The 2023 Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition is proudly supported by Brisbane City Council.
Announcing Our 2023 Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition Winners and Runners Up!
Before we do, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to many of the wonderful folk who played a part:
Councillor Vicki Howard and the Brisbane City Council: Your unwavering support is the cornerstone of our mission. We can’t thank you enough.
Our Incredible Team and Generous Volunteers: Your dedication is the heartbeat of Braille House. You make the difference every day.
Creative Competitors: Your entries were nothing short of amazing. Thank you for adding your unique touch to the competition.
Heather Jacobs, Our Esteemed Judge: Your time and expertise were instrumental in making this event a true showcase of talent. Thank you.
The Public: Your votes and support are what make our community exactly that… “our” community. Thank you for your support.
And the winners are…….
Category 1 – Adult Short Story
1st place – An Act of Kindness (In the long quiet hours of dawn) by Kate Barry
No second place awarded
Category 2 – Adult Poem / Lyrics / Limerick
1st place – Kindness to Octopoda by Cameron Algie
2nd place – The Wedding Cake by Helen Boardman
Category 3 – Adult Opinion / Reflection
1st place – Reliant on Manna Once Again by Helen Boardman
2nd place – Comments on Kindness by Kerry Frost
Category 4 – Senior Student Creative
1st place – Kindness by Harlan Candy
No second place awarded
Category 5 – Junior Student Creative
1st place – Kindness Poem by Melody Baker
2nd place – Kindness Goes Around by Stirling McKay
Category 6 – People’s Choice – As voted by the public
Winner – Never Give Up by Stirling McKay
Runner-up – Kindness (1) by Shafiq Hassanein
History:
The competition was started in 1921 by the “Queensland Musical, Literary and Self Aid Society for the Blind as an Essay Competition; the subject was “Self Reliance” and first prize in each category was One Guinea.
Both Harold Dickinson and his brother Edwin were members of the QMLSAS and were very involved in the literary and musical world at that time although Harold averred that it was Edwin who was the literary brother. Edwin died in January 1956 but his name continued to be synonymous with the competition.
The Society changed its name in 1966 to Queensland Society of Blind Citizens and in 1986 it acquired royal assent to use the prefix Royal. Then it all became complicated! In 1988, the name of the organisation was shortened to Royal Blind Society of Queensland. In the decade that followed a number of amalgamations occurred of organisations serving the VI community. The QBIC (Queensland Blind Industrial Centre) had become part of the QFBP (Queensland Foundation for Blind People) (previously Queensland Training and Placement Centre for the Blind in which the Dickinsons – Harold and Mercy – were founders together with Malcolm Bryce and Eric Searle). The QBIC component separated and became Vision Queensland. The QFBP became the Royal Blind Foundation of Queensland and continued so until 2006 when it and Vision Queensland became part of Vision Australia.
Since 2014 the competition has been proudly run exclusively by Braille House and there has been some amazing talent on display and we have found the competition in our 101st year to be exceptional.
Judge:
Heather Jacobs
Heather has lived a fairly ordinary life surrounded by extraordinary people. She is a fifth generation Australian; her forefathers arrived in the First Fleet; one as a convict and the other as an officer in the Royal Marines. Raising three children, Heather has pursued her various careers in the health, legal and industrial areas Writing has been her passion since early childhood which began when listening to her grandmother telling stories of pioneer women and feeling compelled to write them down she kept them in a detailed journal. Beside various papers published in professional journals, Heather has had a novel published by Harlequin Historical Novels and is in the process of writing a more serious historical novel with Esther Abrams, the first Jewish woman convict to Australia, from whom she is descended, as the central character. Heather is a past president of the Society of Women Writers, a position she held for six years. She also runs a local writers’ group at Wynnum Library.