The Val Vallis Award is an Australian poetry award named in honour of the
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
poet
Val Vallis (1916–2009). Val Vallis was a lyric poet who lectured in English and Philosophy at the University of Queensland. In 2002 the then Arts Minister,
Matt Foley, announced "...the naming of a major poetry award, the first Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award for Unpublished Poetry to commemorate Val’s contribution to poetry in Queensland."
Bronwyn Lea the former poetry editor of
University of Queensland Press
University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's ...
then "designed and implemented the award" in 2003 and it today it is administered and managed by
Queensland Poetry Festival
Queensland Poetry Festival was the flagship program of Queensland Poetry, one of Australia's premier organisations for all things poetry. It existed to support and promote a poetry culture in Queensland and Australia, embracing the wide possibilit ...
(QPF) on behalf of Arts Queensland.
Entry to the Val Vallis
Entry can be submitted from Australia wide as part of
Queensland Poetry Festival
Queensland Poetry Festival was the flagship program of Queensland Poetry, one of Australia's premier organisations for all things poetry. It existed to support and promote a poetry culture in Queensland and Australia, embracing the wide possibilit ...
's annual Poetry Awards. Submissions usually open in May/June each year.
Arts Queensland
Val Vallis Award currently offers $2000 in total prizes for an unpublished poem or suite of poems for Australian emerging poets including the winner and r/up as well as support from Queensland Writers Centre. The prize is managed by and presented as a part of the Queensland Poetry Festival.
Winners
2003
Jaya Savige
2004
Judy Johnson
William Julius "Judy" Johnson (October 26, 1899 – June 15, 1989) was an American professional baseball third baseman, shortstop, Manager (baseball), manager and Scout (baseball), scout whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 season ...
2005 Ynes Sanz, ''Quandamooka Suite''
2006 Nathan Shepherdson, ''The Easiest Way to Open a Door Is to Turn the Handle''
2007 Andrew Slattery, ''Frameworkers''
2008
Anna Krien
2009 Andrew Slattery
2010 Michelle Cahill
2011 Rachael Briggs, ''Tough Luck''
2012 Chloe Wilson, ''Not Fox nor Axe''
2013 B.R. Dionysius, ''Protein Gradients''
2014 Chloe Wilson, ''The Heads of Holofernes''
(judges
Judith Beveridge
Judith Beveridge (born 1956) is a contemporary Australian poet, editor and academic. She is a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award.
Biography
Judith Beveridge was born in London, England, arriving in Australia with her parents in 1960. S ...
,
Sarah Holland-Batt
Sarah Holland-Batt (born 1982) is a contemporary Australian poet, critic, and academic.
Early life and education
Born in Southport, Queensland, Sarah Holland-Batt grew up in Australia and Denver, Colorado.
She was educated at the University o ...
, Kent MacCarter)
2015 Andrew Last, ''Precedent'' (judges
Melinda Smith and
Michael Farrell)
2016 Caitlin Maling, ''Conversion'' (judges Robert Sullivan and Chloe Wilson)
2017 Bronwyn Lovell, ''Quietly, on the Way to Mars'' (judges Michelle Cahill and
Stuart Barnes
Stuart Barnes (born 22 November 1962 in Grays, Essex) is a former English rugby union footballer, and now rugby commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England at international level. ...
)
2018
Zenobia Frost, ''Reality On-Demand'' (judges
Alison Whittaker and Angela Gardner)
2019 Damen O’Brien, ''Ice and Glass'' (judges Tamryn Bennett,
Judith Beveridge
Judith Beveridge (born 1956) is a contemporary Australian poet, editor and academic. She is a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award.
Biography
Judith Beveridge was born in London, England, arriving in Australia with her parents in 1960. S ...
, Yvette Holt)
2020 Helen Lucas, ''Heirloom'' (judges
Felicity Plunkett
Felicity Plunkett is an Australian poet, literary critic, editor and academic.
Biography
Felicity Plunkett is a writer of poetry, essays, and short stories, and a widely published critic.
She has a BA (Honours) and PhD from the University of ...
and Samuel Wagan Watson)
2021 Dimitra Harvey, ''Cicadas'' (judges Sara M Saleh and Andy Jackson)
2022 Dan Hogan, ''Aduantas'' (judges Lucy Van and Damen O'Brien)
2023 Jarad Bruinstroop, ''Fragments on the Myth of Cy Twombly''
(judges Benjamin Dodds and
Zenobia Frost)
External links
Queensland Poetry Festival official site
References
{{Reflist
Australian poetry awards
Awards established in 2003