Reader's Feast Bookstore is delighted to once again join with Eureka Street to offer an award in the area of social justice writing. Funded by Reader's Feast Bookstore and organised by Eureka Street, the theme for the essay was 'Climate change and the global financial crisis: can we afford to save the planet?'
The winner of this year's $5000 award is Stephen Wright. Stephen is a writer and has mostly worked as an early childhood teacher working in many unconventional settings and as a children's therapist working with young children with behaviour disorders. He lives outside Nimbin NSW, on an intentional community with an artist, a teacher, a biologist, and a small dog. He has been writing for many years but only now feels ready to see what everybody else thinks of it, though he has published professional papers for a long time.
Arnold Zable and Ruth Limkin's essays were highly commended by the judges.
Also being awarded will be the 2009 Margaret Dooley Award for a young writer, for ethics writing on an open theme. This year's winner is Cara Munro is a registered nurse and passionate supporter for of the interfaith dialogue. She has lived in India, Malaysia and most recently, the wonderfully multi-cultural suburb of Footscray in Melbourne's West. Cara wins $1,500 for her essay.
Ben Coleridge and Helen Brake were awarded second and third prizes respectively by the judges.
The 2009 Eureka Street/Reader's Feast Award and the 2009 Margaret Dooley Award will be presented on the opening night of the 2009 Reader's Feast Crime & Justice Festival, Friday 17 July.
Mary Dalmau of Reader's Feast says, 'Just as the Crime & Justice Festival is a unique event that we are committed too, the Eureka Street/Reader's Feast Award is an award we are proud to fund as it furthers public discussion and has us providing a new forum for authors.'
The winning essays will be published in Eureka Street.
Pictured: Festival patron Kerry Greenwood, retired chief magistrate John 'Darcy' Dugan and former Pentridge Prison chaplain Father Peter Norden discuss Victoria's criminal justice system during the opening night session at the Crime and Justice Festival. Photo by Greg Noakes.