The MPC is thrilled to announce the finalists for our 29th Quill Awards for Excellence in Victorian Journalism.

Finalists for each category are listed below, alphabetically by surname of primary entrant.

The 2023 Student Journalist of the Year finalist list is also presented.

Winners will be announced at the 29th Quill Awards Dinner on Friday 15 March 2024. Book your tickets now.

See also: 48th Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year finalists, 9th Harry Gordon Australian Sports Journalist of the Year finalists

The 29th Quill Awards covers work published in the 2023 calendar year.

Please note: links are not available for all stories, and may not comprise the full entry submitted for consideration.

Artwork

• Matthew Absalom-Wong, The Age, “Hong Bao diplomacy”
• Lisa Favazoo, Guardian Australia, “Weight of the World”
• Richard Giliberto, The Sunday Age, “Numbers Game”
• Jim Pavlidis, The Age, “Voice To Parliament”

Best Breaking News or Live Coverage, sponsored by The Lottery Corporation

• 7NEWS Team, “Daylesford Crash Disaster”
• ABC News Victoria, “Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Resigns”
• The Age, “Daniel Andrews resigns”
• Herald Sun Newsroom, “Bourke St Carnage”

Best Coverage of an Issue

• The Age Crime Team and Please Explain podcast, “Melbourne's new underworld war”
• Stephen Drill, Andrea Thiis-Evensen, Dan Box and Lil Saleh, Network News, “Hillsong: Faith on Trial”
• Clay Lucas and Sophie Aubrey, The Age, “Flood fury: The Maribyrnong River disaster”
• Aneeka Simonis, Herald Sun, “Family violence: The victims, the survivors and a justice system review”

Business News/Feature, sponsored by McGrathNicol

• Sarah Danckert, Samantha Selinger-Morris, Ruby Schwartz and Tammy Mills, The Age and Please Explain podcast, Bitcoin to Bust: How the world's biggest ponzi scheme caused heartache for Australians
• Peter Ker and Brad Thompson, The Australian Financial Review, “Forrests and Fortescue”
• Nick McKenzie, The Age, “Offshore Bribery”
• David Swan, The Age, “‘Mass breach of privacy’: TikTok under fire for tracking users online”

Cartoon

• Matt Golding, The Sunday Age, “The nation said no.”
• Megan Herbert, The Age, “Small Hill to Die On”
• Mark Knight, Herald Sun, “On your mark”
• Jim Pavlidis, The Age, “Vote Know”

Coverage of Women in Sport, sponsored by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation

• Elias Clure, ABC News, “First woman athlete to be diagnosed with CTE”
• Richelle Hunt and Amber Tripp, ABC Radio Melbourne, “Taking the taboo out of periods and sport”
• Carla Jaeger, The Age, “Netball Australia”
• Marnie Vinall and Greg Baum, The Age, “FIFA Women’s World Cup”

Excellence in Indigenous Affairs Reporting, sponsored by the Federation of Victoria Traditional Owners Corporations

• 7am podcast, “The Fight for a Voice”
• Nino Bucci and Blake Sharp-Wiggins, Guardian Australia, “Aboriginal pedestrian deaths in the Northern Territory”
• Joseph Dunstan and Lauren Day, ABC News, “'A life without Veronica' and 'Victoria's treaty journey'”
• Nick McKenzie, Natalie Clancy, Erin Pearson and Sammi Taylor, 60 Minutes and The Age, “National Disgrace”

Excellence in Science, Medical and Health Reporting, sponsored by University of Melbourne

• Amy Bainbridge and Angus Whitley, Bloomberg, “Black Summer's Toxic Legacy”
• Jackson Graham, The Age, “Autopsies, strokes and sleep apnoea explained”
• Sherryn Groch, The Age, “Journey into the deep sea”
• Izabella Staskowski, The Today Show, “Battling endometriosis”

Feature Writing

• Michael Bachelard, Good Weekend magazine, “Talking trans”
• Jo Chandler, The Monthly, “Climate justice in the Pacific”
• Melissa Fyfe and Jacqueline Maley, Good Weekend magazine, “Rethinking rape”
• Sybilla Gross, Angus Whitley, Peter Waldman and Sinduja Rangarajan, Bloomberg News, “Investors Get Rich Off a Trade That's Sucking a Continent Dry”

