As a club, we’re very proud to gather once a year to honour those members who have produced or published outstanding work throughout the year.
This year, our 2026 Awards Dinner took place on 5th November. Our honoured guest was Mary Byrne, whose after-dinner speech touched on the twists and turns of a life that always came back to her passion for creativity and praised the inclusive, welcoming culture of our club in particular.
The climax of the evening was the special presentation of a life membership to Emma Lee (pictured below):
Life membership is not earned through longevity. There is no milestone you pass, no matter how successful or well-liked you are. You get it because you’ve earned it through years of commitment and dedication. It is a rare honour, only awarded six times in the past 60+ years of the club’s existence, to K. Finnie, Ena Young, Frances Harding, Trude Dub, Jean Chapman and Chris d’Lacey.
Presenting the award, fellow life member, Chris d’Lacey, outlined just some of the many things Emma has done and continues to do in service to the club. She’s been a committee member for at least 15 years, President twice and is currently the club Treasurer.
Congratulations to Emma, and congratulations to all the 2026 award winners, who are:
Norman King Fiction Award: Helen Cooper
Ena Young Poetry Award: Emma Lee
Doris Adams Short Story Award: Carolyn Turner
Jean Chapman Children’s Award: Katherine Hetzel
Siobhan Logan Spoken Word Award: Jurgen Stack
Penfold Media Award: Ivan Richardson
Nick Leach Award: Dave Martin
Trude Dub Non-fiction Award: To be awarded at a later date.
Chris d’Lacey Endeavour Award: Mark Brandon
Carol Leeming Cultural Diversity Award: Irina Popescu
