Wesley Michel Wright Prize

The Wesley Michel Wright Prize is an Australian poetry prize named in honour of Wesley Michel Wright in recognition of his bequest to the University of Melbourne. It is awarded annually.

History

Wesley Michel Wright graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1951. In his will he left a bequest to the university.[1][2] Wright died in 1963[3] and the award was subsequently inaugurated. The first known recipient was Leon Slade in 1962.[4] John Tranter, Judy Johnson and Sarah Day have won twice.[4] As of 2023, the prize is valued at A$4,300.[5]

Entry conditions

Entry is open to Australian citizens for a poem or poetry collection published in the previous twelve months. Poems to be from 50 to 500 lines long.[2]

Winners

This list is drawn from the AustLit database:[4]

Year Winner(s) Notes
1982 Leon Slade
1983 Alex Skovron [6]
1984 — (no award)
1985 John Scott
Frank Kellaway
1986 Philip Hodgins
1987 Diane Fahey
1988 Laurie Duggan
1989 David Herkt
John Tranter
1990 Ken Bolton
1991 Jordie Albiston
Jan Owen
1992 Peter Boyle
1993 John Tranter
1994 Dimitris Tsaloumas
1995 Bruce Beaver
1996 Thomas Shapcott
1997 Judith Beveridge
1998 Jean Kent
1999 Margaret Bradstock
2000 Judy Johnson
2001 Bronwyn Lea
2002 Martin Harrison
2003 Chris Andrews
2004 Sarah Day
2005 — (no award)
2006 — (no award)
2007 — (no award)
2008 Caroline Caddy [7]
2009 Emily Ballou [8]
2010 — (no award)
2011 Rosanna Licari [9]
2012 A. Frances Johnson
2013 Judy Johnson [10]
2014 Sarah Day [11]
2015 — (no award)
2016 — (no award)
2017 Susan Fealy [12]
2018 John Kinsella [13]
2019 Kevin Brophy [14]
2020 Zenobia Frost
2021 Jill Jones [15]
2022 Lisa Gorton
2023 Stuart Barnes [5]

References

  1. ^ Stringer, Tom (2017-08-15). "Donors". Scholarships. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  2. ^ a b Smart, Alex (2023-09-05). "Wesley Michel Wright Prize". Scholarships. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  3. ^ "Death notice". The Age. 1963-02-09 – via Ryerson Index.
  4. ^ a b c "Australian Centre Literary Awards - Wesley Michel Wright Prize in Poetry". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  5. ^ a b "Barnes wins Wesley Michel Wright Prize". Books+Publishing. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. ^ Liberman, Serge (3 March 1989). "Books Alex Skovron Opening the Gates of Imagination". The Australian Jewish News. Vol. 55, no. 27. Victoria, Australia. p. 21. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "In brief". Books+Publishing. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  8. ^ "In brief". Books+Publishing. 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  9. ^ Licari, Rosanna (2011). "An absence of saints". UQ eSpace. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  10. ^ "Peter Blazey, Wesley Michel Wright, Ernest Scott prizes announced". Books+Publishing. 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  11. ^ "Peter Blazey Fellowship, Ernest Scott, Wesley Michel Wright and Affirm Press Creative Writing prizes presented". Books+Publishing. 2014-08-25. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  12. ^ "Australian Centre Literary Awards 2017 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  13. ^ "Australian Centre Literary Awards 2018 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  14. ^ "Australian Centre Literary Awards 2019 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  15. ^ Jones, Jill (2021), My workshop of filthy creation, Day, Phil (artist), Life Before Man ; Summer Hill, New South Wales : Gazebo Books, retrieved 22 October 2023