Competition

Siriol Kate Giffney, late partner of Dr. Kett Kennedy, was a graduate of Southampton University, England. She chose journalism as a career path. She worked with Butterworth’s Publishers in London then ventured to Hong Kong employed by the Far Eastern Economic Review. She came to Australia in June 1979 and took out citizenship. She was engaged on Sir James Hardy’s America’s Cup campaign. Worked for six years as the BBC’s programme co-ordinator in Australia and then ABC radio’s A.M. news bulletin. After which she freelanced for television, radio, newspapers and University research projects, too numerous to recount. Unfortunately in 2005,just as they were ready to settle down in Charters Tower, Siriol had a fatal cardiac arrest, 5 days short of her 52nd birthday.

Shortly after getting off the ground our group was approached by Dr. Kett Kennedy who generously offered to sponsor a literary competition through his deceased partner’s estate. Kett explained that Siriol was very excited at the prospect of joining community, cultural and literary societies in the Towers and that in memory of, and respect for, the spirit of this enthusiastic and energetic woman he would like to put up the money for a competition prize.

We took up the challenge and held our inaugural competition late in 2007. We confined entry to this first competition to the Charters Towers Region. Three local judges read through the entries and sent a short list off to Professor Cheryl Taylor BA MA Phd in Brisbane for final adjudication. She flew up to the Towers for the Gala Awards Night and stayed to give workshops over that week-end.

In early 2008 we published an Anthology of the winning entries.

This year (2008) final adjudication will be by Carole Ferrier, Professor of English at the University of Queensland.