A powerful and confronting tome of poetry invoking the emotions of grief and loss has been chosen as the winner of the $30,000 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award for 2023.

The Jaguar, by Sarah Holland-Batt, was praised by Award judges for the author’s sustained intensity of imagery in a powerfully-coherent collection of poems written around the dying and the death of the poet’s father

“It’s rare for a volume of poetry to be so coherent: it functions as a complete whole, a volume not just a collection,” Chair of the judging panel, Emeritus Professor Alan Lawson, said.’

‘The Jaguar is astonishing for its use of rhetorical, poetic and metaphoric language to convey strong, sometimes searing and sometimes intimate emotions.

‘Holland-Batt almost overwhelms us as she uses every poetic tool at her disposal to come to terms with her grief.’

Ms Holland-Batt’s poetry collection was chosen from an Award shortlist of seven and a longlist of 15 books that seeks to reward the best Australian book from any genre.

Now in its 57th year, the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award has the broadest scope of any single Australian literary prize, and is one of the longest-running.

The Jaguar has already been recognised by The Australian Book of the Year Award, the Stella Prize, and the Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance.

The prize is coupled with the H T Priestley Memorial Medal.

ABOUT THE MARGARET AND COLIN RODERICK AWARD

The award recognises the best Australian book of the year that deals with any aspect of Australian life.

In 2024 the Foundation is pleased to advise that The Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award prize value will increase to $50,000. This significant increase was made possible following a generous annual contribution from the trust of the late Margaret Roderick and puts the award firmly among the largest and most prestigious prizes for writing in Australia.