The Vera Mackie Prize for Best Blog is a new prize that will be awarded biennially by the Australian Women’s History Network (AWHN). The prize will be awarded to a Higher Degree by Research candidate or an Early Career Researcher for the best blog published with VIDA: Blog of the Australian Women’s History Network in the previous two years. This prize is intended to foster excellence in public history, public engagement, and research communication, especially in feminist, gender, and women’s history.
The Vera Mackie Prize is named in honour of Emeritus Senior Professor Vera Mackie, a leading scholar of feminist, gender, and women’s history and Asian studies in the Asia-Pacific region. Professor Mackie has long been a steadfast supporter of new innovations in digital history and public engagement, including the founding of VIDA: Blog of the Australian Women’s History Network in 2016. Since 2022, Professor Mackie has been an integral part of the blog’s editorial team alongside Ana Stevenson and Alana Piper.
From 2023, the Australian Women’s History Network will award the Vera Mackie Prize in opposite years to the Mary Bennett Prize for Women’s History. Since 2000, the Mary Bennett Prize has been awarded to an Early Career Historian for the best journal article or book chapter in women’s history. The prize comes with a citation describing the the significance and originality of the publication.
The Vera Mackie Prize will include a citation and cash award of $200. Based on blogs shortlisted by the VIDA Managing Editors, the prize will be awarded provided that sufficient merit is received.
Eligibility
The Vera Mackie Prize for Best Blog will be awarded to research-based academic blogs published with VIDA: Blog of the Australian Women’s History Network. Blog authors must be:
- Enrolled in a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) program (PhD or Master of Research), at a university in Australia or overseas; or
- Early Career Researchers (ECR) within 7 years from the award of the PhD.
Eligible blogs may be co-authored with more senior scholars, including HDR supervisors.
In 2023, all blogs published by HDRs and ECRs between January 2020 and May 2023 were considered eligible. For the 2025 Vera Mackie Prize, all blogs published between June 2023 and June 2025 will be considered eligible.
2023 Recipient
The inaugural Vera Mackie Prize for Best Blog has been awarded to:
Tianna Killoran for ‘Japanese Businesswomen in North Queensland’s Commercial Landscape, 1887-1941‘, VIDA: Blog of the Australian Women’s History Network, 31 January 2023.
Citation: “Tianna Killoran offers readers a lively, personal and personable account of Japanese businesswomen in North Queensland. Tianna’s blog attracted an encouraging number of readers who clearly engaged with her piece, showcasing how her scholarship has reached a wide audience. This blog breaks the stereotype of the ‘vulnerable woman’ who migrated from Asia to Australia, offering accounts of complex, independent and strong women. This effective and engaging public history captures some of the important ways in which Japanese women contributed to the economic and social lives of their communities in North Queensland. By placing these figures at the centre of their own stories and acknowledging their achievements, Tianna challenges some of the common perceptions of migrant women and so makes a solid contribution to women’s history.”
Tianna Killoran is a PhD Candidate in History at James Cook University on the Bebegu Yumba campus in Townsville, Australia. Her research project investigates the Japanese migrant community in north Queensland starting in the latter part of the nineteenth century and up to the Second World War. Tianna also works as a Marketing and Communications Assistant at Janes Cook University. This blog is based on her journal article in Lilith: A Feminist History Journal.