Kate Challis RAKA Award
This award, worth up to $20,000, is for the best book of fiction published between 2016 – 2021 and written in English, by an Indigenous author.
Applications open
19 Apr 2021
Last day for applications
14 Jun 2021
Learn more
Last day for applications
This is the last day on which applications will be accepted. Though conditions vary, we recommend submission by 5pm AEST to avoid disappointment.
Application type
Application required
How to apply
Benefit type
Single payment
Full benefit details
Citizenship requirements
Australian / domestic student
Total value
up to $20,000
Applicable study areas
All study areas
Number of scholarships awarded
1
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"As an Aboriginal author, I understand the enormous importance and influence of the Kate Challis (RAKA) Award. I believe it is the most prestigious national and international benchmark for the promotion of excellence in Aboriginal art. This is the reason that I feel both extremely humble and proud that my work was chosen this year for literature, and to know that my work can stand beside those of our most talented and highly recognised artists."
- Alexis Wright
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Eligibility & selection criteria
Eligibility
To be eligible for this scholarship, you need to:
- be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- have published a book of fiction between 2016-2021
- Accept the award online within 14 days
- Attend the award announcement: the details of which will be provided to the recipient closer to the award announcement which is expected around September.
The recipient is required to:
Selection criteria
This award is for the best book of fiction already published between 2016-2021 and written in English, by an Indigenous author.
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Application process
Complete an application online, include your resume (up to 2 pages), and submit
your book.- Post five copies of your book to:
Awards Team | Faculty of Arts
Level 1, West Wing, Arts West Building (#148)
The University of Melbourne
PARKVILLE VIC 3010 -
When will I know the outcome?
The outcome will be announced at a ceremony which is usually held in September each year. The details of the event will be announced closer to the award ceremony.
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Variations of this scholarship
The award is awarded in a five-year cycle with a different area of the arts – creative prose, drama, the visual arts, script-writing and poetry – being rewarded each year. Area of creative arts for 2021 is: the best book of creative prose already published between 2016 – 2021 and written in English.
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About the donor
Professor Emeritius Bernard Smith
This award for Indigenous creative artists has been made available through the generosity of Professor Emeritus Bernard Smith, eminent art and cultural historian. The award was established to honour the memory of his late wife, Kate Challis, who was known in her youth as Ruth Adeney (RAKA is an acronym for the Ruth Adeney Koori Award).
In the Pintupi language, 'raka' means 'five' and in the Warlpiri 'rdaka' means 'hand', and both meanings are particularly apt for an award to be awarded in a cycle of five years to individual artists – novelists, poets, script writers, visual artists and playwrights – whose 'hands' are the basic means of creativity.
What are the benefits?
A single payment of up to $20,000
ENQUIRIES
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For complete listings of faculty-specific scholarships, please see individual faculty websites.
The information listed here is subject to change without notice. Where we have listed information about jointly run scholarships programs, please also see our partners' websites. Information describing the number and value of scholarships awarded is indicative.