Winner of the 2010 Australian Book Review Short Story Competition
Maria Takolander has won the 2010 ABR Short Story Competition, worth $2,000. The judges, Chris Flynn and Peter Rose, were impressed, and amused, by her story 'A Roänkin Philosophy of Poetry', an artful take on academic intrigue and absurdism. The story was chosen from a field of just under 1000 entries.
JUDGE'S COMMENT
Chris Flynn: 'Maria Takolander's winning story in our inaugural fiction competition is a perfect
blend of craftsmanship and imagination, from a writer who loves language and knows how to use it.
It is original, witty and beautifully structured; a story that lingers in the mind long after the final sentence is complete.'
ABOUT THE WINNER
Maria Takolander was shortlisted for the inaugural Australian Book Review Poetry Prize.
She is the author of a book of poems, Ghostly Subjects (Salt, 2009), which was shortlisted for a Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2010. She also publishes fiction and creative non-fiction, and she is the author of a book of literary criticism, Catching Butterflies: Bringing Magical Realism
to Ground (Peter Lang, 2007). She is a Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies and Creative Writing at Deakin University in Geelong.
WINNER'S COMMENT
'This short story competition is another instance of how ABR creates opportunities for Australian
writers, and it is another demonstration of ABR's central importance to Australian literary culture.
I am thrilled to be the recipient of this prize.'
'A Roänkin Philosophy of Poetry' by Maria Takolander
