The winners of the Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize, judged by Andy Jackson, were announced on November 30.

To read Andy’s comments, click here, and click on the entries to read the poems.

BWI thanks Andy for his insightful comments and all those who entered for their support, and offers congratulations to the winners and those highly commended.

First Prize ($1,000)

Every Heart Sings Ballarat by Nathan Curnow

Second Prize ($400)

The Flame by Damen O’Brien

Third Prize ($100)

When My Sight Has Gone by Anne Gleeson

Highly Commended

Damen O’Brien for ‘The Numb Drug’

Glenn McPherson for ‘Burnt Up’

Image: photo portrait of Andy Jackson

2022 JUDGE: ANDY JACKSON
Andy Jackson is a poet and creative writing teacher, and was awarded the inaugural Writing the Future of Health Fellowship. He has been shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, the John Bray Poetry Award and the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry. Andy has co-edited disability-themed issues of Southerly and Australian Poetry Journal, and his latest poetry collection is Human Looking, which won the 2022 ALS Gold Medal

COMPETITION GUIDELINES

  1. Entries open at 9am Thursday 11 August 2022 and close at 11.59pm on Saturday 1 October 2022. Late entries will not be accepted.
  2. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 years, including overseas applicants.
  3. Entries must be the original work of the applicant.
  4. Entries must not have been previously published or broadcast (including social media), or a prizewinner in any other competition.
  5. Entry fees are AU$20 per poem. Second and subsequent entries by the same entrant are eligible for the reduced rate of AU$15. Entries via trybooking will incur a 30c booking fee.
  6. Members of Ballarat Writers are entitled to a $5 discount on the entry fee (first poem only.)
  7. There is no limit to the number of entries each applicant may submit, providing the entry fee is paid for each poem submitted.
  8. All entries must be submitted in English, double-spaced and using a standard 12 pt font such as Times New Roman or Arial.
  9. Entries should be no more than 40 lines.
  10. As all entries are subject to a blind judging process, the applicant’s name must not appear anywhere on the poem.
  11. Fees will not be refunded under any circumstances.
  12. Submissions will not be returned.
  13. No corrections or changes will be accepted once entries are submitted.
  14. Copyright remains with the author.
  15. The judge’s decision is final.
  16. The finalists and winner will be announced at our November members’ night in Ballarat.
  17. The winning entry will be published, along with the judge’s report, on the Ballarat Writers website in December 2022.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All parts of the process above must be completed before 11.59pm on 1st October 2022.

All entries must be submitted in English, double-spaced and using a standard 12 pt font and the applicant’s name must not appear anywhere on the poem.

ONLINE ENTRIES (PREFERRED)

  1. Pay the entry fee online by credit card and enter your details through Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CBUCN 
  2. Email your poem/s to ballaratwriterscompetitions@gmail.com

Save your poem/s as PDF files (1 poem per file), and then attach it to your email. In the subject title, put ‘MRMPP 2022’. In the body of the email, include your full name and the title of the poem/s.

HARD-COPY ENTRIES

  1. Pay the entry fee by cheque or money-order, made out to ‘Ballarat Writers’
  2. Print & complete the entry form (1 per poem).
  3. Print your poem/s.
  4. Post payment, form and poem to

Ballarat Writers MRMPP 2022
PO Box 2738
Bakery Hill VIC 3350

LINKS

Trybooking:  https://www.trybooking.com/CBUCN 

Entry form (only for printed entries): can be downloaded here

Join as a member online www.ballaratwriters.com/membership

ENQUIRIES

Competitions co-ordinator:  ballaratwriterscompetitions@gmail.com

ABOUT MARTHA RICHARDSON

Martha Richardson emigrated from Los Angeles to Mildura after her Australia-born husband Ted became ill with cancer and decided to return ‘home’ in 1991. Over the next six years she continued to diligently hone her writing skills; her reputation as an emerging poet began to spread beyond Mildura. She was the first prize winner of the poetry contest sponsored by ABC Radio Oasis FM and the Mildura Writers’ Festival in 1995. Her work was published in America and Australia.

At the beginning of 1997 Martha and Ted came to Ballarat and joined the Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing & Editing) course at the University of Ballarat. The following year Martha was a first place winner in the Seddon Prize for Poetry 1998 and Five Islands Press announced its intention to publish an anthology of her poems titled In an Empty Room (New Poets: Series 6, 1998). Her reputation as a talented poet continued to grow.

Martha was diagnosed with breast cancer two years later. Writing became even more important to her as she endured an aggressive regime of radiotherapy treatment throughout 2001. She agreed to join the committee of the Ballaarat Writing Council (now Ballarat Writers Inc.) when her treatment was completed.

Martha Elaine Richardson died in June 2002, six months after developing secondary cancer; she never reached ‘retiring age’.

https://blog.reedsy.com/writing-contests/