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ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
or Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
Subcategory of Awards Australian Awards
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History

In 2010, when it was first given, this award was known as the ABR Short Story Competition. Australian Book Review renamed the award in honour of Elizabeth Jolley, and first awarded it under its new name, the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, in 2011. The prize is awarded for an original single-authored short story in English of between 2,000 and 5,000 words.

Elizabeth Jolley wrote for twenty years before her first novel was published.With the publication, in 1983, of both Miss Peabody's Inheritance and Mr Scobie's Riddle, her reputation soared. In 1998, Jolley was named one of Australia's 100 National Living Treasures. She died in 2007.

Notes

  • Australian Book Review (ABR) inaugurated the ABR Short Story Competition in 2010. The competition initially offered a first prize of $2,000, with lesser prizes for two other place getters. All three prize-winning stories were published in Australian Book Review. In 2011, the award's name was changed to the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize and the prizemoney for the winner increased to $5,000. All shortlisted and commended entries are published in Australian Book Review.

    Stories in English of between 1,000 and 3,000 words are eligible for the prize. They must not have been previously published or be on offer elsewhere. Multiple entries are acceptable.

    Source: Australian Book Review website, http://www.australianbookreview.com.au/
    Sighted: 08/04/2010 and 12/10/2011

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2023

Indexed selectively. Also longlisted: Sue Brennan (Japan), Kira McPherson (England), and Fope Ojo (Netherlands).

Shortlist includes : Winter Bel (France) and Uzma Aslam Khan (United States).

winner Rowan Heath for 'The Mannequin'.

Year: 2022

Indexed selectively. Also longlisted: Diana Clarke (New Zealand); Tracey Slaughter (New Zealand); Susan Hettinger (US); and Bruce Meyer (Canada).
winner Natural Wonder Tracy Ellis , 2022 single work short story
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 445 2022; (p. 32-33)

Year: 2021

winner The Enemy, Asyndeton Camilla Chaudhary , 2021 single work short story
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 434 2021; (p. 32-37)

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon River Story Mykaela Saunders , Southbank : Australian Book Review, Inc. , 2020 19767068 2020 single work short story

Year: 2019

winner y separately published work icon The Point-Blank Murder Sonja Dechian , Southbank : Australian Book Review, Inc. , 2020 17266941 2019 single work short story

Works About this Award

y separately published work icon 2022 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize Nina Cullen , Tracy Ellis , C. J. Garrow , 2022 25050110 2022 single work podcast

'In this year’s ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story prize, we received more than 1,300 entries from thirty-six different countries, a testament to ongoing international interest in the Jolley Prize and ABR. Writers explored themes and topics including the pandemic, climate change, grief, desire, parenthood, and community. In this week’s podcast, the three finalists read their shortlisted stories: ‘Dog Park’ by Nina Cullen, ‘Natural Wonder’ by Tracy Ellis, and ‘Whale Fall’ by C.J. Garrow. They are briefly introduced by Jolley Prize judge and ABR Deputy Editor, Amy Baillieu. A more detailed judges’ report on the three shortlisted stories is available on our website, along with the details of the fourteen longlisted stories.' (Introduction)

News from the Editor's Desk - September 2017 Peter Rose , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 394 2017; (p. 1)

'At a lively ceremony at Potts Point Bookshop on August 10, David Malouf named Eliza Robertson as the winner of the 2017 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story ‘Pheidippides’. Robertson’s story ‘explores the changing relationships between a marathon runner, a journalist and his wife in the wake of tragedies. It is a powerfully observed, beautiful, and unflinching story that shows the different paths that people take to cope with grief and trauma,’ said Jolley Prize judge Amy Baillieu at the ceremony.' (Introduction)

The Jolley Prize 2017 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January-February no. 388 2017; (p. 1)
News From the Editor's Desk 2013 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 356 2013;
Advances 2012 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 343 2012; (p. 1)
A column canvassing current literary news including a report on ABR's move from its premises in Bridge Rd, Richmond to the newly renovated J. H. Boyd Girls' High School site, located in Melbourne's Southbank precinct.
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