2011 Winner Hannah Kent
$10,000 cash + $2,000 mentorship
Applications close Friday 26th October 2012, 5pm AEST
Writing Australia’s Unpublished Manuscript Award [WAUMA] is now open for submissions.
The $10,000 cash prize and $2,000 mentorship will aid in the development of the next stage of an unpublished adult fiction manuscript. It will be granted to the work that shows the greatest promise and is likely to benefit most from this opportunity.
Unrestricted by genre, geographic location or age, the award is designed to support writers on their journey to publication by provided a monetary prize as well as an invaluable formal mentorship.
Despite only being in its second year, this prize is already establishing itself as Australia’s preeminent national manuscript award, assisting writers on their pathway to national and international writing success.
In 2011, the inaugural WAUMA was won by 27 year-old South Australian Hannah Kent for her manuscript Burial Rights. Writing Australia secured Hannah a mentorship with internationally esteemed author Geraldine Brooks. On the back of the award, Hannah secured an agent, an Australian publisher, and was the subject of the now well-known international bidding war, which saw her sign book deals amounting to more than $1 million. Her book will be published in the US, UK, France, Italy, Brazil and the Netherlands.
‘The Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award has utterly transformed my career as a writer. Winning the award not only drew attention from publishers and other industry members, but – perhaps more importantly – it also gave me the validation and confidence necessary to continue writing seriously, and with renewed vigour. It remains one of the most singular experiences of my life and I will always be grateful for the myriad opportunities it has brought me,’ said Hannah.
On the phenomenal success of the 2011 award, Writing Australia has secured a group of highly respected judges for 2012, including Nobel Prize winner JM Coetzee, Toni Jordan, Alan Gould and Aviva Tuffield.
Winners will be announced in late January.
The Award is managed by the SA Writers’ Centre on behalf of Writing Australia. For judges bios and details, go to: http://writingaustralia.org.au/unpublished-manuscript-awards-2012/
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