Writers and publishers are now invited to submit entries to the prestigious 2009 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. A total of $195,000 will be awarded to established and emerging writers across eleven categories in one of Australia's richest and most diverse writing prizes.

The Premier's Literary Awards were established 25 years ago and are part of the Victorian Government's commitment to supporting writers and writing and raising the profile of literature in the State. Victoria's literary strengths were recognised internationally last year when Melbourne was designated a UNESCO City of Literature.

On offer this year is the biennial Prize for Science Writing. This prize for a popular science book for non-specialist readers aims to encourage discussion and understanding of scientific ideas in the wider community.

The richest prizes in the 2009 pool are the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction and the Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction, each offering a $30,000 prize.

In 2009 the fiction judges will have the option of shortlisting up to five titles (previously three), reflecting the quality and growing number of entries in this category in recent years.

• The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction - $30,000
• The Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction - $30,000
• The CJ Dennis Prize for Poetry - $15,000
• The Louis Esson Prize for Drama - $15,000
• The Prize for Young Adult Fiction - $15,000
• The Alfred Deakin Prize for an Essay Advancing Public Debate - $15,000
• The Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer* - $15,000
• The Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia - $15,000
• The John Curtin Prize for Journalism - $15,000
• The Prize for Best Music Theatre Script - $15,000
• The Prize for Science Writing* - $15,000
  (for books published between 1 May 2007 and 30 April 2009)

With the exceptions noted (*), the Awards are open to all Australians with works first published or performed between 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009.

The Awards shortlist will be announced on Friday 7 August 2009 with the winners to be announced at a celebratory dinner at Federation Square on Tuesday 1 September 2009.

The closing date for entries is Friday 1 May 2009.

The Awards are administerd by the State Library of Victoria, and entry forms and guidelines are available on the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards page of the State Library website.

For additional information contact Claire Smiddy (03) 8664 7277 or email pla@slv.vic.gov.au.

Notes for editors

• The Victorian Premiers Literary Awards were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. 1985 was also the centenary of the births of Vance and Nettie Palmer.
• The Awards are administered by the State Library of Victoria on behalf of the Premier of Victoria.
• The Awards recognise and reward excellence in Australian literature, ideas, innovation and learning.
• The winner of the 2008 Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction was Helen Garner for The Spare Room and the winner of the 2008 Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction was Meredith Hooper for The Ferocious Summer: Palmer’s Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica. A full list of 2008 winning and shortlisted writers is available from the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards page on the State Library of Victoria website.
• In 2008 the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards received 653 entries across 12 categories, the second highest number of entries in the program's history.
• One of the most popular awards is the Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer. All six authors shortlisted for this prize in 2006 and 2007 have gone on to receive commercial publishing contracts.
• Melbourne is a UNESCO City of Literature and part of the UNESCO Creative Cities network.
• More than $2 Million in prizes have been awarded by the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards since their establishment in 1985.

Media enquiries

Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator
State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au

The shortlist of six youth literature books in the running for the second annual Inky Awards were published today on the State Library of Victoria’s youth reading website, Inside a Dog.

Voting opens today to determine the winners of the 2008 Inkys Awards – Australia’s only teen choice book awards, reflecting what teenagers want to read rather than what they are told to read. Votes are registered by readers online the Inkys voting page. Anyone under 20 from anywhere in the world can vote. The books with the most votes win.

There are two awards: the Golden Inky for an Australian book, and the Silver Inky for an International book.

The winner of the Golden Inky will receive a trophy and $2000 in prize money. The winner of the Silver Inky will receive a trophy.

This year a new award, the Inkys Creative Reading Prize, will be awarded to a reader who develops the best creative response to a book on the Inkys long-list. The response can come in any form be it short-stories, songs, poems or video – anything goes.

The Inky Awards were created by the State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature to encourage reading for pleasure amongst teenagers. Last year more than 3,000 teenage readers voted for their favourite Inkys book. 

The winners of the Golden and Sliver Inkys and Creative Reading prize will be announced at the State Library of Victoria, Thursday 6 November 2008.

Note to editors:
insideadog.com.au is Australia’s best-loved website on books and reading for young people. Featuring competitions, reviews, a forum, excerpts from new titles, downloads and a monthly writer in residence, insideadog has a loyal and enthusiastic following – receiving over 500,000 visits in the last year. Insideadog is a project of the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria, and is proudly supported by the Copyright Agency Limited and The Age.

