2026 UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers Shortlist Announced
UQP is thrilled to announce the shortlist for the 2026 UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers.
- Derek Chan – Field Notes on Vanishing (Poetry)
- Edmario Lesi – Schoolboys (Fiction)
- Jodey Brand – Sorry, I Am Not The Moon (YA)
- Neha De Alwis – Ghost Hare (Fiction)
- Donyale Mac Krill –States of Emergency (Non-fiction)
- Sahib Nazari – Alone Together (Fiction)
The prize was judged by Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Siang Lu, acclaimed poet Shastra Deo and UQP Publishing Director Ben Ball.
The judges had the following to say about the shortlisted works:
Siang Lu says:
‘This year the breadth and diversity of talent on display in the UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers' entries delivered. Congratulations to our shortlisted authors, whose works surprised and delighted, and, tellingly, had us most keen to read more’.
Shastra Deo says:
‘It's been a pleasure to judge this year's prize and encounter the sweep of genres and forms under-represented writers are working in, and the originality, imagination, and care they bring to their work.’
Ben Ball says:
‘We were all overjoyed by the large number, wide variety and high quality of submissions, and are excited to see what comes of the shortlisted works and the many other manuscripts we weren’t able to include but which showed great promise.’
Two winners will be announced in November and will each receive:
- Prize money of $5000.
- A residency at UQP’s office at The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, including:
- Return flights and accommodation in Brisbane for the residency (if required)
- Online or in-person sessions with an experienced writing mentor matched with the winning author
- Editorial mentoring with a UQP editor
- A professional development session with senior UQP staff on marketing, publicity, rights and sales
About the writers:
Derek Chan holds an MFA from Cornell University, where he was a lecturer of creative writing, an editor of EPOCH journal, and a two-time recipient of the Corson-Browning Poetry Prize. His work has appeared in New England Review, Adroit Journal, Best of Australian Poems, Australian Book Review, Poetry London, Oxford Poetry, and elsewhere.
Edmario Lesi is a PhD candidate of English and Creative Writing at The Australian National University. His fiction has appeared in swamp pink, Island, Antipodes, Carte Blanche, The Suburban Review, and elsewhere. He was the 2025 recipient of the Queensland Writers Centre Fellowship for Underrepresented Writers.
Jodey Brand is a non-binary reader, writer, and parent of rescue greyhound Cinnamon from Magandjin. Although unpublished, Jodey has been Highly Commended in the SLQ Young Writers Award in 2024 and has been an eager entrant of many writing competitions for long and short-form pieces for almost a decade.
Neha De Alwis is a Sri Lankan writer/artist who lives and works and plays on unceded Wurundjeri land. Their work has been published in Cordite, Ricepaper Magazine, Kill Your Darlings and more.
Donyale Mac Krill is an Anglo-African Australian writer based in WA, and a member of Western Edge Performance Writers and the Australian Society of Authors. In 2025, she was selected for a Katharine Susannah Prichard (KSP) Writing Fellowship. Donyale wrote, performed, and directed "The Change" for the 2019 South-West Shorts and won the Judges Award. In 2015, Donyale’s narrative non-fiction manuscript won two prizes at the Festival of Writing at York University (UK).
Sahib Nazari learned English as a second language and arrived in Australia without any formal qualifications. In 2015, Sahib was appointed to the role of a Cultural Advisor in MDA (Multicultural Development Association Inc.) to help with migrants and refugees to resettle and integrate in the communities around Brisbane. In the same year, Sahib also secured enrolment to study at Griffith University.
Congratulations to the shortlisted writers.
For more information, contact UQP Marketing & Publicity Manager Jean Smith on jean.smith@uqp.com.au.
