Don’t let your winning words go to waste
What is AWAW?
Since 2008, Award Winning Australian Writing has published short fiction from award-winning writers around Australia. In 2011, poetry was added to the mix. Upwards of forty pieces of quality writing are published in each anthology, with forewords from such prominent literary figures as Arnold Zable, Lisa Dempster, Delia Falconer, Mark Tredinnick and Carmel Bird. Awards featured in the anthology have included the Ada Cambridge Prize, The Age Short Story Competition, the John Marsden Award for Poetry, and the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
AWAW has become an integral part of the literary market, and is available in many chain, independent and university bookshops, as well as being stocked in a number of state and local libraries. It is also available through the Melbourne Books website.
The best of the best
Only the best award-winning pieces are accepted for publication. The editor will select a piece to be published depending on whether its theme fits the anthology, whether it is deemed suitable for publication, and whether it is of a high enough standard for publication. The editor ensures the pieces are as polished as possible before they are sent to print, while maintaining the original integrity of the piece. This makes AWAW a collection of the cream of Australia’s literary crop.
Meet and greet
The early editions were launched at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, with later editions having standalone launches at the Melbourne City Library. The 2014 edition was launched at The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas in Melbourne’s CBD. These events have been a great way for authors to meet the current AWAW editor in person, and to meet each other. Launches always feature readings by authors, as well as acknowledgement of the authors’ achievements.
This year, AWAW 2015 was proudly launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival. Check out our Facebook page for more information.
AWAW gets writers read
Though some competitions publish their winning entries in print or online, often short stories or poems that win awards unfortunately disappear into the literary ether. The effort that has gone into writing, self-editing, submitting, judges’ selection, announcement and publicity can go unacknowledged if a winning piece is unpublished. AWAW allows that effort to be recognised.