The Esme Fenston Fellowship

To celebrate The Weekly's 90th birthday, we honour a trailblazer and offer a special opportunity to a woman journalist working in the bush.

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For 90 years, The Weekly has celebrated the lives of women from rural and regional Australia, from Country Women’s Association bakers to Royal Flying Doctor Service pilots, stock-women, shearers, nurses, artists and teachers. We’ve told their stories of struggle and victory, and supported them through fire, flood and drought. This year, we’re taking our commitment to the bush a step further. In collaboration with The Walkley Foundation, which is synonymous with excellence in Australian journalism, we have created The Australian Women’s Weekly Esme Fenston Fellowship, named for one of our beloved editors, and offering a career-shaping mentorship opportunity for the winner.

Who was Esme Fenston?

Esme Fenston (pictured, top left) arrived at The Weekly in 1938, five years after our first issue, joining a close-knit team of the finest female journalists of the day, including war correspondent Dorothy Drain, Adele (‘Tilly’) Shelton-Smith and Joyce Bowden. Esme came from