The Alice Award
On August 31st, 2018, I became the delighted recipient of the Alice Award; an award given to a female Australian writer for ' an outstanding long-term contribution to Australian literature’. The Alice is given out every two years by the Society of Women Writers... five state-based groups who each propose a candidate. The five nominees are measured against a checklist of attributes and the one who is deemed most worthy at the time receives the award. The Alice is a bronze statuette of Henry Lawson's Drover's Wife. The winner keeps Alice for two years, and then she goes on to the next winner. However, there is also a framed certificate. To say I am honoured by this peer-judged award is an understatement. To be nominated is a great boost. To win, is enormous. Previous winners include those listed in the photo. This clumsy attempt at Alice-capture took me ages, because Alice proved unexpectedly difficult to photograph. The dark bronze means it needs good lighting, but the