John Clarke. Photo: Supplied. Lorin Clarke. Photo: Darren James.
Next year the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards (VPLAs) celebrates 40 years, and entries to the 2025 awards are now open. But this time, as part of its birthday celebrations, there’s a new category introduced: the John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing. As of next year, it joins the awards program that includes the country’s most lucrative literary prize.Â
The award – named in honour of satirist, writer and actor John Clarke, who died in 2017 – expands the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards’ total prize pool to $315,000, with The Wheeler Centre providing a further $2000 for the People’s Choice Award.
Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025.
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
