UQP Announces Winners of the 2026 Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers
UQP is delighted to announce the winners of the 2026 UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers:
- Derek Chan for 'Field Notes on Vanishing' (poetry)
- Edmario Lesi for 'Schoolboys' (fiction)
The prize was judged by Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Siang Lu, award-winning poet Shastra Deo, and UQP Publishing Director Ben Ball, and of this year's winners the judges commented:
We’re delighted to have two such exciting winners, continuing the pattern established by last year’s inaugural program. Both Derek and Edmario display exceptional craft in their different forms; we’re confident that working with their chosen mentors will help both writers push their talent even further and make dynamic contributions to the national literature.
Derek Chan said:
Winning this prize feels like a vindication of almost a decade's worth of labouring, obsessing, and stumbling through the darkly lit landscapes of my manuscript, and of poetry more broadly. The many forms of support this prize will bring could not have come at a more pressing and critical time in my life; more than ever, I feel closer and closer to living out the precarious visions of the artist I had first set out to become. I'm very excited to work closely with the brilliant team of mentors at UQP and to experience the various cycles of transformation into which my manuscript will be undoubtedly alchemised.
Edmario Lesi said:
I’m wonderstruck! Having my short stories recognised by UQP, and the opportunity to develop my collection through UQP’s multifaceted support, goes beyond my wildest hopes and daydreams. At this early stage of my career, mentorship and editorial guidance are invaluable. I’m endlessly grateful to the judging panel for selecting me to receive such a fabulous honour.
Each winner will receive:
1. Prize money of $5000
2. A residency at UQP’s office at The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, including:
1. Return flights and accommodation in Brisbane for the residency (if required)
2. Online or in-person sessions with an experienced writing mentor matched with the winning author
3. Editorial mentoring with a UQP editor
4. A professional development session with senior UQP staff on marketing, publicity, rights and sales
3. Consideration of the final manuscript by a UQP publisher with an option to publish the work
About the winners:
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. He was a finalist for the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship, the Forward Prize, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowship, and has been recognized by The Pushcart Prize, the Gregory Djanikian Scholars in Poetry, and Best New Poets. He has also received residency fellowships and support from the Vermont Studio Center, Tin House, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
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.
For more information, contact UQP Marketing & Publicity Manager Jean Smith on 'jean.smith@uqp.com.au'.
