David Unaipon Award now open for entries
Entries are now open for the David Unaipon Award – a national literary award established by University of Queensland Press (UQP) that seeks to celebrate powerful new Indigenous voices. Open to all unpublished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, the recipient will receive $15,000 prize money alongside professional manuscript development and publication with UQP.
Honouring Ngarrindjeri author David Unaipon as one of the earliest published Indigenous writers, this award has since launched the careers of authors such as Doris Pilkington Garimara, Tara June Winch, Ellen van Neerven, Samuel Wagan Watson and Larissa Behrendt.
Winning in 2002, Larissa Behrendt is now author of four highly acclaimed works, including her latest bestseller and highly praised novel After Story, nominated for both the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for fiction in 2021, and the 2022 Indie Book Awards.
Larissa says, ‘the David Unaipon Award is the most important development program for First Nations writers in Australia. It has launched the careers of some of the most talented First Nations writers in the country. The prize money, editorial support and publication that form the basis of the David Unaipon prize have made it an effective platform to promote Indigenous storytelling in Australia.’
The 2020 winner was Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money whose debut poetry collection, how to make a basket, is now critically acclaimed with Money being described as ‘a fierce and contemporary poet to watch’.
The David Unaipon Award is presented as part of the Queensland Literary Awards by the State Library of Queensland who proudly manages the awards in collaboration with sponsors, industry partners, the writing community, and the support of the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
Now open for submissions until 29 April 2022. More information and details on how to apply can be found here, and the entry form is here.
For publicity enquiries please contact Yasmin Smith at UQP on yasmin.smith@uqp.com.au.
