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The Best of the Booker

Library

The Best of the Booker The Booker Prize longlist has been announced.  The Vision Australia Library thought it the perfect time and uncover some facts, figures and controversies over the course of the prestigious prize’s 54 years. All of the books mentioned are in the library with links provided. Women of the Booker Since 1969, 35 men and 18 women have won the prize. A relatively unknown Bernice Ruben was the first woman to win the Booker in 1970, for The Elected Member. She followed up with a nomination in 1978 for A  Five-Year Sentence Hilary Mantel won in 2009 for Wolf Hall and 2012 for Bring Up the Bodies making her the first woman and the first British author to win the prize twice and the first person to win the prize for two novels in a trilogy. Margaret Atwood won first in 2000 for The Blind Assassin and then in 2019 for The Testaments – a dual winner with Bernardine Evaristo for Girl, Woman, Other . Everisto was also the first black woman to win. Australians and the Booker Due to changes in the Booker rule book (a book must be published in UK or Ireland which complicates matters under Commonwealth rights) it’s a long dry spell for Australians having not won since 2014 for Richard Flannagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Before then, Australia-born DBC Pierre won for Vernon God Little, and Indian-Australian Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger. Thomas Keneally was nominated three times before finally winning for Schindler’s Ark.  Peter Carey won for Oscar and Lucinda and for True History of the Kelly Gang. A matter of age Eleanor Catton became the youngest winner in 2013, aged just 28 for The Luminaries (which at 832 pages is the longest winning novel in the prize’s history). Previously, Ben Okri held this title, winning in 1991 for The Famished Road at the age of 32, he was also the first black person to win. Attwood at 79 was the oldest winner while Alan Garner, 88, is the oldest nominee for Treacle Walker. Controversy The  prize has raised it’s fair share of hullabaloo over the years most notably when Kingsley Amis’ Ending Up appeared on the shortlist chosen by a judging panel that included his wife, the novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard. In the end, the prize was split between Nadine Gordimer’s The Conservationist and Stanley Middleton’s Holiday. Chair Philip Larkin threatened to jump out of the window if Paul Scott’s Staying On didn’t win (it did). Anthony Burgess’ refused to attend the ceremony unless guaranteed a win for his Earthly Powers but he lost out to William Golding’s Rites of Passage. Not a member of the Vision Australia Library? The Library is a free national public library for anyone who is blind, has low vision or a print disability.  Join the library today!     

Client Reference Group expressions of interest

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Vision Australia is committed to engaging with its clients and the parents and carers of clients at every level of the organisation, including through its client representative body known as the Client Reference Group.

Wellbeing through stories at the Vision Australia Library

Library

Bibliotherapy is the practice of using literature and storytelling to positively effect wellbeing. Dr Susan McLaine is an international leader in the practice of bibliotherapy and has produced the podcasts exclusively for the library.

Cook Up a Storm in the classroom

Library

Stories have impact. Capture the minds of students in the classroom and teach inclusion.

Down a different lane with Vision Australia

Vision Australia CEO Ron Hooton spoke to NGV Magazine about our Dark Memory Lane installation as part of their Melbourne Now exhibition.

This week on Talking Vision: Craig cooks up a storm in Big Vision...

Vision Australia Radio

Talking Vision is Vision Australia Radio’s flagship program, discussing the latest news and issues from a blindness and low vision perspective. On the program this week Sam is excited to be joined by blind chef, entrepreneur and Blind Australian of the Year award winner Craig Shanahan, the founder of Blind Chef Café in Penrith.

Vision Australia and Blind Sports Australia team up to support bl...

News

Vision Australia and Blind Sports Australia are thrilled to announce their support for the largest ever Australian Team of blind and low vision athletes participating in the 2023 International Blind Sporting Federation (IBSA) World Blind Games.

This week on Talking Vision: Sam and Erin make food and wine acce...

Vision Australia Radio

Talking Vision is Vision Australia Radio’s flagship program, discussing the latest news and issues from a blindness and low vision perspective. On the show this week we have Sam and Erin Noblet, a husband and wife who recently started their own business, Tantalising Tours, which runs guided food and wine tours around the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula.

Nominations open for the 2023 Vision Australia Awards

As a partnership between people who are blind, sighted or have low vision, Vision Australia understands the importance of acknowledging the invaluable contributions made by members of our community. The Vision Australia Awards were handed out for the first time at our 2006 Annual General Meeting. They were created as a means of identifying, celebrating and thanking those generous organisations and individuals who give of their time and resources to support our work.