The Val Vallis Award is an Australian poetry award named in honour of the Queensland 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Minister, Matt Foley, announced "...the naming of a major poetry award, the first Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award for Unpublished Poetry to commemorate Val’s contribution to poetry in Queensland."[1]

Bronwyn Lea the former poetry editor of University of Queensland Press then "designed and implemented the award" in 2003 and it today it is administered and managed by Queensland Poetry Festival (QPF) on behalf of Arts Queensland.

Entry to the Val Vallis edit

Entry can be submitted from Australia wide as part of Queensland Poetry Festival'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Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award currently offers $2000 in total prizes for an unpublished poem or suite of poems for Australian emerging poets including the winner and r/up as well as support from Queensland Writers Centre.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 edit

2003 Jaya Savige

2004 Judy Johnson

2005 Ynes Sanz, Quandamooka Suite[2]

2006 Nathan Shepherdson, The easiest way to open a door is to turn the handle[3]

2007 Andrew Slattery, Frameworkers[4]

2008 Anna Krien[5]

2009 Andrew Slattery[6]

2010 Michelle Cahill[7]

2011 Rachael Briggs, Tough Luck[8]

2012 Chloe Wilson, Not Fox Nor Axe[9]

2013 B.R. Dionysius, Protein Gradients[9]

2014 Chloe Wilson, The Heads of Holofernes[9] (judges Judith Beveridge, Sarah Holland-Batt, Kent MacCarter)

2015 Andrew Last, Precedent[10] (judges Melinda Smith and Michael Farrell)

2016 Caitlin Maling, Conversion[11] (judges Robert Sullivan and Chloe Wilson)

2017 Bronwyn Lovell, Quietly, on the way to Mars[12] (judges Michelle Cahill and Stuart Barnes)

2018 Zenobia Frost, Reality On-Demand[13] (judges Alison Whittaker and Angela Gardner)

2019 Damen O’Brien, Ice and Glass[14] (judges Tamryn Bennett, Judith Beveridge, Yvette Holt)

2020 Helen Lucas, Heirloom[15] (judges Felicity Plunkett and Samuel Wagan Watson)[16]

2021 Dimitra Harvey, Cicadas[17] (judges Sara M Saleh and Andy Jackson)

2022 Dan Hogan, Aduantas[18] (judges Lucy Van and Damen O'Brien)

2023 Jarad Bruinstroop, Fragments on the Myth of Cy Twombly[19] (judges Benjamin Dodds and Zenobia Frost)

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ "RIP: Poet Val Vallis". The Australian. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Poetry award winners announced". My Sunshine Coast. 26 August 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Val Vallis Award for Unpublished Poetry". Queensland Government. 25 August 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Awards and Residency promote poetry in Queensland". Queensland Government. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  5. ^ "True Stories: Writing History, Anna Krien". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Awards winning poets gain industry recognition". Queensland Government. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Michelle Cahill". Michelle Cahill. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
  8. ^ "Brisbane poets take out first place in Queensland poetry awards". Queensland Government. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "Val Vallis Award for Poetry". Varuna. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  10. ^ "2015 Val Vallis Winners". Cordite Poetry Review. 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
  11. ^ "Chloe Wilson and Robert Sullivan Winners for the Val Vallis Award for an Unpublished Poem 2016". Cordite. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Stuart Barnes and Michelle Cahill Winners for the Val Vallis Award for an Unpublished Poem 2017". Cordite. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Jacobson wins 2018 Thomas Shapcott Prize". Books+Publishing. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  14. ^ "Best wins 2019 Thomas Shapcott Prize". Books+Publishing. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  15. ^ "Queensland Poetry Festival awards 2020 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  16. ^ "2020 QPF Awards Shortlists". Queensland Poetry Festival. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  17. ^ "Malwatta wins 2021 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize". Books+Publishing. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  18. ^ "2022 Queensland Poetry Val Vallis Award Winners". Cordite. Cordite Poetry Review. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  19. ^ "2023 Queensland Poetry Val Vallis Award Winners". Queensland Poetry. Retrieved 22 April 2023.