Shortlist - 2008 Golden Inky

A Brief History of Montmaray
By Michelle Cooper
Random House Australia
Officially, the head of our household is Uncle John, who is Aunt Charlotte's brother and Veronica's father (and the King of Montmaray), but he's rather distracted on his good days, and downright alarming on his bad ones.

Town
By James Roy
University of Queensland Press
My brother Kimlan works all night fixing the road. He wears a shirt that reflects the light from the cars. The boss man says that if he does not wear that shirt, no one will be able to see him unless he smiles. I do not think he is being unkind when he says this. Maybe he has never seen anyone with skin that is like my brother’s.

Tales from Outer Suburbia
By Shaun Tan
Allen and Unwin
It's funny how these days, when every household has its own intercontinental ballistic missile, you hardly even think about them.

Shortlist - 2008 Silver Inky

Before I Die
By Jenny Downham
Random House
I sit up and switch on the bedside light. There's a pen, but no paper, so on the wall behind me I write, I want to feel the weight of a boy on top of me. Then I lie back down and look out at the sky. It's gone a funny colour - red and charcoal all at once, like the day is bleeding out.

Boy Toy
By Barry Lyga
Pan Macmillan
It was like watching the mating rituals of retarded birds, clumsily stepping the wrong patterns around each other over and over again. I sat to one side on a brittle office chair and tried not to be bored. 

Genesis
By Bernard Beckett
Text Publishing
…the only thing the population had to fear, was fear itself. The true danger humanity faced during this period was the shrinking of its own spirit.

For more information about the books see the Inky's shortlist page.

The Judges

The 2008 Inkys shortlist was determined by the following judges:

Simmone Howell, author of Notes from the Teenage Underground and winner of the 2007 Golden Inky
Andrew Finegan, librarian and comedian, NT
Gabriella, 16, from Adelaide
Aidan, 15, from Queensland
Luke, 14, from Wangaratta
Sarah, 18, from NSW.

Media inquiries:
Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator, State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au 

A long-list of 20 youth literature books in the running for the second annual Inky Awards were announced at the State Library of Victoria today.

The Inkys are Australia’s only teen choice book awards, reflecting what teenagers want to read rather than what they are told to read.

The Inky Awards were created by the State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature to encourage reading for pleasure amongst teenagers.
 
The long-list of ten Australian books and ten international books has been selected by the Centre for Youth Literature. This long-list is then read by a panel of six young judges, who will whittle the list down to six books (three Australian, three International). Then, on 12 September, voting opens to teen readers on the insideadog website. The books with the most votes win.

There are two awards:

• the Golden Inky for an Australian book
• the Silver Inky for an International book.

The winner of the Golden Inkywill receive a trophy and $2000 in prize money. The winner of the Silver Inky will receive a trophy.

This year a new award, the Inkys Creative Reading Prize, will be awarded to a reader who develops the best creative response to a book on the Inkys long-list. The response can come in any form be it short-stories, songs, poems or video – anything goes.

The winners of the Golden and Sliver Inkys and Creative Reading Prize will be announced at the State Library of Victoria, Thursday 6 November 2008.

Note to editors

insideadog.com.au is Australia’s best-loved website on books and reading for young people. Featuring competitions, reviews, a forum, excerpts from new titles, downloads and a monthly writer in residence, insideadog has a loyal and enthusiastic following – receiving over 500,000 visits in the last year. Insideadog is a project of the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria, and is proudly supported by the Copyright Agency Limited and The Age.

Golden Inky (Australian books)

• The Indigo Girls
  By Penni Russon
  Allen & Unwin
  
• Tales from Outer Suburbia
  By Shaun Tan
  Allen & Unwin
  
• Finding Darcy
  By Sue Lawson
  black dog books
  
• Our Little Secret
  By Allayne Webster
  Omnibus
  
• Joel & Cat Set the Story Straight
  By Nick Earls & Rebecca Sparrow
  Penguin
  
• Michael Sweeney’s Method
  BySean Condon
  Penguin
  
• Kill the Possum
  By James Moloney
  Penguin
  
• Town
  James Roy
  UQP
  
• Game as Ned
  By Tim Pegler
  HarperCollins
  
• A Brief History of Montmaray
  By Michelle Cooper
  Random House

Silver Inky (International books)

• Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
  By Gabrielle Zevin
  Allen&Unwin
  
