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23-648: The Anne Elder Trust Fund Award for poetry was administered by the Victorian branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers from its establishment in 1976 until 2017. From 2018 the award has been administered by Australian Poetry. It is awarded annually, as the Anne Elder Award , for the best first book of poetry published in Australia. It was established in 1976 and currently has a prize of A$ 1000 for

46-417: A shearer and dingo shooter. While working as an opal miner at Lightning Ridge in about 1910, he wrote short pieces for The Bulletin about life on the opal fields. He later headed north, working in several tin mines around Cairns and Cooktown including his own claim. In 1913 he moved to Cape York Peninsula , where he lived with an Aboriginal clan, learning their customs and lifestyle. With

69-724: A branch was created in Tasmania by historian John Reynolds, E. Morris Miller , Louis Triebel, Basil Rait, and Joyce Eileen Eyre, who took the role of corresponding secretary. In 1955 a federal council was established, under the title Commonwealth Council of the Fellowships of Australian Writers. Under the Council Constitution, the Council president (chair) rotated between the state FAW presidents every two years, with writer and academic Tom Inglis Moore being elected

92-494: A narrative, story style. Most of his books were published by Angus & Robertson . Idriess wrote from real life experiences using knowledge he had personally gained by travelling extensively and working at a variety of occupations. "Idriess was no stylist, but his writing was immediate, colourful, well paced and, despite the speed at which it was written, always well structured." Although he generally wrote under his name, some early articles for The Bulletin were written under

115-617: A number of competitions and awards for writers. In 1935 the Fellowship organised an Authors' Week to, in the words of their press release, "encourage the development of our national literature, especially by bringing the work of our authors before the general public and schools". The week took place from 8 to 13 April and was held at Farmers' Blaxland Galleries. Events included personal appearances by authors, display of Australian books, dramatisations from Australian works, lectures by writers, radio broadcasts and an authors' ball. The event

138-469: A test match or racecourse to reading a book by a cultured author". Overall, the Week was deemed a success, with Marjorie Barnard writing that they'd received "a good deal of publicity" and were "pretty satisfied with the effort". The FAW Patricia Weickhardt Award to an Aboriginal Writer was awarded from 1976 to 1991 to Aboriginal Australian authors. It took its name from Patricia Weickhardt, who sponsored

161-667: The Australian labour movement as well as international peace organisations. It advocated for fair pay for written work, which continued to be one of its aims for 50 years. By the end of 1932 (a difficult time economically, being the Great Depression in Australia ), there were 290 members; among the ranks were Miles Franklin , Dorothea Mackellar , and Frank Clune . It was initially a Sydney-based organisation, but gradually spread to other states, to Victoria , Queensland , South Australia , and Western Australia . In 1947

184-741: The Torres Strait islands and Papua New Guinea where he worked as a gold miner. Other ventures included buffalo shooting in the Northern Territory , and journeys to Central and Western Australia. In 1928 Idriess settled in Sydney where he wrote as a freelance writer. His writing style drew on his experiences as a soldier, prospector, and bushman. He wrote on a multitude of topics, including travel, recollection, biography, history, anthropology and his own ideas on possible future events. His books were generally non-fiction, but written in

207-508: The 1970s and 1980s, and in 1985, under president Hilarie Lindsay , there were nine metropolitan groups, 11 in country areas and a group of "Isolated Writers". A country regional branch was started in the Riverina in 2010. In 2011 the Fellowship of Writers adopted its new constitution and a new logo. Its activities over the years included the creation and running of events such as Authors' Week (1930s), Children's Book Week (1940s), and

230-678: The FAW Australian Literature Award. The national, state and regional offices of the FAW offer a large number of literary competitions and awards. The Victorian chapter offers national awards known as the Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards, including: The FAW Marjorie Barnard Short Story Award is a New South Wales award. Presidents of the Fellowship of Australian Writers include: Ion Idriess Ion Llewellyn Idriess OBE (20 September 1889 – 6 June 1979)

253-399: The Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) Inc. Various claims have been made about its origin, but it seems that poet, Mary Gilmore , was encouraged by Roderic Quinn , and helped by Lucy Cassidy (wife of poet R.J. Cassidy), to hold a meeting of writers, at which a president, John Le Gay Brereton was elected. It was founded in 1928, and at that time quite a political body, affiliated with

