DECLAN AFFLEY SONGWRITING AWARD :

After mentioning the NFF’s 1987 winner, Mark Gillett, a few posts ago, I thought : “Now there’s a go! Probably many other winners of this competition should have their entry in Mudcat’s Aussie thread!”

Well, that was another idea and much time, lost down the rabbithole.

When I googled, many artists are proudly claiming to have been a winner (or a runner up) - and rightly so. However, where are the details of this award? Where is the List of previous winners and entries? How does one enter? Is it even still being awarded???

I could find no information on the current National Folk Festival (Australia) website about awards/comps – until, that is, I opened the 2019 Program Book, where a half page was devoted to the idea. It seems that ‘The Declan’ is no more and that the current thing is the Alistair Hulett Memorial Award for the best ‘social justice’ song, which follows on from the original British award. (but where now, do the writers of worthy non-social justice material go?!)

OK, there now appears to be a number of other awards (as well as the post-1994 Lis Johnston Awards, for vocal excellence) – but who would know that you have to add “/festival-awards/” up to the main URL, to be able to locate any info on the NFF website?? (and that’s just for 2019!)

Surely there should at least be some easily accessible, permanent page of The Nash’s website which acknowledges and celebrates past award winners, and their great music?

Because if not there, where is that info? At present it appears that it’s purely up to the actual artist to inform or remind us - IF they still have an online presence, that is – and IF we happen to come across their web data!!

So, can any regular Nash attenders (Sandra, Gerry, Graham et al), shed any light on this situation??!!


Cheers, R-J :)