• Boy Toy
  By Barry Lyga
  Pan Macmillan
  
• Before I Die
  By Jenny Downham
  Random House
  
• Hero
  By Perry Moore
  Random House
  
• The Knife of Never Letting Go
  By Patrick Ness
  Walker
  
• Snakehead
  By Anthony Horowitz
  Walker
  
• Life As We Knew It
  By Susan Beth Pfeffer
  Scholastic
  
• Genesis
  By Bernard Beckett
  Text
  
• Broken Soup
  By Jenny Valentine
  HarperCollins
  
• Extras
  By Scott Westerfeld
  Simon & Schuster

The judges

The 2008 Judges are:

• Simmone Howell, author of Notes from the Teenage Underground and winner of the 2007 Golden Inky
• Andrew Finegan, librarian and comedian, NT
• Gabriella, 16, from Adelaide
• Aidan, 15, from Queensland
• Luke, 14, from Wangaratta
• Sarah, 18, from NSW.

Media inquiries

Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator, State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au 

Mateship in war and a passion for sport are defining traits of Australia’s cultural heritage. Our experiences of both have helped to shape the national identity for more than one hundred years. A special travelling exhibition from the Australian War Memorial, Sport and War, combines the two themes to highlight the long association between sport and war in our history and trace how our wartime experiences are reflected in modern sporting events.

The exhibition, which opens today at the State Library Victoria, features remarkable personal stories of famous sporting personalities whose lives and careers were affected by war and, in some cases, tragically ended by it. These include Keith Miller, 'Bluey' Truscott, Les Darcy, Bert Oldfield, Ron Barassi Snr, Harold Hardwick, Don Bradman as well as a host of perhaps lesser known sporting personalities, such as Cecil Healy, Thelma Long, Betty Archdale and Tom Richards.

Sport and War highlights the similarities between our best sportsmen and women and those who serve our country. It shows how war has changed favourite Australian sports and those who have played them, paying special tribute to those stars who went to war and lost their lives.

The exhibition shows that despite the tragedy and suffering experienced by many in war, sport has provided servicemen and women exercise and cheap entertainment, a sense of teamwork and bonding, and an antidote to tension and boredom.

On display are key relics from wartime sporting history such as the little-known wartime medals of Don Bradman, the cricket cap worn by Keith Miller and a handmade Melbourne Cup crafted by prisoners of war in Borneo.

The exhibition also features video interviews with Australian sportsmen and women sharing their reflections on the interplay between sport and war.

Sport and War will be at the State Library Victoria from 11 July 2008 to 26 October 2008.

To find out more and to explore the exhibition events program visit the Sport and War webpage.

Sport and War: An Australian War Memorial travelling exhibition
11 July–26 October, 10am–5pm daily (to 9pm Thursdays)
Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library of Victoria
Free

Media enquiries

Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator
State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au

Visits to the State Library of Victoria’s landmark exhibition The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand topped 50,000 today, proving the popularity of this unique cultural offering.

Since opening on March 28, the exhibition has attracted more than 1000 visitors per day. Over 10,000 people attended the Library’s Medieval Faire Day in mid-April, while other exhibition events including concerts, lectures, forums, tours and themed activities have also drawn capacity audiences. Each event was designed to provide a deeper understanding of illuminated manuscripts and the times they were produced in.

CEO and State Librarian, Anne-Marie Schwirtlich said she was delighted by the success of the exhibition.

‘The visitation figures clearly show that Victorians are aware of what a wonderful and rare treat this exhibition is. The experience of being so close to ancient books of such beauty is a powerful one. Each illuminated manuscript is a masterpiece of art and imagination.

Of course none of it would be possible without the collaboration of our exhibition lenders in Cambridge and the libraries, museums, galleries and universities in Australia and New Zealand. We also owe a debt of gratitude to the State Library of Victoria Foundation and all our sponsors and supporters who have helped, not only to stage the exhibition and its events, but also to spread word of its splendour to many people around Victoria.’

The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand is the Library’s first international exhibition and the first collaborative exhibition of manuscripts on this scale in Australia. It brings to Melbourne some 90 hand-made books from the Middle Ages through to the Renaissance, including the oldest European book to ever visit Australia.

From May 29 the Library will host a three-day international conference to examine the role of the manuscript book in nurturing both the imagination and a sense of community in medieval Europe. Speakers from around the world will discuss the art, impact and associations of the manuscript book in the Middle Ages.

The conference program includes a free public lecture by Professor Jeffrey Hamburger of Harvard University. Due to the overwhelming interest in Professor Hamburger's lecture, 'Openings', the venue has shifted from the State Library of Victoria to RMIT's Story Hall, which accommodates a larger audience.

