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Earlier this month, Sydney-based PR agency Under The Wing Tweeted an invitation that its client Geoffrey Finch had received from The Master of the Household of Buckingham Palace (see below) for a special Australian-themed reception on Thursday October 13th – six days ahead of the kickoff of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Australia. The London-based Australian expat is one of several hundred guests who are expected to descend on the Palace that evening and, as it emerges, one of at least three Australian fashion industry representatives. London-based retailer Yasmin Sewell has, we understand, also received a bait, as has gender-bending pop culture phenom Andrej Pejic. Although Buckingham Palace would not provide any further details about either the guest list or RSVPs when we checked overnight, Pejic’s Australian agency Chadwick confirms that he will definitely be attending. The big question, of course, is just what will Pejic wear for such an occasion?

under the wing PR’s twitter

Over the past year we have grown accustomed to expecting the unexpected from Pejic, who closed Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture show in Paris in January in a wedding dress, turned up at Rio airport with a fake baby bump and, more recently, channeled Marilyn Monroe for Love Cat magazine, amongst a myriad other fashion assignments in which he has keen kitted out by stylists and designers as alternatively, a man and a woman.

christos karantzolas for schon magazine via haus of andrej pejic

Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements thinks Pejic should wear “a three piece suit and a drop earring to meet the Queen. A bit Bowie” – apparently overlooking the fact that Bowie himself never needed to dress for the occasion, as he refused both a CBE and a Knighthood. As for the world’s most famous drag queen, the late Danny La Rue, he graciously accepted his OBE in 2002…. in a suit and top hat.

So is there any specific protocol that would preclude Pejic rocking up to the Palace in a frock if that’s how he chose to roll on the day?

Not according to Buckingham Palace press officer Marnie Gaffney, an Australian who has worked with The Queen for the past three years  – and who did, to our delight, in fact drop the term “The Presence” during our phone conversation, when we asked just how much time she spends with HRH.

After stifling a giggle on the Pejic dress question, Gaffney told frockwriter, “The recommended dress code for receptions at Buckingham Palace is Day Dress/Lounge Suit. However, this is for guidance only and guests are welcome to wear whatever they feel comfortable in.”
 
  

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MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY: World-renowned author, businessman and philanthropist, Sir Christopher Ondaatje OC CBE, has been awarded a Doctor of Letters honoris causa in a ceremony at Macquarie University.

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It is with a deep sense of loss that the Australia Council for the Arts notes the passing of Sir Charles Mackerras AC, CH, CBE, on Thursday 15 July 2010, aged 84.

The BBC National Short Story Award celebrates the best of the contemporary British short story. Now in its fourth year, the Award continues to raise the profile of the short story.

The inaugural Award went to James Lasdun for his short story An Anxious Man; in 2007 it was awarded to Julian Gough for his comic tale The Orphan and the Mob; and in 2008 the winner was Clare Wigfall for Numbers which appeared in her debut collection, The Loudest Sound and Nothing, published by Faber in 2007.

This year´s winning author will receive £15,000, the runner up £3,000, and the other three short listed stories will each be given £500. The Award is funded by the BBC and administered in partnership with the Booktrust.

The short story continues to hold its own on Radio 4, and is enjoying a resurgence in print. The Award aims to maintain the genre´s prestige across the literary world.

Last year the Award attracted over 600 submissions. The five shortlisted stories will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each afternoon from Monday 30th November to Friday 4th December. In showcasing the Award BBC Radio 4 promises a week of outstanding storytelling, demonstrating the BBC´s continued commitment to the short story.

The 2009 BBC National Short Story Award was launched at Broadcasting House on Thursday, 26th March.

Broadcaster Tom Sutcliffe chairs the panel of judges for 2009, which also includes award winning writers, Margaret Drabble (CBE and DBE), writer Helen Dunmore, singer songwriter Will Young, and Di Speirs (BBC Radio 4).

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