Liam and Frankie Davison award
Secondary Students Literary Competition – for outstanding achievement in literary writing
Each year The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) invites senior secondary students residing in Australia or New Zealand to apply for the Liam and Frankie Davison Award for outstanding achievement in literary writing on Women’s Health.
Launched in 2014, the RANZCOG Secondary Schools Literary Competition was renamed in 2015 in honour of RANZCOG staff member and award-winning author, Liam Davison and his wife Frankie, a secondary school teacher, in recognition of their shared passion for nurturing and encouraging young writers.
About
Applications for 2024 have now closed.
In 2024 there are two awards valued at $1000 each on offer. This is a creative opportunity for a student who is interested in medicine, health science, politics, law, psychology, or sociology to submit a piece on any aspect of women’s health that interest them. Past entries include fictional stories, non-fiction essays or poems on topics ranging from disordered eating, gynaecological and reproductive issues to gendered violence.
Eligibility
Applications are open to students in their final three years of secondary school (Years 10, 11 or 12 in Australia and Years 11, 12 or 13 in New Zealand).
All applications must include a completed application form and an original literary piece of not more than 1000 words on any topic of interest in women’s health (examples might include an opinion piece on a social issue, a short story or a report).
Number of scholarships
Up to two awards are offered each year; the winning entrant(s) will receive $1,000 in AUD or NZD as applicable, based on country of residence.
Winning entries
In 2023, we received 40 high-quality applications covering topics such as body-image issues, endometriosis, postpartum depression, abortion, gender inequality and violence against women.
We’re so thrilled to share this year’s finalists with you — read their winning entries below.
Rose Chaldi of Radford College Canberra, Australia
Neve Post of New Plymouth Girls High School, New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand
| Year | Winning entries | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Beyond the Band-aid: A Holistic Approach to Obstetric Fistula by Rose Chaldi | It’s Love, It’s Love, It’s Love by Neve Post |
| 2022 | Treating Men and Women Unequally is the Path to Equal Healthcare by Annabel Lau | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall by Lucy Corcoran He toa taumata rau by Lucy Thompson |
| 2021 | Baby Blue Icing by Dinali Fernando | Ginger Tea & Yoga by Matilda Hockey |
| 2019 | Chasing Sunset by Bessie Yuan | |
| 2018 | Manifesting #MeToo by Gaia Bahaar | Unnatural Selection by Madeline Ungvary |
| 2018 | The Day of the Fire by Emma Uren | |
| 2017 | Gag Trumps Women’s Rights by Gaia Bahaar | Early Exposure to the Internet has Influenced my Generation’s View of ‘Normal’ Women by Angus McCregor |
| 2016 | Virginity: A Way of Oppression and Restriction by J Down | |
| 2015 | A girl of iron by Izabella Watkins-Gray | |
| 2014 | Life’s not fair by Katherine Cosman | Female Genital Mutilation: Ancient Practices Clash With Modern Medicine – Where To From Here? by Eloise Sims |
Contact
For more information, please contact the RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation:
Email: foundation@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2916