Who is eligible for the Award?
The author of a single article published in ABR between December 2007 and November 2008.

Can I select any feature of the magazine?
No. Essays, reviews and commentaries are eligible, but not single poems or letters to the editor.

Do they have to be long articles?
Not at all. One-page reviews and commentaries are eligible too.

How many contributors can I nominate?
Just one.

Do I have to be a current subscriber to vote?
No.

How many times can I vote?
Just once, please. This is not the Logies. 

How do I vote?
You have a choice. You can either send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (headed ‘John Button’), clearly identifying the preferred contributor and, preferably, both the book he or she reviewed or the title of the essay or commentary, and the month in which it appeared (if you remember); or you can download the voting form which is available on our website, and fax or send it to ABR. If you can’t access the website and wish to vote, contact Lorraine Harding on (03) 9429 6700 and ask her to send you a voting form.

Is voting anonymous?
No. We need your name, please.

When can I vote?
We’re accepting nominations now, but we urge you to hold off until you have read the October and November issues, so that you can select from the full range of 2008 articles.

Can I just nominate my favourite contributor?
As well as the name of the contributor, we need to know which article you are voting for.

When does voting close?
Monday, 17 November 2008.

When will we find out who won?
December 2008.

The winner of the John Button Readers’ Award will receive $1000. But we want to reward one of our loyal readers, too. If you annotate your vote and state your reasons for choosing the contributor, you’ll be in the running to win a copy of The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Sixth Edition (valued at $399), courtesy of our friends at Oxford University Press. ABR will choose the winning entry, and this will be reproduced in ABR.

Please note that this new ABR prize should not be confused with the John Button Prize which is being organised by John’s family and several of his admirers. This will be fundamentally different from our award, drawing on works published in a variety of publications, not just ABR. Jamie Button will write about the John Button Prize in a future issue, and we urge ABR readers to support this, too.

So now it’s over to you. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to reflect on some of the notable writings in ABR over the last twelve months, and to help us to commemorate John Button’s superb contribution to the magazine.

The one to win!

Some poetry prizes, sadly, have the profiles of a weathered caryatides – that is to say, snubbed – but not the ABR Poetry Prize, which in its relatively short life has become one of the most prominent awards in the country. Now there are even more reasons to enter, for the first prize has been increased to $4000. You have until December 10 to enter the competition. This is the fifth time the ABR Poetry Prize has been offered. Full details appear on page 52. You can also download the guidelines and entry form from our website, or contact the ABR office.

Australian Poetry Festival

‘State of Play: Australian Poetry Now’, the 6th Australian Poetry Festival to be presented by the Poets’ Union, takes place on September 5–7 at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney. Featured poets include Bruce Dawe, Michael Hofmann (UK), John Tranter, Sarah Day and Bronwyn Lea. Download the full program at www.poetsunion.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..