The Australian Human Rights Commission would like to encourage you to nominate a writer for the Human Rights Awards for 2014, in particular the Literature Awards.
The Human Rights Awards recognise the extraordinary contribution made to an Australian society by a variety of individuals and organisation committed to protecting and promoting human rights, social justice and equality.
The Literature Award is awarded to for a non-fiction work published in Australia, which can include books focused on social history, social commentary, biography or human rights and freedoms.
This year we will be celebrating 27 years of human rights achievements and we aim to bring together more than 400 guests at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on Wednesday 10 December in recognition of international Human Rights Day and to celebrate the achievements and winners large and small.
We receive over 250 nominations in ten categories, that include the Human Rights Medal and the Young Peoples Medal. Other categories Law Award, Community Individual Award, Community Organisation Award, Literature Award, Print and Online Award, Television Award and Radio Awards. Nominees may have made an outstanding contribution nationally or within their communities to the advancement of human rights, through the practice of law, through writing books or through their work in the media.
Last year the Literature Award was won by Ranjana Srivistava for Dying for Chat which discusses the communication breakdown between doctors and patients and the need for communication training to be incorporated into healthcare training.
Other finalists include: The Misogyny Factor by Anne Summers, The Flash of Recognition by Jane Lydon and Boy, Lost – A Family Memoir by Kristina Olssen.
Past Human Rights Medal winners include Ian Thorpe AO, Thérèse Rein, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, Aboriginal activist Eddie Mabo and medical pioneer, Associate Professor Fred Hollows to name a few.
A full list of past winners of all Awards can be viewed on their website.
