My Brother Jack Awards

Eliza Henry Jones
Eliza grew up in Glen Eira and is the author of the adult novels Ache and In the Quiet and the YA novels P is for Pearl and How to Grow a Family Tree. Her novels have been listed for the QLD Literary Awards, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, ABIA, Indie and CBCA Awards. Her work has appeared in places such as The Big Issue, The Guardian, The Age and Country Style. She is currently working towards a PhD in creative writing. In 2022, Eliza released her novel, Salt and Skin – an evocative tale set in the haunted landscape of the islands off the Scottish coast.

Paul Dalgarno
Paul is an author and journalist. He was deputy editor of The Conversation (Australia) and a senior writer and features editor at The Herald newspaper group (UK). He has written for The Guardian, Big Issue Scotland, and Australian Book Review. He is the author of And You May Find Yourself and Poly. His latest novel, A Country of Eternal Light was recently shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year. Born and raised in Scotland, Paul has lived in Australia since 2010. 

Grace Yee
Grace Yee is a poet, writer and researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. Her work has been widely published and anthologised across Australia and internationally, appearing in Overland, Island, Meanjin, Southerly, Westerly, Rabbit, Cordite Poetry Review, The Griffith Review, The Shanghai Literary Review, Women's Museum of California, Landfall, Poetry New Zealand Yearbook, Best of Australian Poems (2021, 2022, and 2024) among others. Awards include the Patricia Hackett Prize, the Peter Steele Poetry Award, and a Creative Fellowship at the State Library Victoria. Her debut collection Chinese Fish  (Giramondo Publishing) began as part of her PhD thesis on settler Chinese women’s storytelling at the University of Melbourne. In 2024, Chinese Fish was awarded the Victorian Prize for Literature, the Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry, and the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. It was also shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award and the Anne Elder Award.

Her second collection, Joss: A History is forthcoming with Giramondo Publishing in June 2025.

Joel McKerrow
Full-time in his creative career for the past fifteen years, Joel McKerrow is an award winning writer, keynote speaker, creativity specialist, children's author, educator and, having performed for hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world, is one of Australia’s most successful performance poets. In this time Joel has released seven spoken word/music albums, six published books of poetry and has just released his first Junior Fic/Graphic novel, Urban Legend Hunters with publisher Larrikin House.

Background to My Brother Jack

My Brother Jack is a novel written by George Johnston, published in 1964. Johnston grew up in Elsternwick, and his mother Minnie was a Voluntary Aid Detachment member during the war.

My Brother Jack is a semi-autobiographical novel that follows the character of David Meredith through his youth in inter-war Melbourne. David’s mother is a VAD at Caulfield Repatriation Hospital on Kooyong Road, and she often brings wounded soldiers into their house. His childhood is filled with injured and traumatised men, and his memories of the hospital are a powerful view of war’s impact through a child’s eyes.

An Australian classic, the novel brought Glen Eira’s post-war experience into the national consciousness. Johnston’s book won the Miles Franklin Award in 1964.

Launched in 1996, the My Brother Jack Awards, Glen Eira City Council’s annual literary competition, acknowledge the lasting impact of Johnston’s work.

_{Sources:
G Johnston, My Brother Jack, William Collins, Sons, 1964
VAD Register, Red Cross Australia (Victoria)}