Grant Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism, sponsored by HWT

• Stephen Drill and Jason Edwards, Network News, “Narcos: On the frontline”
• Charlotte Grieve, The Age, “Detention secrets”
• Charlotte Grieve and Amelia Adams, The Age, “Sole Destroying”
• Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, The Age, Ben Roberts-Smith Investigations

Innovation in Journalism, sponsored by Ryman Healthcare

• The Conversation Australia and New Zealand, “Understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 5 charts”
• Kai Feng, Jarrod Fankhauser, Olivia Ralph and Steven Viney, ABC News, “Instant credibility”
• Selling the Green Dream, ABC News, “Selling the Green Dream”
• Visual Stories Team, The Age, “The offside trap”

Keith Dunstan Quill for Commentary

• Jonathan Horn, Guardian Australia, “The Sporting Media Malaise”
• Erik Jensen, The Saturday Paper, “The Voice editorials”
• Peter Martin, The Conversation, “The most worrying thing about Robodebt was its attention to detail”

Multicultural Affairs and Media, in partnership with the Gandel Foundation

• Casey Briggs and Ahmed Yussuf, ABC News, “African and Middle Eastern communities over-represented in COVID-19 fines in Victoria, data shows”
• Suzan Delibasic, Herald Sun, “Lee Family Deportation Fight”
• Kassahun Negewo and Ruchika Talwar, SBS, “Detention to determination: Former Nauru detainee is now a ticket inspector on Melbourne Metro”
• Dellaram Vreeland, Guardian Australia, “After growing up Iranian in Ballarat, I know it to be a welcoming place – a hate march won’t change that”

News Reporting in Writing 

• Ashley Argoon, Herald Sun, “Free pass for crims”
• Olivia Jenkins and James Campbell, Herald Sun, “State care murder”
• Clay Lucas and Sophie Aubrey, The Age, “Flood fury: The Maribyrnong River disaster”
• Aneeka Simonis, Herald Sun, “Extreme violence: justice system reform for family violence survivors”

Podcasting

• 7am, “Inside Robo-debt”
• Anthony Dowsley, Jonty Burton and Andrea Thiis-Evensen, Network News, “The Devil's Apprentice”
• Stephen Drill, Andrea Thiis-Evensen and Dan Box, Network News, “Hillsong: Faith on Trial”
• Camilla Hannan, Graham Readfearn, James Milsom and Miles Martignoni, Guardian Australia, “Weight of the World”

Radio Current Affairs

• Raf Epstein, Erin Mathews, Julian Virgona and Nial Hosken, ABC Radio Melbourne Mornings, “Civilians share stories from inside Gaza and Israel”
• Oliver Gordon, AM - ABC Radio, “Desperate son Gürkan searches for mother in rubble of Turkish earthquake”
• Shane McInnes, 3AW, “Victoria's Meningococcal Vaccine Failure”
• Richard Willingham, ABC News, “Melbourne's second safe injecting room set for the Salvation Army”

Radio News

• Shane McInnes, 3AW, “Australian Open Flag Controversy”
• Danny Tran, ABC News Melbourne, “The Melbourne hospital where radiation leaked through the floor”
• Richard Willingham, ABC News, “Paul Denyer to die in jail: Labor backflips on special laws”
• Brian Wilson, 3AW, “Fire Fight”

Regional and Rural Journalism, sponsored by TAC

• Rachel Clayton, Charlotte King and Andy Burns, ABC News, “Suspected unlicensed dams multiplying across stressed Moorabool River”
• Emma D'Agostino, Danielle Bonica and Josie Taylor, ABC Central Victoria, “A Fine Balance”
• Tim Lee, Landline, “Satellite Stock Squad”
• Tamara McDonald, Geelong Advertiser, body of work

Reporting on Disability Issues, sponsored by the Victorian Government

• Natassia Chrysanthos, The Age, “The NDIS has saved families. But in another world, they would not need it.” 
• Stephanie Convery, Guardian Australia, “‘Holding cell’: Melbourne family with disabled son stuck in ‘transitional’ housing for a decade”
• Charlotte Grieve, The Age, “The disturbing treatment for mental health crises”
• Grace Jennings-Edquist, ABC Everyday, “Navigating pregnancy and new motherhood with an invisible disability”

