The shortlist for Australia’s most coveted science journalism prize is out. And among those in contention for honours this year are CAJ recent graduate Amalyah Hart and senior lecturer Jo Chandler.
Hart, a freelance science journalist who graduated in 2022, is recognised for an article for Cosmos Magazine on engineering frogs for their survival, while Chandler’s story for Griffith Review goes to Antarctica, and the race by scientists to dig up a million years of ice history.
UNSW Press established an annual prize for the best short non-fiction piece on science written for a general audience back in 2012. Chandler has won the prize twice, and been a runner-up three times. The UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing is named in honour of Australia’s first Nobel Laureates William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg and is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
First prize is $7000. Two runners-up will each receive a prize of $1500. The prizes will be announced at UNSW on November 9, with a panel discussion with the winners to be recorded for broadcast by ABC RN’s The Science Show.
All the shortlisted entries are included in The Best Australian Science Writing, NewSouth’s annual collection featuring the finest Australian science writing of the year, which will be in bookshops shortly.
UPDATE: Chandler and Hart were co-runners up for the UNSW 2023 Bragg Prize, which was won by Nicky Phillips for her article for Nature on the science that set accused murderer Kathleen Folbigg free.
The full shortlist is:
