Braille House (Queensland Braille Writing Association) proudly conducts the Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition for Australian residents who are legally blind.
There are categories for all ages to enter and generous prizes are awarded: $350 for first prize and $150 for second prize for each category. The six categories of entry are:
- Adult short story
- Adult poem / song lyrics / limerick
- Adult article / opinion, e.g. self-reflection, blog post
- Senior student creative category, e.g. story, poem, song lyrics, limerick, blog post
- Junior student creative category, e.g. story, poem, long lyrics, limerick, blog post
- People’s Choice category – short story. All entries are published online for a public vote.
More information is available on the Braille House website at braillehouse.org.au/dickinson-2020/.
2020
2020 marks the 99th birthday for the Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition. The competition continues to go from strength to strength with entries coming in from all over Australia.
2019
An additional category called the “People’s Choice Award” was added to the Competition, with sighted people also invited to submit writing pieces. Entries in this category were posted to the Braille House website and the audience voted for a winner.
2014
2014 saw the re-emergence of the Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition under the auspices of the Queensland Braille Writing Association. The revived competition was a key event among celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee Year at Braille House.
Vision Australia kindly relinquished the right to conduct the competition in favour of Queensland Braille Writing Association but continued their support in the form of generous sponsorship of some of the major prizes.
1986
In October 1986, Mercy Dickinson spoke with Barbara Blackman about her family background; loss of sight at age seven; attendance at the Blind School, Brisbane, the State High School and Queensland University; difficulties in obtaining teacher training; Fulbright Scholarship to New York in 1953 to study techniques for teaching the blind; teaching the blind in Australia; marriage to Harold Dickinson; establishment of the Queensland Training and Placement Centre for the Blind; the development of services for the blind; work as Chair of the Australian Braille Authority; and other aspects of her life and work. A full recording of the interview is available at https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-215793281/listen.
Mercy was the first woman who was blind to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland, and received her Masters Degree in the Education of Blind People with Additional Handicaps in New York, and an Honorary Doctorate for Education from the University of Queensland in 1994. Mercy and Harold established the Queensland Training and Placement Centre for the Blind, the first establishment of its kind in Queensland. Harold, who was a prolific writer, was appointed the Director and Mercy was the first volunteer at the Centre. Together they gave a lifetime of dedication and commitment ensuring that people who were blind or had low vision had the same opportunities as those with sight.
1921
The competition was started in 1921 by the “Queensland Musical, Literary and Self Aid Society for the Blind” as an Essay Competition. The subject was “Self Reliance” and first prize in each category was One Guinea.
Both Harold Dickinson and his brother Edwin were members of the QMLSAS and were very involved in the literary and musical world at that time although Harold averred that it was Edwin who was the literary brother. Edwin died in January 1956 but his name continued to be synonymous with the competition.