The Miles Franklin Award is the Academy Awards of Australian letters – never exactly a stranger to publicity. Last month, ‘Advances’ reported the sudden resignations of three of the judges: Kerryn Goldsworthy, David Marr and Mark Rubbo. Happily, the new jury is now complete, with the appointment of Morag Fraser as the fifth judge. Morag is well known to readers, in many capacities: as an author, anthologist and critic; as a regular contributor to ABR; and as a former Chair of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival and former Editor of Eureka Street. Morag is also an adjunct professor at La Trobe University and an ABR board member. Not that we can expect any inside tips, alas. Morag is being impressively tight-lipped about the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, whose non-fiction category she is currently judging. Interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Susan Wyndham, she remarked: ‘I’m very strong on Pol Pot and Genghis Khan at the moment.’

Inaugural ABR Poetry Prize

As if that’s not enough for one woman’s eyesight, Morag Fraser has just been co-judging our inaugural poetry prize. We received 401 entries and wish to thank all the poets. The standard was pleasingly high. The ballads were few, and the wonted parrots strangely quiet. Paring the long list of thirty poems down to a short list of six was not easy for the judges, and required intense caffeinated concentration. In the end, they short-listed Stephen Edgar (Tas.), Kevin Gillam (WA), Jennifer Harrison (Vic.), Sandra Hill (Vic.), Maria Takolander (Vic.) and Mark Tredinnick (NSW). We publish the six shortlisted works in this issue. The winner will be announced in our April issue. Meanwhile, honourable mentions go to Judith Bishop’s ‘Rabbit’ and to Lisa Gorton’s ‘Space Command’, which we will also publish in the magazine.

Historical inevitability

The New South Wales Premier’s History Awards, one of the most interesting prizes in a country ringing with gongs, is on again this year. The guidelines, featuring a genial if historical photograph of Premier Bob Carr, inform us that there are six separate awards, each worth $15,000 (the winners will also receive a commemorative medal). ‘The Awards remind us,’ Mr Carr notes, ‘that history is central to the way in which we understand ourselves and our place in the world.’ The closing date for entries is March 18. Enquiries and requests for nomination forms should be directed to (02) 9228 5533 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Waltzing Matilda

Two of the grand old survivors from the Whitlam era will be in conversation at the State Library of NSW on Wednesday, March 30. John Menadue was Head of the Department of Prime Minister from 1974 to 1976. He is currently Chair of New Matilda.com, an independent online newsletter. His interlocutor will be Philip Adams, who is – to paraphrase John Laws’s publisher on John Laws – simply Philip Adams. The event starts at 6 p.m., and there is a modest charge. Bookings: (02) 9273 1770 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Changes at Crikey

ABR, always keen to know about the overnight television ratings, John Elliott’s finances and other political matters, is a keen subscriber to Crikey.com, so it was interested to read that Stephen Mayne (scourge of boards and needler of politicians) and his partner, Paula Piccinini, are selling Crikey for $1 million. The purchase is a gradual one and will not take full effect until September 2006. During this time, Mayne will write exclusively for Crikey and The Reader. Promisingly, Mayne’s press release stated that he will also have time ‘to resume serious shareholder activism and business commentary’. Crikey’s new owners will be Eric Beecher and Di Gribble, from Private Media Partners, publisher of The Reader. Mayne described them as the only natural buyers of Crikey, and stated that he would never have sold to any major media player. Beecher, in a statement, described Crikey as ‘incredibly innovative’, and said: ‘It is our intention to retain Crikey’s essential ingredients: disclosure, ferreting out important information that people don’t want you to know, being an active and lively part of the fourth estate that acts as one of the crucial checks and balances in the Australian democracy.’ Given the dearth of independent media players in Australia, ‘Advances’ wishes them every success.

Lolling around with a BOOK

What with all the acronyms distracting young people today – TV, DVD, SMS, PS2, LOL, to name a few – most have no time or desire to pick up a BOOK. In an effort to try and steer young people to use their imagination, not just their thumbs, Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has launched the Premier’s Reading Challenge. The aim of the challenge is to encourage 458,000 Victorian children to read a dozen books by August 6. The incentive? Well, apart from a certificate from the premier, reading some great books, of course. And with Reading Challenge Ambassadors such as Paul Jennings, Graeme Base, Elizabeth Honey, Meme McDonald and Isobelle Carmody, the reading material is sure to be fine. Get reading, OK!