Media coverage

The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand has experienced strong media coverage at both a national and local level. To explore a selection of these media reports follow the links below:

• Channel 9 'Sunday' 20 April 2008
• ABC Television 'Sunday Arts' 4 May 2008 - Episode available for download
• The Herald Sun 'Old manuscripts are booked in' 21 April 2008
• The Age 'Medieval mischief at the margins' 26 April 2008
• The Age 'The way of the word illumed' 5 April 2008
• The Age 'Ye olde hobby' 31 March 2008
• The Australian 'Pages across the ages' 25 April 2008
• ABC Radio National Artworks 'The Medieval Imagination' 23 March 2008
• ABC Radio National The Ark 'Medieval Manuscripts in Australia' 6 April 2008

The Medieval Imagination
Illuminated manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand

28 March–15 June 2008
State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Open 10am–5pm daily (to 9pm Thursdays)
Free entry

The State Library Victoria gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the lenders to the exhibition:

Cambridge
Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Syndics of the University Library, Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College

New Zealand
Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Auckland City Libraries, Dunedin Public Libraries, John Kinder Theological Library, St John’s College, Auckland

Australia
New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales, University of Sydney Library, The Franciscan Friars - Province of the Holy Spirit

Australian Capital Territory
National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, The Classics Department at the Australian National University

South Australia
State Library of South Australia

Victoria
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, University of Melbourne, Baillieu Library

The Medieval Imagination is presented by
The State Library of Victoria Foundation and the State Government of Victoria

Major sponsors
Qantas, Palace Cinemas, Yarra Trams

Sponsors and supporters
City of Melbourne, J.C. Decaux, AAMI, K.W. Doggett Fine Paper, Click, Victorian Managed Insurance Authority, Herald Sun, 3AW, The Sebel Melbourne, Citigate Melbourne, Reader’s Feast Bookstore, Swisse Vitamins, Metlink, Macmillian Publishers, V/Line, Avant Card, J.T. Reid Charitable Trust, Limelight Magazine

Media inquiries and image requests

Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator
State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au

Tomorrow the State Library of Victoria will launch a website designed to help secondary students find information, understand the research process and interrogate information from a variety of sources.

The site, called ergo, uses the unique collections of the State Library of Victoria to help VELS and VCE students to better understand the research process, essay writing and study techniques. It comprises more than 230 distinct pages and includes some 500 photographs of materials held in the State Library’s collections.

Ergo provides an overview of pivotal and intriguing points in Victoria’s history, often offering alternative views on the accepted stories of our past. The site examines four main historical themes: Crime in Victoria, Victorian Rights, Victoria’s Geography and Colonial Melbourne. Within these subjects is detailed information on women’s suffrage, the fight for the eight hour working day, Indigenous rights, Ned Kelly, the Melbourne gangland wars and many more topics designed to engage and interest students.

Teachers are provided with direct curriculum links (VELS 5, 6 and VCE), information packs and document templates to assist with lesson planning.

Ergo content producer and teacher, Linda Angeloni, believes ergo will be of particular benefit to students from years 7-10, known as middle-year students.

‘Middle-year students are at a very important developmental point in their education. If they are not adequately engaged with interesting, accessible and comprehensible information at this stage many struggle to find scholastic form in later years.

Ergo is designed to interest students by introducing them to a wide-range of materials and new ways of thinking about learning. It is empowering because it asks students not to accept information at face value but to interrogate and investigate it for themselves. Investigation and questioning leads to genuine learning while providing the tools vital to successful study and life skills generally in later years,’ she said.

Ergo is populated with video interviews of prominent Victorian writers and historians such as Helen Garner, Robyn Annear, Tony Wilson and Dr Andrew Brown-May. Each guest speaks about the importance of research, particularly research of primary sources, in producing solid, convincing or scholarly works.

As an online resource ergo is available to anyone with a computer and internet access - 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The site uses text, videos, photographs and practical exercises to address various styles of learning.

State Library of Victoria CEO and State Librarian Anne-Marie Schwirtlich said she was very pleased to see ergo launched.

‘Librarians have been helping people find and navigate information for as long as there have been libraries. Ergo is a simple, elegant, thoughtful and important extension of that role.

Every secondary student in Victoria can benefit from ergo and they can do it in class, at home or wherever and whenever they choose to learn.

This continues this Library’s goal of providing, in as many ways as possible, Information, Ideas and Inspiration for Everyone,’ she said.

Ergo will go live at 9am Tuesday 15 April and will be launched by author and historian Robyn Annear at Coburg Senior High School.

www.slv.vic.gov.au/ergo

Media inquiries

Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator
State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au