The Peter Blazey Fellowship was established to honour the memory of Peter Blazey - journalist, author and gay activist - and has been made available through the generosity of Clive Blazey and Tim Herbert, brother and partner of Peter Blazey.
Blazey was born in Melbourne in 1939 and worked for the Australian, the National Times and as a regular columnist for OutRage magazine. He published a number of books, including a political biography of Henry Bolte, and was co-editor of the short fiction anthology, Love Cries. His personal memoir, ScrewLoose, appeared after his death from AIDS in 1997.
"Peter was someone with a lion's head of loose ends that could never fit into some ideologically sound and tidy space. Storyteller, mythomane, and one of the last great conversationalists in a country wary of the free flow of uncensored language, he was a comet who flashed his tail at everyone."
- Tim Herbert, OutRage, 1997
The Peter Blazey Fellowship was launched by the Hon. Justice Michael Kirby in May 2004.
The Fellowship is awarded annually to writers in the non-fiction fields of biography, autobiography and life writing and is intended to further a work in progress. Applications will be judged on literary merit, and the winner will be supported in his or her work by a cash prize of $15 000, and a one-month writer-in-residency at the Australian Centre.
2012 Peter Blazey Fellowship
Applications are invited for the 2012 Peter Blazey Fellowship. Entries close on Wednesday, 15th June 2011.
GUIDELINES
1. The Fellowship is to be offered nationally and awarded annually. Applicants must either be an
Australian citizen or have Australian residency.
2. The purpose of the Fellowship is to further a work in progress in the non-fiction fields of
autobiography, biography or life writing. The prize must not be used to provide a publishing
subsidy.
3. The manuscript will not be part of a submission for a higher degree, and the applicant may
not be currently enrolled in a higher degree.
4. The submission will take the form of a curriculum vitae (no more than two pages), a synopsis
(no more than one page) and an extract of approximately 5,000 words of unpublished
material. Copies should be stapled and where possible printed double-sided; the text should
be spaced at one and a half lines. Please note: we cannot accept applications longer than
stipulated, or any additional accompanying material.
5. Selection will be made on the basis of literary merit.
6. The applicant will have a publishing record, and must include details of this in the application.
7. Four (4) copies of the entire application are to be submitted (please note: fax or electronic
applications will not be accepted).
8. The total remuneration will be $15,000. The recipient will also be awarded a one-month
residency at the Australian Centre. The residency includes access to office space and
facilities, but does not include accommodation.
9. Entries close on Wednesday, 15 June 2011.
10. Please direct enquiries and send the application to Awards Coordinator, The Australian
Centre, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010 (tel: (03) 8344 4154, fax: (03) 8344
4280, email: awards-austcentre@unimelb.edu.au).
11. Please note that application material will not be returned.
NOTIFICATION PROCESS
1. The winner will be announced and the award presented at a public event to be held in late
August 2011.
2. Unsuccessful entrants will be notified.
3. The decision of the Judging Committee is final.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: awards-austcentre@unimelb.edu.au
For submissions: awards-austcentre@unimelb.edu.au
Website: http://australian-centre.unimelb.edu.au
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