The award

As required as one of our assessments, we were to create a fictional award to present to the writers of the festival during the final lunch. We all saw this as an opportunity to have fun and get creative with the awards and ceremony.
In our supergroup, Simon, James, and I had created an award that would acknowledge not only one, but two (possibly three) separate writers. We called it the "Best Onstage Chemistry" award, and would present nicely ribboned certificates in separate chemistry flasks (get it?).

On the first day, and the first couple session of the festival, we were all completely blown away by Sharon Olds and Peter Goldsworthy's onstage chemistry. One would believe that they were old friends, or even lovers once as their conversation was an absolute delight to witness. From there on, we collectively decided that this was the couple to beat, and as the festival went on, Olds and Goldsworthy would prove to be the one that would clearly be the crowd favourite.

The speech

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Romeo and Juliet. Thelma and Louise. Sam and Diane. The bananas in pyjamas. Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde. The arts have certainly seen its fair share of dynamic duos over the years. They’ve appeared in our books, on our screens and right before our eyes, on stage. The Mildura Writers Festival award for ‘Best Onstage Chemistry’ strives to honour the most parallel of pairs whose synchronicity and harmony wowed its audiences as they wrote their own character interactions and development before our very eyes.

We have three commendations for this very prestigious, very real award. Eileen Chong and Anthony Lawrence for ‘Writing Poetry’, whose understanding and appreciation for each other’s work kept the audience captivated from start to finish. Alexis Wright and Tom Keneally for ‘Fiction Reading.’ As Tom started out saying, “let’s just try to treat each other as another bloke and another sheila”. And didn’t you just. And Tracy Farr and Peter Goldsworthy for ‘Stories, Long and Short’, with their mutual appreciation for science, musical instruments, and an apparent passion for prime numbers.

However, there can only be one winner. With memorable moments such as “your second husband might be a doctor, too”, “I recall the physiological response to your work in Adelaide 1994”, and inappropriate jokes about Methodists, fornication and dancing that I dare not repeat in front of my lecturer or anyone over the age of 45, the 2015 Best Onstage Chemistry Award goes to Peter Goldsworthy, and Sharon Olds-Goldsworthy for their poignant performance in ‘Writing Life.’