Farewell Editor Peter Rose

Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, and Adelaide came out to farewell Peter Rose, ABR Editor of twenty-four years, who has now left the building. In the February 2025 issue of Literary Review, Rose urged readers to ‘look out for a puff of white smoke above our office in Southbank, Melbourne’ in early May, in a column titled ‘Rotation in Martyrdom’. The farewell was achieved in the classic form of a series of parties with possibly similar speeches. Advances already misses Rose, especially as it goes to press with some rather urgent questions about commas.

(L-R) Assistant Editor Will Hunt, Editor Georgina Arnott, Editor Peter Rose, Chair Sarah Holland-Batt, and Development Consultant Christopher Menz at the ABR Melbourne farewell party on 8 May 2025

Woodend Winter Arts Festival

Advances is, however, relieved that Peter Rose can be tracked down at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival on 7 June. Rose will perform as part of his absurdist troupe the Highly Strung Players, who present two plays penned by him. ABR’s Development Consultant and former Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Christopher Menz, can also be found at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival, delivering a lecture titled ‘William Morris – The Work of Ten Men’. For details and tickets, see woodendwinterartsfestival.org.au.

Peter Rose Editorial Cadetship

In the May issue, ABR announced the creation of the Peter Rose Editorial Cadetship to honour Rose’s extraordinary contribution to the training of publishing professionals and to secure this tradition of mentorship at ABR. Advances has been delighted by the enthusiastic and swift response from ABR supporters and now hopes to advertise the Cadetship in June – and that it will become an annual fixture.

The Peter Rose Editorial Cadetship will offer an aspiring editor a rich and multi-faceted experience, one that will equip them for a successful career in publishing. Over the course of twelve months, the cadet will receive extensive training in all facets of magazine publishing and the principles of editing in a supportive and collegial environment.

Please consider supporting this important program, which honours Peter Rose’s achievements and will help to enable the next generation of editors to take up his mantle. For information about the Cadetship, visit the Peter Rose Editorial Cadetship page within Prizes & Programs on the ABR website.

ABR’s Board of Management

In May, ABR farewelled another Peter in Peter McLennan, whose work as ABR Treasurer for eighteen years (yes!) has been instrumental to ABR’s smooth running. Together with Mary-Ruth Sindrey, Peter has been a stalwart supporter of the Calibre Essay Prize – now in its nineteenth year and celebrating Natasha Sholl’s essay ‘The Chirp/The Scream’ on page 47 – and ABR’s pioneering philanthropy program. Advances thanks Peter McLennan for his immense contribution to ABR and hopes he will remain involved in ABR happenings, despite being relieved of the profit and loss statements, now the preserve of incoming Treasurer Blayney Morgan. Advances also farewells and thanks Board member, essayist, and critic Declan Fry. Declan, who has served on the ABR Board since 2022, was recognised as Rising Star in 2020 and has contributed ten reviews since that year.

Natasha Sholl, runner-up in the 2025 Calibre Essay Prize

Jolley Short Story Prize

The 2025 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is now closed after receiving more than 1300 entries from fourteen countries. This year’s judges are Julie Janson, John Kinsella, and Maria Takolander, the inaugural winner of the short story prize. The winners are expected to be announced in the August issue. Good luck!