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From an absolutely stellar field of 120 manuscripts by Australian women poets, this year’s judges, , Pam Brown and Fiona Hile, selected a shortlist of five.

Melinda Bufton won the award for her collection Moxie.

On winning the award, Melinda Bufton said: "It's an enormous honour to have won the Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest; to have my work recognised in this way is incredibly exciting. Poetry is currently in a markedly dynamic phase in Australia, and I am humbled to be part of a shortlist of poets who exemplify this. My gratitude to the judges, the ±¬ÁÏÍõ, and the family of Helen Anne Bell is similarly spirited, and heartfelt."

The other shortlisted submissions were (in alphabetical order): 

• Jen Crawford, A General Image of the Whole Countryside Recovering from the Effects of Winter 
• Emily Crocker, In the Drink
• Emily Stewart, The song of the year
• Ann Vickery, The Antagonist’s Care Pack

Presented by the at the ±¬ÁÏÍõ, this award offers a cash prize of $7000 and publication with Vagabond Press of a collection of poems between 50-80 pages by an Australian woman poet. It is made possible by a generous bequest to the University by Helen Anne Bell. This is the third biennial award made under the bequest.

About the 2019 Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award winner

Melinda Bufton

Melinda Bufton is the author of two collections, Girlery (2014) and Superette (2018). She is a PhD candidate in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University.

Image: Back row L-R: Associate Professor Kate Lilley; Pam Brown; Bernard Cohen; Beth Yahp. Front row L-R: Jen Crawford; Emily Stewart; Melinda Bufton; . Credit: Talin Roche.