Winners of UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-Represented Writers Announced

UQP is delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers:

• Tongue: Essays on language, identity and being an international student in Australia by Suri Matondkar [non-fiction]
• Those Who Believe by SD Munawara [fiction]

The prize was judged by Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Siang Lu, acclaimed author, journalist and academic Sarah Malik and UQP Publishing Director Madonna Duffy.

‘The judges were so impressed by the quality and breadth of the entries we received for the mentorship prize. However, the inaugural winners, Suri Matondkar and SD Munawara, submitted work that announced them as serious writing talents, prepared to take risks with style, form and story. We are looking forward to working with them both to progress their distinctive works of non-fiction and fiction, respectively,’ said Duffy.

Suri Matondkar is a writer and doctoral student interested in language and identity whose memoir-style essays are imbued with wit and anger. She was a 2024 Hot Desk Fellow at the Wheeler Centre and was also awarded the 2025 Eric Dark flagship fellowship by Varuna, The National Writers’ House. Her work can be found in Cordite, Kill Your Darlings, Island and Roxane Gay’s Emerging Writer Series.

On winning the UQP Mentorship Prize for an Under-represented Writer, Matondkar said:

‘This isn't going to feel real anytime soon because, while I love these essays, I did not think they'd make it this far. To get them in front of a publisher like UQP was so massive, but to be chosen a winner is absolutely wild. All my gratitude to the judging panel for this lovely opportunity – I’m so hopeful and so excited for what it may bring.

SD Munawara is a Somali-Australian writer. Her fiction writing is concerned with faith, community, and the everyday practice of Islam in this country. She was most recently shortlisted for the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize and is currently writing a short story collection.

Munawara said:

‘Even at this early stage, the UQP Mentorship Prize has contributed massively to my self-confidence, my drive, and my imagination. I feel invigorated by this opportunity, and more equipped than ever to shape my manuscript into the book I want it to be. My writing has thus far been a largely solitary journey, but thanks to this incredibly comprehensive prize I have so much support to look forward to in the coming year, and I could not be more grateful.’