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276-452: The award herself. The award ceased after an unnamed committee member suggested that Aboriginal authors were becoming mainstream and it was patronising to provide a separate award for them. Winners included: The Walter Stone Award was established in 1984, named after bibliophile and publisher Wal Stone . The inaugural prize was won by Berenice Eastman for her book about Nan Chauncy . In 1999, David Foster and Bruce Pascoe jointly won

299-435: The day and hence primarily reached, or in some cases specifically targeted at, women, children and teachers. Indeed, it was generally accepted that women formed the bulk of the readership. Norman Lindsay , for example, wrote that "My personal opinion is that the average woman reads much better stuff than the average man". In his Authors' Week talk, Frank Dalby Davison said that "many people preferred yelling themselves hoarse at

322-721: The first president in 1956. Early prominent members include: in New South Wales, Flora Eldershaw , Marjorie Barnard , Frank Dalby Davison , Dymphna Cusack ; in Victoria, Nettie Palmer ; and in Western Australia, Henrietta Drake-Brockman and Katharine Susannah Prichard . The FAW was, with ex-Prime Minister Jim Scullin , largely responsible for a trebling of the Commonwealth Literary Fund 's budget in 1939. The organisation grew in

345-409: The harsh judgments of the literary establishment serve as good indicators of a writer's pre-eminence". His work was never adapted for the screen although several books were optioned by producers. Idriess wrote a number other books and pamphlets as well as having several collections of his works published. A series of four titles which were basically "how-to" works, the first being commissioned by

368-570: The north of Australia. Two of his works, The Cattle King (1936) and Flynn of the Inland (1932) had more than forty reprintings. Idriess was born in Waverley , a suburb of Sydney, to Juliette Windeyer (who had been born as Juliette Edmunds in 1865 at Binalong ) and Walter Owen Idriess (a sheriff's officer born in 1862, who had emigrated from Dolgellau , in Wales ). At birth Ion Idriess's name

391-489: The outbreak of war, in 1914 he returned to Townsville and enlisted in the 5th Light Horse Regiment , AIF , as a trooper. He saw action in Palestine , Sinai and Turkey , being wounded at Beersheba and Gallipoli – where he acted as spotter for noted sniper Billy Sing . After returning to Australia and recuperating from his wounds, he travelled to remote Cape York, and worked with pearlers and missionaries in

414-701: The pseudonym of "Gouger". When travelling, Idriess was known as "Jack". In 1968 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to literature. Idriess died at a nursing home in Mona Vale in Sydney on 6 June 1979, at the age of 89. His work slipped from favour after his death, but has experienced a renewal of interest. In 2017, Nicolas Rothwell said: "As so often in Australian letters, an initial fall into obscurity and

437-414: The week commented on the popularity of Ion Idriess and suggested that: Therein is cause to hope that ere long the appreciation for Australian writings will grow and widen to embrace the works of many others who, with a growing confidence in ultimate success, are continually and obscurely working to give Australians a literature which they may call their own. The events of the week were mostly held during

460-520: The winner. The award is named after Australian poet Anne Elder (1918–1976). Note: the award is made for a particular year of publication, but presented in the following year. Fellowship of Australian Writers As of 2023 , the following state-based independent organisations carried the name: Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW Inc. (a continuation of the original), Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland, Fellowship of Australian Writers Tasmania, Fellowship of Australian Writers (VIC) Inc., and

483-463: Was a prolific and influential Australian author. He wrote more than 50 books over 43 years between 1927 and 1969 – an average of one book every 10 months, and twice published three books in one year (1932 and 1940). His first book was Madman's Island , published in 1927 at the age of 38, and his last was written at the age of 79. Called Challenge of the North , it told of Idriess's ideas for developing

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506-468: Was prompted by a longstanding desire of the FAW to strengthen the place of Australian literature in Australian society, and it was believed that a way to do this was to encourage a closer dialogue between authors and their audience. The week was preceded by significant promotion and communication to the community primarily through newspapers and magazines. An editorial written in The Telegraph during

529-479: Was registered as "Ion Windeyer", although he never seems to have used this name. From his late teens, he worked in rural New South Wales , particularly in the Narrabri and Moree districts. He travelled extensively around the state, working in a variety of itinerant jobs including employment as a rabbit poisoner, boundary rider, drover , prospecting for gold as well as harvesting sandalwood . He also worked as

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