Opportunities

Premier’s Book Award

Following up from the article in the Spring newsletter, details of the Premier’s Book award are below. Details of the new Premier’s Book Awards are now available at http://pba.slwa.wa.gov.au/

The 2018 Awards will comprise:

  • The Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship ($60,000) designed to assist a Western Australian writer, of any genre, to develop their writing practice and give them the time to create new work.

  • The Premier’s Prize for Writing for Children ($15,000) for a work of prose, poetry or narrative nonfiction written for children (0 to 12 years of age), in any genre, by an author residing in Western Australia.

  • The Premier’s Prize for an Emerging Writer ($15,000) for the first published work of prose, poetry or narrative nonfiction, in any genre, by an author residing in Western Australia.

  • The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Indigenous Authors ($15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books) for a new unpublished manuscript for a work of junior and young adult fiction, including graphic novels, by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writer – Australia wide.

 While there is nothing specifically for history — instead the emphasis is on the broad category of non-fiction — all categories are applicable to works of history, in competition with fiction.

Entries close on 18 February 2019.  Good luck to all!


2019 Margaret Medcalf Award: Call for Nominations

Since 2003, 18 researchers and historians, creating works on various Western Australian subjects, have won the Margaret Medcalf Award. Recognizing excellence in referencing and research using State Archives held by the State Records Office of Western Australia (SRO), the award honours Miss Margaret Medcalf OAM, Western Australia’s second State Archivist, for her valuable contribution to the development of archives in Western Australia.

The winner receives a cash prize of $1000, or shares this prize if there is more than one winner. Works nominated must demonstrate accurate referencing and use of State archives.

Any work completed or published in 2018 is eligible to be submitted for nomination, and anyone, including the author of the work, may submit a nomination. Unlike book awards, nominated works need not be published, and may include student dissertations and theses. They may be fiction or non-fiction, and be presented in any media.

To submit a nominated work please complete a 2019 Margaret Medcalf Award Nomination Form and send it along with three copies of nominated works to the SRO at the address provided below. If published online please provide a web link. Completed nomination forms may also be emailed. One copy of nominated and winning works will be retained permanently by the SRO. 

The judging criteria for the Award are:

·     Level of use of the State Archives Collection;

·     Proficient and consistent use of referencing;

·     Level of contribution to knowledge (historical, cultural, heritage, etc.);

·     Original use of the State Archives Collection;

·     Presentation.

For further details, including more information about the judging criteria for the Award and the address for nominations, see http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/events/margaret-medcalf-award or contact Gerard Foley at the SRO by email gerard.foley@sro.wa.gov.au or by phone on (08) 9427 3641.


Dept LGSC Culture and the Arts Grant Program

Applying for funding in 2019?

The 2019 Grant Program Guides are out now.
Find out everything you need to know about our 2019 grant programs.
You can also check out the Key Dates Calendar for all important dates in 2019.


Jill Roe Early Career Researcher AHA Conference Scholarship Scheme: Applications Open

The Australian Historical Association has announced a new conference prize, the Jill Roe Early Career Researcher AHA Conference Scholarship. Funding for this scheme is made possible by a generous bequest from Professor Emerita Jill Roe (1940–2017), an eminent and much-loved Australian historian who made a very significant contribution to the writing, teaching and public communication of history in Australia and abroad.

The scheme supports ten Early Career Research historians to attend and present at the AHA annual conference. The scholarship, valued at $1000 per applicant, provides financial assistance for ECR applicants with little or no institutional support. The money is to be used towards assisting with registration costs, travel and accommodation. Five scholarships each will be available for the 2019 and 2020 conferences.  Applications close 11 March 2019.

Further information http://www.theaha.org.au/awards-and-prizes/jill-roe-early-career-researcher-aha-conference-scholarship-scheme/.


Chamber of Arts and Culture News

The Chamber lodged their 2019-20 Pre-Budget submission in late December, and throughout the year lodged six other submissions to the Review of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) legislation, the Draft Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill, Future of Work and Workers Inquiry, Infrastructure WA Proposal, Major Performing Arts Review, and the Review of the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017. They also farewelled inaugural Executive Director, Henry Boston and welcomed Shelagh Magadza back to the Western Australian arts and culture sector as the new Executive Director.