First Woman Winner of World's Richest Short Story Prize
Apr 27, 2015
The UK Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award is an international award with the richest cash prize - thirty thousand pounds ($A58,243). The winner, Yiyun Li grew up in Beijing and has lived in the US since 1996. The competition started in 2010 and she is the first female winner.
Her story, A Sheltered Woman, tells the story of a Chinese-American nanny hired to spend a month and no more supporting a new mother and her baby; trying to keep detached from the emotional turmoil around her, she is also entrapped by her own past. A story of an outsider and the falseness of self-imposed isolation, it was first published in The New Yorker in March 2014.
Read the story here
Read an interview with Yiyun Li in the New Yorker
Rich Schools, Poor Schools
Australia’s schooling system is among the most highly segregated in the OECD. Public schools educate the majority of disadvantaged students, while there is concentrated advantage in private schools.
This situation can be attributed, in large part, to our school funding arrangements. Recent research
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Hurry if you haven't sorted Book Week
As Term 3 is almost upon us, if you haven't sorted a Book Week incursion, hurry! If you're flexible with dates, you might be able to swing one of our great shows.
See our Book Week Shows here.
Image: Something Special Live - Available NSW, QLD, ACT,VIC,SA & WA
Livestream version available nationally
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Naidoc Week in 2026
The next cultural day to celebrate nationally is NAIDOC week. This year on 5-12 July, when all Australian schools are on holiday. The likely time schools could celebrate is the first week of July, when some states are still at school.
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