The Asher Literary Award
The Asher Literary Award was offered for the first time in 2005 in collaboration with the Literature Board of the Australia Council. This award has been made possible by a generous bequest from Mrs Helen Waltraud Rosalie Asher. Helen Asher was a writer (she also used the name Helen Ulrich) and published one novel, Tilly's Fortunes (Penguin, 1986), and some other shorter works of fiction which appeared in various anthologies.
Helen Asher was a post-WWII German refugee from fascism. Along with her husband Mervyn, she was deeply committed to the artistic and cultural life of their adoptive country, Australia, and both were active in literary circles in Sydney.
Mrs Asher specified that the bequest be directed solely to the creation of an award to be won or received by a female author of a literary work which carries an anti-war message or theme. The value of the award is $10,000.
2009 Asher Literary Award
In 2009 the prize was shared between two outstanding books: Sara Knox, The Orphan Gunner (Giramondo) and Dr Shirley Walker, The Ghost at the Wedding: a true story (Penguin).
The judges—Deirdre Coleman, Kate Darian-Smith and Lucy Sussex—commented that
Sara Knox's novel offers a twist on the experiences of the Second World War, with a tale of transvestism and identity-exchange amidst the highly-charged world of the air ace. Shirly Walker's evocative and heartfelt memoir is a polished and beautifully written account of the impact of successive wars across the generations of a single family. In exploring the past, both prize winning books show how the aftermath of war can be more poignant than the experience of combat itself.
Highly Commended: Kate Mulvaney, for her play, The Seed (Currency Press)
Commended: Marina Larsson, for her history Shattered Anzacs: Living with the Scars of War (University of New South Wales Press)
Download a copy of the judges report here: JudgesReport2009-print.pdf
Past Winners
2007
Brenda Walker for The Wing of Night: A Novel of Love and War (Penguin Books), a powerful, eloquently written and compelling novel. It captures the profound effect World War One had on the soldiers who fought, but significantly, also offers a perspective on the women whose lives were drawn into its enduring legacy.
Brenda Walker was born in northern NSW and studied at The University of New England and The Australian National University, where she wrote a PhD on the narratives of Samuel Beckett. She is an Associate Professor in the English Department at The University of Western Australia where she has worked since 1984. She has written four novels: Crush, One More River, Poe's Cat and The Wing of Night.
Highly Commended:
Suzy Zail for The Tattooed Flower: A Memoir (Scribe publications)
Commended:
Suzanne Leal for Border Street (Scribe publications)
2005
Eva Sallis for her book, The Marsh Birds
The award submissions demonstrated how Australian writers have tackled themes of violence and conflict, with depth of feeling and language, and were notable for their international perspective. Eva Sallis’ The Marsh Birds (Allen & Unwin) was a remarkable literary achievement, exploring the story of the boy Dhurgham, and the bewilderment and experiences of refugees. In awarding Sallis the Asher Award, the judges recognized her measured and, at times, achingly graceful, writing on the themes of the dehumanization of culture and the individual. This is an important book that has the courage to tackle a key contemporary issue of our time.
For further information about the Asher Literary Award email awards-austcentre@unimelb.edu.au
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.