As trustee of the Nita B Kibble Literary Awards for Women Writers (the Kibble Awards), Perpetual today announced Joan London and Ellen van Neerven as the 2015 winners of the Kibble and Dobbie Awards.
Ms London won the $30,000 Kibble Literary Award for established authors for her book The Golden Age, while Ms van Neervan won the $5,000 Dobbie Literary Award for a first-time published author for Heat and Light.
The Kibble Awards were established by Nita Dobbie in honour of her pioneering aunt, Nita Kibble – the first female librarian of the State Library of New South Wales.
The Awards recognise Australian female writers who have published fiction or non-fiction classified as ‘life writing’. This includes novels, autobiographies, biographies, literature and any writing with a strong personal element.
Humanities Australia Editor, Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Webby AM, on behalf of the judging panel said: “In her beautifully measured and tender novel The Golden Age, Joan London vividly imagines the lives of young victims in a real children’s polio convalescent home. In spite of the grimness of its subject matter, this is a novel luminescent with joy, sensuality and wisdom. Written in flawless, clear-eyed prose, this book is sure to become a classic.”
“In a style mystical, sensual and realistic all at once, Ellen van Neerven’s remarkable debut collection of stories is startlingly original. She combines down to earth dialogue, descriptions of country and the dailiness of people’s lives with passages of lyrical intensity, which effortlessly convey both the mystical dimension of country as well as its undertones of violence.”
Professor Webby was joined on the judging panel by State Library of New South Wales Coordinator- Education and Scholarship, Dr Rachel Franks, and internationally renowned novelist, Dr Rosie Scott.
Perpetual’s National Manager of Philanthropy, Caitriona Fay, described the Kibble Awards as an excellent example of the impact philanthropy can have in contributing to Australian culture.
“As trustee of the Kibble Awards, we are proud to support and promote Australia’s established and emerging female writers and we congratulate Joan and Ellen on their outstanding achievements.”
Ms Fay also congratulated Helen Garner and Sophie Cunningham, the shortlisted authors for the 2015 Kibble Literary Award, and Emily Bitto and Christine Piper, who were shortlisted for the Dobbie Literary Award.
Credit to: Perpetual
