Pung awarded 2024 Alice Literary Award

Alice Pung has won the Alice Literary Award, presented by the Society of Women Writers in Australia.

In Pung’s acceptance speech, the author said: ‘What an honour it is, to have my characters recognised as worthy of celebrating not just in Australian literature, but as Australian literature. This is one of the highest true honours of my life. And I believe a panel of male judges may never have recognised the trajectory of my work (or worse, siphoned me into some dubious category of “ethnic” literature!) but a society of distinguished women writers have—women who understand how our experiences shape our voices.’

‘That’s why when I see the list of past winners—legends like Brenda Niall, Kate Grenville, Libby Hathorn, Jackie French, Mem Fox, Judith Wright—I see every category of writing recognised, from poetry to fiction to children’s and young adults’ books. I see a list that spans the spectrum of a human being’s whole reading life,’ said Pung.

The award, in the form of a trophy, is presented biennially to an Australian woman who has made ‘a distinguished, long-term contribution to Australian literature’. This year, the Society of Women Writers Victoria nominated Pung for the award and the presentation was hosted by the Western Australian branch. Pung is the first ‘Alice’ to receive the Alice Literary Award.

The 2022 winner of the award was Jackie French.

Category: Awards Local news