established the awards, named after her inspirational aunt, through her will. For more information about the awards visit www.perpetual.com.au/kibble
About Perpetual Philanthropic Services Perpetual is one of the largest managers of private charitable foundations in Australia, with $1.2 billion in funds under management (as at 31 Dec 2012). Perpetual manages over 550 charitable trusts and endowments, supporting medical, social, environmental, religious, cultural and educational causes.
Perpetual Philanthropic Services is part of Perpetual Private, which advises clients on $8.8 billion of funds (as at 31 Dec 2012). The Perpetual Private team of experts offers tailored advice and services and can help clients fulfill their charitable intentions. For more information visit www.perpetual.com.au/philanthropy
About Perpetual Perpetual is an independent financial services group operating in funds management, financial advisory and trustee services. Our origin as a trustee company, coupled with our strong track record of investment performance, has created our reputation as one of the strongest brands in financial services in Australia. For further information, go to www.perpetual.com.au
Perpetual’s Philanthropic Services and advice are provided by Perpetual Trustee Company Limited (PTCo), ABN 42 000 001 007, AFSL 236643. This publication has been prepared by PTCo and contains information contributed by third parties. It contains general information only and is not intended to provide advice or take into account personal objectives, financial situation or needs. The information is believed to be accurate at the time of compilation and is provided by PTCo in good faith. To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. PTCo does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information included in this document which was contributed by a third party.
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