PRIZE | Pascal Foundation

The annual Pascall Prize, worth $15,000 in cash, is Australia’s only major award for arts criticism. The Pascall Prize commemorates the flamboyant, groundbreaking Sydney writer and critic Geraldine Pascall, who died suddenly following a stroke in February 1983 at the age of 38. Geraldine Pascall worked full-time as a journalist and feature writer for The Australian from 1969 until her death, at various times reviewing theatre, film and books and writing critically about food, wine, travel, lifestyle, fashion and the arts generally. She died intestate, but her friends and colleagues were able to establish the Geraldine Pascall Foundation after her father agreed to give up his rights to her estate.

The Pascall Prize is judged each year by a panel consisting predominantly of previous winners. The Prize was first awarded (in its present form) in 1990 and aims each year to identify and reward a critic whose work is itself creative, has ‘the capacity to excite new interest’ in a particular subject and which ‘helps Australians experience aspects of their culture with greater knowledge and perception’. The guidelines make it clear that potential Pascall Prize winners will be writing regularly for non-specialist national or metropolitan audiences.

Info:
Vivian Zeltzer/Judy Dawes/Shula Dennard (Co-ordinators)
(02) 9231 4293