Nita Kibble Literary Award
The Kibble Literary Awards comprise two awards which are presented annually: the Nita B Kibble Literary Award, which recognises the work of an established Australian female writer, and the Dobbie Literary Award, which is for a first published work by a female writer.[1][2] The Awards recognise the works of women writers of fiction or non-fiction classified as 'life writing'. This includes novels, autobiographies, biographies, literature and any writing with a strong personal element.
The Kibble Literary Awards were established in 1994 and are named in honour of Nita Kibble (1879–1962), who was the first woman to be a librarian with the State Library of New South Wales.[3] She was Principal Research Librarian from 1919 until her retirement in 1943, and was a founding member of the Australian Institute of Librarians.
The Kibble Awards for Women Writers were established by Nita Dobbie, through her will, in recognition of her aunt, Nita Kibble, who had raised her from birth after her mother died.[1] Miss Dobbie followed her aunt into the library profession. She believed there was a the need to foster women’s writing in the community.[1] The awards are currently worth A$35,000 in total.
Winners of the Nita B Kibble Literary Award for Women Writers
- 2011 - Reading by Moonlight, Brenda Walker
- 2010 - The Ghost at the Wedding, Shirley Walker
- 2009 - An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin, Jacqueline Kent
- 2008 - Nights in the Asylum, Carol Lefevre
- 2007 - Careless, Deborah Robertson
- 2006 - The Wing of Night, Brenda Walker
- 2005 - Plenty, Gay Bilson
- 2004 - That Oceanic Feeling, Fiona Capp
- 2003 - Black Mirror, Gail Jones
- 2002 - A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, A Literary Life, Jacqueline Kent
- 2001 - Tiger's Eye: A Memoir, Inga Clendinnen
- 2000 - Stravinsky's Lunch, Drusilla Modjeska
- 1999 - Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey From Down Under to All Over, Geraldine Brooks
- 1998 - Snake Cradle, Roberta Sykes
- 1997 - True Stories: Selected Non-Fiction, Helen Garner
- 1996 - Judy Cassab: Diaries, Judy Cassab
- 1995 - The Orchard, Drusilla Modjeska
- 1994 - Lovers' Knots: A Hundred-Year Novel, Marion Halligan
Winners of the Dobbie Literary Award
- 2011 - Night Street, Kristel Thornell
- 2010 - The Book of Emmett, Deborah Forster
- 2009 - Fugitive Blue, Claire Thomas
- 2008 - The Anatomy of Wings, Karen Foxlee
- 2007 - Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch
- 2006 - Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living, Carrie Tiffany
- 2005 - Salt Rain, by Sarah Armstrong
- 2004 - The Alphabet of Light and Dark, Danielle Wood
- 2000 - Off The Rails: The Pauline Hanson Trip, Margo Kingston
- 1997 - Listening for Small Sounds, Pepe Trevor
Shortlisted works for the Nita B Kibble Literary Award
Winners are listed in bold type.
2011
2010
2009[4]
- Births Deaths and Marriages: True tales, Georgia Blain
- An Exacting Heart: The story of Hephzibah Menuhin, Jacqueline Kent
- The After Life: A memoir, Kathleen Stewart
2008
- Sorry, Gail Jones
- Burning In, Mireille Juchau
- Nights in the Asylum, Carol Lefevre
2007
2006
2005
2004
- Shot, Sydney Bauer
- That Oceanic Feeling, Fiona Capp
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
- Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey From Down Under to All Over, Geraldine Brooks
1998
- Glass After Glass: Autobiographical Reflections, Barbara Blackman
- Snake Cradle, Roberta Sykes
- Paradise Mislaid: In Search of the Australian Tribe of Paraguay, Anne Whitehead
1997
1996
- Judy Cassab: Diaries, Judy Cassab
- Caravanserai: Journey among Australian Muslims, Hanifa Deen
1995
- Auntie Rita, Rita Cynthia Huggins and Jackie Huggins
- The World Waiting to be Made, Simone Lazaroo
- The Orchard, Drusilla Modjeska
1994
References
See also