the pascall prize

The Pascall Prize is Australia's only major national prize awarded for critical writing.

This annual prize is awarded to an Australian critic whose work over the previous 12 to 18 months has contributed significantly to public debate, appreciation, enjoyment and understanding of an area of the arts.

The recipient of the Pascall Prize is named Australian 'Critic of of the Year' and awarded $15,000. 

The Pascall Prize seeks to identify and reward an Australian critic whose work:

• stimulates interest in the subject;
• expands knowledge about the subject;
• arouses debate;
• creates a vital, engaging voice in the culture through the expression of strong, considered opinion(s);
• has intrinsic creative merit.

Pascall Prize History

Geraldine Pascall was a flamboyant journalist who in 1983, at the age of 38, died suddenly of a stroke. As she did not have a Will, her Estate passed to her father, Fred Pascall. Fred approached Adrian Read, a close friend of Geraldine's, with the aim to establish a memorial to his daughter.

Gridiger Lawyers prepared the legal documents to establish the Geraldine Pascall Foundation and the Pascall Prize.

Originally the Pascall Prize was conceived as a biennial literary award for creative writers who had made original and distinctive contributions to Australia's cultural life. 

However, in 1990, to better reflect the work and personal interests of the late Geraldine Pascall, it was decided that the Prize should be awarded annually to a critic or reviewer who contributed regularly in Australia to a newspaper, periodical, or on radio or television. This has now been extended to include the internet.

It was also agreed that the Pascall Prize would be awarded to a critic working in the areas of literature, art (including design and architecture), food and or wine, music, musical theatre, dance and or drama, film, television or radio. Only sport was specifically excluded.