Several ANU historians enjoyed great success at the awards night held last week as part of the Australian Historical Association's annual conference.

Dr Emily Gallagher was awarded the W.K. Hancock Prize for her book Playtime: A History of Australian Childhood,  which was published in 2025 by La Trobe University Press. This award recognises and encourages an Australian scholar who has recently published a first scholarly book in any field of history.

Dr James Watson, who completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Melanie Nolan in 2024, was announced as the winner of the Serle Award, which is given to the best postgraduate thesis in Australian history. James' thesis was titled 'Fibro Modernity: A Social History of Asbestos in Australia, 1878-2024', and it will be published as Asbestos Nation: The Story of the Most Dangerous Dust in Australia next month by Monash University Press.

Along with his co-author J.A. Edgar, Dr Ben Silverstein was the winner of the Marian Quartly Prize, which is awarded to the best article published in History Australia in the last calendar year, as judged by the incumbent editors. The winning article was titled 'We are all connected to each other: deep history and relationship in Yawuru Country' (History Australia vol. 22, no. 1).

These awards are testament to the wonderful work being produced by historians at ANU. Congratulations all!