The Age Short Story Award is a competition that is run in conjunction with International PEN, the international writers' association. It was established in 1979. From 1979 to 1984 it was run in conjunction with Tabloid StoryTabloid Story received a subsidy from the Australia Council and was distributed as an adjunct to newspapers and magazines such as The Bulletin, The National Times, and local and student publications. It popularised the contemporary short story for a brief period. and was known as The Age-Tabloid Story Awards. The inaugural award was won by Harris Smart. Entries must be unpublished, and under 3000 words. Three prizes are awarded and the winning stories are published in The Age and online.
Winners
Year 1st Prize 2nd Prize 3rd Prize1979 by Harris Smart 1983 by Connie Gregory 1987 "Tennis with My Father" by Richard Lunn "Purring Our Way to the Tropics" by Tony Lintermans "Like the Tail of a Comet'" by Jane Hyde1988 "The Wage Earner" by Lin Van Hek "Little Electric Wheelchair" by Michael Stephens "Thanks for the Currawongs" by Max Painter1989 "What Would Sasha Say" by Tony Lintermans "Where the Wild Geese Go" by Joan Birchall "Blue Milk" by Gillian Mears1990 "The Road Up and the Road Down" by Margaret Betts "Hidden Glass" by Sydney Smith "Cat in Deep Water" by Josephine Barnes1991 "Aunt Jessica and the Ostrich-tamer" by Stephanie Green; co-winner, by Margaret Betts "Photographs from Beneath the Surface" by Judith Duffy "Imperial Zoo" by David Astle 1992 The Green Light by Danny Calegari; co-winner "The Pleasures of Eczema" by Tony Lintermans by Michael McGirr 1993 "The Mummy's Foot" by Beth Spencer "Winter in Berlin" by Barry Homewood "The Wide Circle" by Darren Hill 1994 "The Reasons I Won't Be Coming" by Elliot Perlman by Norman Bilbrough by Tim Richards 1995 "Reply to a Letter" by Wayne Macauley "The King And I" by Raymond Allan "The Bands on my Teeth" by Michael McGirr 1996 by Sue Martin by Kevin Brophy by Jane Watson 1997 "Dumb Things I Gotta Do" by James Hawthorne "The Vision" by Ruth Learner "The Letter" by Samantha Hanna1998 "Sodasi" by Keith Butler by Michael McGirr by Margaret Betts1999 by Michelle de Kretser by Angus Ibbott by Katheryn Lomer2000 by Cate Kennedy by Craig Cormick by Michelle Vlatkovic2001 What Thou and I Did, till We Loved by Cate Kennedy Warhead' by Emma Ashmere (published under Emma Hartwood) by Jen Alexander2002Steger, Jason (2002) "Writer's winning streak" in The Age 2002-12-14 "Snapshot of Strangers" by Paddy O'Reilly "Silver Apples" by Andrea Mayes "The Greatest Thing in all Movies" by Patrick Holland2003 "The Caribou Herd" by Miles Hitchcock "The Wheelbarrow" by Patrick Cullen 2004 "All Fathers the Father" by Emmett Stinson "Just a Line" by Ross Gray "Hotel Sheesh Mahal" by Liz Gallois2005 "The Reasons for Us Being Here" by Ellen Rodger "Booligal Sheep Station" by Dennis McIntosh "The Promise" by Erin Gough2006 "From the Wreck" by Rob Williams "Remaking the Image of this World" by Shane Jesse Christmass "Suckered into a Perfect Line" by Bill Collopy2007Steger, Jason (2007) "Short story of love, loss and life in space" in The Age, 2007-12-08, p. 13 "A Parachute Landing in Siberia" by Stephen McGrath "The Feeder" by Glenys Osborne "The Heron" by Alison Campbell Rate2008 "Home Visit" by Peggy Frew "A House Was Built Around You While You Slept" by Glenys Osborne "Frozen Cigarettes" by Bronwyn Mehan2009 "Flat Daddy" by Louise D'Arcy "Can't Take the Country Out of the Boy" by Joanne Riccioni "The Chinese Lesson" by Ryan O'Neill2010 "The Fields of Early Sorrow" by Murray Middleton "The Devil's Music" by Carol Middleton "A Ticket to Switzerland" by Jennifer Down2012 "Crumbs" by Bram Presser "Meatloaf in Manhattan" by Robert Power "The Yellow Chair" by Stephen McGrath2013 "Maggot" by Michelle Wright "Three Encounters with the Physical" by Graeme Simsion "Hunting Animals" by Ruby Murray
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