Peter Blazey Fellowship
This fellowship is awarded annually to further a work in progress for those writers in the non-fiction fields of biography, autobiography and life writing.
Applications open
13 May 2024
Last day for applications
12 Aug 2024
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 $17,000
Applicable study areas
All study areas
Number of scholarships awarded
1
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"I'm incredibly grateful to receive this fellowship named in honour of the remarkable Peter Blazey. My great thanks to Tim Herbert and Clive Blazey for their generous championing of our literary culture. I look forward to spending time at the Australian Centre."
- Julia Leigh
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Eligibility & selection criteria
Eligibility
To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:
- be a writer engaged in a work in progress in the non-fiction fields of autobiography, biography or life writing;
- be residing in Australia;
- have a publishing record which can include books, chapters, articles or any other written works including online that are not self-published; and,
- not be using the manuscript as part of a submission for a higher degree.
Selection criteria
Selection will be made on the basis of literary merit.
The decision of the selection committee is final.
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Application process
Eligible applicants must complete the online application form and upload the following documents:
- a one-page synopsis of the work in progress including proposed work to be undertaken during the Fellowship.
- an extract of approximately 5,000 words of unpublished material of the work in progress with text spaced at least one-and-a-half lines;
- a two-page resume, including a list of publications; and,
- proof of an Australian address.
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When will I know the outcome?
The winner will be invited to participate in an online announcement.
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About the donor
Clive Blazey and Tim Herbert
The Peter Blazey Fellowship was established to honour the memory of Peter Blazey, journalist, author and gay activist. It has been made available through the generosity of Clive Blazey and Tim Herbert, brother and partner of Peter Blazey.
Blazey was born in Melbourne in 1939 and worked for The Australian, the National Times and as a regular columnist for OutRage magazine. He published a number of books, including a political biography of Henry Bolte, and was co-editor of the short fiction anthology, Love Cries. His personal memoir, Screw Loose, appeared after his death from AIDS in 1997.
"Peter was someone with a lion's head of loose ends that could never fit into some ideologically sound and tidy space. Storyteller, mythomane, and one of the last great conversationalists in a country wary of the free flow of uncensored language, he was a comet who flashed his tail at everyone."
– Tim Herbert, OutRage, 1997The Peter Blazey Fellowship was launched by the Hon. Justice Michael Kirby in May 2004.
What are the benefits?
- A single payment of up to $17,000.
The recipient is required to:
- accept award online within 14 days;
- use the statement 'This manuscript won the University of Melbourne’s 2025 Peter Blazey Fellowship' included on the imprints page when published; and,
- alert the Awards team in the Faculty of Arts when the final work is published.
Read about the 2024 Peter Blazey Fellow recipient here and see a full list of Fellowship recipients here.
Enquiries
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.