The gift of ABR

Looking for literary gift ideas for book lovers in your life? Why not give a discounted print and/or digital subscription to Australian Book Review?

Until 10 January 2022, a one-year print & digital gift subscription (Australia) costs only $85 (usually $95). And also, until 10 January, a one-year digital gift subscription costs only $60 (normally $80). Contact us for more information on how to redeem this special discounted offer, or visit our website for more information.

Beejay Silcox joins the ABR Board

ABR is delighted to announce that Beejay Silcox has joined the ABR Board. Beejay is one of our most popular reviewers. Her association with ABR began when her short story ‘Slut Trouble’ was commended in the 2016 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize and later published online. In 2018, she was the recipient of ABR’s Fortieth Birthday Fellowship. Her literary criticism and cultural commentary regularly appear in national arts publications, and are increasingly finding an international audience, including in the Times Literary Supplement and The Weekend Australian. Her short stories have been published at home and abroad, and have been selected for a number of Australian anthologies. Welcome, Beejay!

Melbourne Prize for Literature

The winners of the 2021 Melbourne Prize for Literature were announced at a special online event on November 10. Congratulations to Christos Tsiolkas, who won the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature for a body of work that ‘has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life’. Plaudits also to Evelyn Araluen, who won the $20,000 Professional Development Award; to Eloise Grills, who won the $15,000 Writer’s Prize for her essay ‘The Fat Bitch in Art’; and to Maxine Beneba Clark, who won the $3,000 Civic Choice Award. The Melbourne Prize for Literature is awarded triennially.

Dominic Amerena wins the Speculate Prize

In other Jolley Prize-related news, Dominic Amerena has won the inaugural Speculate Prize for his speculative fiction manuscript ‘In Real Life’. Amerena – commended in the 2016 Jolley Prize and shortlisted in the 2017 Jolley Prize – receives $5,000, a mentorship from Giramondo, and a week-long residency at RMIT’s McCraith House. The prize was established by RMIT University and Giramondo Publishing in 2021 to ‘uncover and support writers who embrace new literary modes and extend the possibilities of the novel and short story form’. The biennial prize is open to Australian and New Zealand writers ‘who explore the expansive possibilities of literature’.

Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award

Sydney poet Emily Stewart has won the 2021 Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award for her manuscript ‘Running Time’. Jeanine Leane, the runner-up, was awarded the School of Literature, Art and Media (SLAM) Poetry Award for her manuscript ‘Gawimarra-Gathering’. The biennial award increased its cash prize from $7,000 to $40,000 in 2021, making it the richest poetry prize in Australia. The Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award is presented by the Department of English at the University of Sydney and is funded by the bequest of former student Helen Anne Bell.

Free gift subscription

We’re feeling generous again! New and renewing subscribers can now direct a free six-month digital ABR subscription to a friend or colleague. Why not introduce an avid reader – especially a young one – to ABR?

To qualify for this special offer, just purchase or renew your current ABR subscription – even before it’s due to lapse. Renew for two years and give away two free subs, etc. Contact us on (03) 9699 8822 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will then contact the nominated recipient.

Terms and conditions apply. Visit our website for more information about this special offer.