Scoop of the Year

• John Ferguson, The Australian, “Police investigate mass poisoning in Leongatha”
• Benita Kolovos and Paul Karp, Guardian Australia, “Lidia Thorpe quits Greens party to pursue black sovereignty”
• Dan Oakes, ABC News, “The mushroom deaths”
• Cameron Stewart, The Australian, “Red Sea Warship”

Sports Feature

• Jeremy Story Carter, ABC News, “Kick in hope”
• Michael Gleeson, The Age, “Peter Bol the damage done.”
• Konrad Marshall, Good Weekend magazine, “Who cares?”
• Louise Milligan, Mary Fallon, Sarah Curnow and Carla Hildebrandt, Four Corners, “The Silence”

Sports News, sponsored by Bupa

• Daniel Brettig, The Age, “Australians abused in Lord's Long Room in Ashes Test”
• Mitch Cleary, Pat Harrison and Damian Shine, 7NEWS Melbourne, “Gold Coast land Hardwick”
• Scott Gullan, Herald Sun, “Peter Bol drugs scandal”
• Ben Schneiders, The Age, “The tax haven, the PO box, the tropical island: Who owns Australian soccer”

TV Camera Work (Creative)

• Andrew Altree-Williams, 7.30, “Andy Jackson's poetry 'gives us a new way to see' disability”
• Andrew Altree-Williams, 7.30, “Landholders battle the prospect of new above-ground electricity lines”
• Simon Winter, Australian Story, “Changing Minds”
• Pete Healy, Landline, “Swamp Saviours”

TV Camera Work (Shot of the Year)

• Tim Furness, Nine News, “Fitzroy garden murder”
• Stephen Ramplin, A Current Affair, “Mushroom cook speaks”

TV/Video Feature

• Christine Ahern and Lisa Brown, 60 Minutes, “VBA exposed”
• Sam Cucchiara and Paul Sakkal, A Current Affair & The Age, “Senator Six-Pack”
• Lauren Day, 7.30, “Stunned: The hidden footage the pork industry doesn't want you to see”
• Louise Milligan, Mary Fallon and Jessica Longbottom, Four Corners, “Hiding Behind Tombstones”

TV/Video News

• Neary Ty, Nine News, “Glenn Archer”
• Neary Ty, Nine News, “Youth Justice”
• Sharnelle Vella, 7NEWS, “Porter Davis Crisis”
• Cassie Zervos, 7NEWS, “School Boy Abduction”

Young Journalist of the Year, sponsored by Wilnic Family Trust

• Chelsea Bunting, Geelong Advertiser, body of work
• Carly Douglas, Herald Sun, body of work
• Holly Edwards-Smith, Sky News Australia, body of work
• Carla Jaeger, The Age, “Netball Australia”

Features Photograph

• David Caird, Herald Sun, “No Bull I've Got Wings”
• Eddie Jim, The Age, “Fighting, Not Sinking”
• Eddie Jim, The Age, “Kidney Transplant”
• Justin McManus, The Sunday Age, “Leaving the Land of Plenty”
  

News Photograph

• Michael Currie, Crikey, “The winner is Mary!”
• Christopher Hopkins, The Age, “Nazis on Our Doorstep”
• Marta Pascual Juanola, The Age, “Portrait of alleged mushroom killer Erin Patterson”
• Jake Nowakowski, Herald Sun, “Neo-Nazis”

Sports Photograph

• Eddie Jim, The Age, “Airborne”
• Penny Stephens, The Age, “Fatima and Adiba”
• Darrian Traynor, Getty Images, “It Takes One Day”
• Michael Willson, AFL.com.au, “Touched”

Victorian Student Journalist of the Year, sponsored by NewsGuard

• Chloe Bott, Monash University, “Grocery joins the arson hit list”
• Angus Delaney, Swinburne University, “Why the fight for marriage equality in Fiji divides LGBTQ+ activists”
• Sasha Gattermayr, University of Melbourne, “Little club of horrors”
• Jasmine Silberbauer, Monash University, “Frugal living: how the cost of living has affected Australians”

Winners will be announced at the 29th Quill Awards Dinner on Friday 15 March 2024. Book your tickets now.

Inquiries: admin@melbournepressclub.com or 03 8080 3610