Murray awarded 2025 ASA Medal
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced Kirsty Murray is the recipient of the 2025 ASA Medal.
The ASA board noted Murray’s contribution to young people’s literature, including “her advocacy for school libraries and her roles as a former ambassador for the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge, the Stella Prize Authors in Schools Program, and Books in Homes. Since 2008, Murray has spent many months at the Literature Centre in Western Australia conducting workshops with young writers”.
The board also praised Murray as “an enthusiastic contributor to the Australian literary community”, judging short story prizes and major literary awards, and serving as an assessor on panels awarding grants to writers and artists.
“During her decades of work, she has spent time as an editor, a mentor, and a teacher of creative writing at schools, institutions, and festivals around Australia and in other parts of the world. She has been a Creative Fellow at the State Library of Victoria, writer-in-residence at the University of Himachal Pradesh, and an Asialink Literature Resident at the University of Madras,” said the ASA.
Murray’s works have collected awards and accolades including an Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Book for The Four Seasons of Lucy McKenzie (A&U Children, 2013), the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize for India Dark (A&U Children, 2011), the WA Premier’s Book Award for Young Adult Writing for A Prayer for Blue Delaney (A&U Children, 2006), and the WA Premier’s Book Award in the Children’s Book category for Zarconi’s Magic Flying Fish (A&U Children, 2000). She has received several CBCA Notable Book and Honour Book acknowledgements, and her works have made appearances on numerous longlists and shortlists for awards. In 2017 and 2018, Murray was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for her contribution to children’s literature.
ASA chair Sophie Cunningham said, “Kirsty Murray is a stalwart of the Australian publishing industry. Her words, her work, and her support have been instrumental in encouraging young people to engage with books and stories. Both the Australian writing community and the ASA would not be where they are today without her contributions – from her pivotal role in securing Lending Rights, which have boosted the income of thousands of authors and illustrators, to her unrelenting advocacy on behalf of her peers.”
Murray said, “I was fourteen years old when I first heard of the Australian Society of Authors and imagined, one day, I might be lucky enough to become a member. I could have never imagined how deeply honoured I would feel – fifty years later – to be the 2025 recipient of the ASA Medal. The ASA has supported, encouraged, and fought for the rights of generations of Australian authors. It’s an incredible privilege to be acknowledged by my peers and an organisation that is so intrinsic to the well-being of every Australian author.”
Established in 2003, the ASA Medal is awarded annually to an Australian author or illustrator who has made an outstanding contribution to Australian culture, both as a creator and an advocate.
Murray will be presented with the 2025 award at the ASA’s annual Colin Simpson Memorial Lecture in Melbourne on 12 November. The winner of the 2024 medal was Ann James.
Category: Awards Local news
