National Biography Award

The National Biography Award, established in Australia in 1996, is awarded for the best published work of biographical or autobiographical writing by an Australian. It aims "to encourage the highest standards of writing biography and autobiography and to promote public interest in those genres".^[1] It was initially awarded every two years, but from 2002 it has been awarded annually. Its administration was taken over by the State Library of New South Wales in 1998.

It was originally endowed by private benefactor, Dr. Geoffrey Cains, and the original prize money was $12,500. In 2002, Cains said of endowing the award that "I wanted to give back to literature something, it had given me so much; besides, philanthropy in this country is so overlooked and diminished".^[2] In 2005, the prize money was increased to $20,000 with the support of Michael Crouch.^[3] Belinda Hutchinson, President of the Library Council of NSW, expressed gratitude for this increase to "an award that celebrates the Australian psyche through distinguished biography writing."^[3]

The judging panel varies from year to year. In 1998, the first year it was administered by the State Library of New South Wales, the panel comprised Elizabeth Jolley, Helen Garner and Tony Maniaty.

Winners

• 2009: Ann Blainey for I am Melba
• 2008: Joint winners
  • Philip Dwyer for Napoleon, 1769-1799: The Path to Power
  • Graham Seal for These Few Lines: A Convict Story - The Lost Lives of Myra and William Sykes
• 2007: Jacob Rosenberg for East of Time
• 2006: John Hughes for The Idea of Home
• 2005: Robert Hillman for The Boy in the Green Suit
• 2004: Barry Hill for Broken Song: T.G.H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession
• 2003: Joint winners
  • Peter Rose for Rose Boys
  • Don Watson for Recollections of a Bleeding Heart : a Portrait of Paul Keating PM
• 2002: Jacqueline Kent for A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, a Literary Life
• 2000: Joint winners
  • Peter Robb for M, a biography of European painter Caravaggio
  • Mandy Sayer for Dreamtime Alice: a Memoir
• 1998: Roberta Sykes for Snake Cradle
• 1996: Abraham Biderman for The World of My Past

National Biography Award Lecture

In 2003, the National Biography Award lecture was instituted. It is associated with the award, and is also sponsored by Cains and Crouch. It is given annually, but is not given at the same time as the announcement of the winner.^[1]

• 2008: Biography, Autobiography and Memoir: Presidential Bests and Worsts, by Bob Carr^[4]
• 2007: Biography: The Impossible Art, by Inga Clendinnen ^[5]
• 2006: Materials for Life: The Enduring Value of Biography, by Robyn Archer
• 2005: Personal Drama: David Williamson on Self-depiction, by David Williamson
• 2004: The Observed of all Observers: Biography in Poetry, by Peter Porter (poet)
• 2003: Goethe's Two Left Feet: Reflections on the Hazards and Liberties of Biography, by Peter Rose (writer)

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} State Library of New South Wales
2. ^ Bennie (2002)
3. ^ ^{a b} State Library of New South Wales (2005)
4. ^ National Biography Award Lecture 2008
5. ^ Inga Clendinnen on the impossibility of biography

References

• Bennie, Angela (2005) "Award draws people with a tale to tell" in The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 February 2005
• Bennie, Angela (2002) "They're six of the best" in The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 2002
• "Inga Clendinnen on the impossibility of biography" (lecture), on ABC Radio National The Book Show, 2007-11-09 Accessed: 2007-11-09
• Knox, Malcolm (2003) 'Dual winners in Biography Prize's latest chapter' in The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 2003
• State Library of New South Wales, National Biography Award Home Page
• State Library of New South Wales (2005) Media release

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