Australian Writers’ Centre announces finalists in the annual Best Australian Blogs Competition
The Australian Writers’ Centre has announced the finalists for the Best Australian blogs competition.
The announcement:
The Australian Writers’ Centre today announced 25 finalists in the annual Best Australian Blogs Competition. These finalists now compete for the title of “Best Australian blogger” for 2013.
The finalists were selected from the 1,122 blogs entered in this year’s competition. They are in the running to win over $18,000 worth of prizes. These include writing courses, books and a cash prize. This year’s sponsor is publishing company Random House Australia.
Five finalists were announced in each of the competition categories: Lifestyle (408 entries), Personal/Parenting (350 entries), Business (84 entries), Commentary (119 entries) and Words/Writing (161 entries).
Big names and a diverse range of topics
The finalists include high profile authors John Birmingham and Tara Moss, and many new voices. Competition coordinator Rose Powell said: “It was remarkably hard to narrow it down to 25 finalists. In the end it came down to the quality of the writing, and the unique voice of the blogger.”
The finalists’ blogs focus on a wide range of topics from the upcoming election to how to make the perfect fig, raspberry and ginger ice cream cake. From tech blogging powerhouse Delimiter to reflections on poetry to confessional parenting blogs, the finalists showcase the diversity and high quality content of the Australian blogosphere.
Trends in blogging
Analysis of the 1,122 blogs also revealed trends emerging in the blogosphere.
The two major trends were:
1. Election commentary
This is the first Best Australian Blogs Competition to be run in an election year. Powell said: “While the political discussions was mostly found in the commentary category, there was a real depth of feeling around some of the key players in the election and emerging election rhetoric found in many of the entered blogs.”Several new collaborative (multi-author) blogs were launched this year, including finalist AusVote2013, which aims to provide in-depth coverage and policy discussion.
2. Sponsored posts and advertising on blogs
Sponsored posts and advertising have increased significantly since the competition was launched in 2011, and even from the 2012 competition.
“In 2011, we saw the occasional sponsored post in the 570 entered blogs entered that year. We saw more sponsored posts, advertising and PR engagement in the 1024 blogs that entered in 2012. This year, they’re everywhere.
“Not only has there been a rise in the number of sponsored posts, there has also been an increase in the number of discussions about the ethics and challenges of bloggers accepting sponsorship. Most sponsored posts are clearly marked. They’ve become part of the norm in blogging, especially in the lifestyle and personal/parenting categories,” said Powell.
On a lighter note, other trends to emerge were a surprising amounts of posts about cooking with kale, and making your own ice cream.
The category judges are blogger and political commentator Greg Jericho (Commentary); veteran publisher Marina Go (Lifestyle); Random House managing editor Brandon Van Over (Words and writing); Columnist and author Kerri Sackville (Personal); and business commentator and coach Robert Gerrish (Business). Each judge will select the winner of their category. These winners go into the final round for the 2013 title of “Best Australian Blog”, and will be announced on May 1.
The People’s Choice round will close April 30 at 5.30pm. 1008 blogs entered this round, and over 13,500 votes have already been cast. [need to include When will this be announced?]
Full list of finalists 2013 Best Australian Blogs Competition
Lifestyle category:
Bushwalking Blog by Neil Fahey, VIC http://www.bushwalkingblog.com.au
Cook Republic by Sneh Roy, NSW http://www.cookrepublic.com
The Cook Who Knew Nothing by Tanya Zouev, NSW http://www.tanyazouev.com
The Hungry Australian by Christina Soong-Kroeger, SA http://www.hungryaustralian.com
Time Travel Turtle by Michael Turtle, NSW http://www.timetravelturtle.com
Personal/Parenting category:
About a Bugg by Renee Bugg, VIC http://www.aboutabugg.com
Good Googs by Zoey Martin, NSW http://www.goodgoogs.com
Tara Moss blog by Tara Moss, NSW http://taramoss.com/blog/
The Chook House by Nicole Lobry de Bruyn, WA http://www.thechookhouse.com
Reservoir Dad by Reservoir Dad, VIC http://www.reservoirdad.com
Commentary category:
AusVotes2013 edited by Paula Matthewson, NSW http://www.ausvotes2013.com
The Failed Estate by Mr Denmore, NSW http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/
Ben Pobjie’s Wonderful World Of Objects by Ben Pobjie, VIC http://benpobjie.blogspot.com
Cinema Autopsy by Thomas Caldwell, VIC http://blog.cinemaautopsy.com/
Only the Depth Varies by Sally Piracha, QLD http://onlythedepthvaries.blogspot.com.au
Business category:
Decoding the new economy by Paul Wallbank, NSW http://www.paulwallbank.com
Delimiter edited by Renai Le May, NSW http://www.delimiter.com.au
herBusiness edited by Suzi Dafnis, NSW http://www.abn.org.au/blog
Mark Kelly’s Blog by Mark Kelly, QLD http://www.mkelly.com.au
PR Warrior by Trevor Young, VIC http://www.prwarrior.typepad.com
Word and Writing category:
Alpha Reader by Danielle Binks, VIC http://alphareader.blogspot.com/
Book to the Future by Michelle Mclaren, NSWhttp://www.booktothefuture.com.au
CheeseburgerGothic by John Birmingham, QLD http://www.cheeseburgergothic.com
Lives of the Poets by Andrew Bifield, Vic http://www.andrewbifield.com/
Read in a Single Sitting by Stephanie Campisi, VIC http://www.readinasinglesitting.com
Source: Australian Writers’ Centre press release
