Cirrus@Austlit

'Now in its fifth edition, Award Winning Australian Writing (AWAW) continues its commitment to showcasing the best short stories and poems that have won competitions around the country. This year, Melbourne Books is again expanding the project, increasing the number of featured pieces to over fifty. AWAW 2012 will also proudly include a foreword by Mark Tredinnick, winner of the 2011 Montreal Poetry Prize and the 2012 Cardiff International Poetry Prize, and author of The Blue Plateau, Fire Diary and nine other acclaimed works of poetry and prose.AWAW's four editions have been received very favourably, with support from Lisa Dempster (Emerging Writers' Festival director), Philip Rainford (Fellowship of Australian Writers president), and authors Arnold Zable and Delia Falconer, all of whom have written forewords for the book. The critic Matthew Lamb, in The Australian, commended the "invaluable service" AWAW offers to the literary community, while, in The Age, reviewer Lorien Kaye celebrates that AWAW gives readers a chance "to value these winners". Similar sentiments are expressed by author Irma Gold, who wrote in Overland that AWAW is "a must read"; The Age critic Cameron Woodhead, who noted that "some of the contributions possess startling power"; and critic Patrick Allington, who praised the "impressive new voices" and "energy and inventiveness" collected in the book.The 2012 edition will feature the work of both emerging and established authors, including Ron Pretty, Susan McCreery, Lisa Jacobson, Kevin Gillam, Laura Jean McKay and A. S. Patric. Competitions appearing in the 2012 edition include:* Lord Mayor's Creative Writing Awards* Sydney Poetry Prize* The Age Short Story Competition* Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize* Katharine Susannah Prichard Awards* Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize* ANU Short Story Competition' (Publication summary)
 

'The quality of Australian poetry has never been higher, nor the number of distinctive voices greater. A landmark publication, this collection presents the astonishing achievements of Australian poetry during the last quarter of a century. Over ten years in preparation, gathering over 200 poets and 500 poems, it makes the case for this country's poetry as a broadening of the universal set for all English-speakers. 'Somewhat astonishingly,' the introduction notes, 'and while no-one was looking, Australian poetry has developed a momentum and a critical mass such that it has become one more luminous field in the English-speaking imagination. Increasingly, anyone who seeks to explore the perspectives or music available in English will also have to consider the perspectives and music which have originated here - Australia having turned itself, too, into a place in the mind.' Both survey and critical review, this anthology offers a rare opportunity to explore the major national achievement of contemporary Australian poetry. (Publication summary)'