3.03.21
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) is thrilled to announce the twenty winners and five highly commended entries for the 2021 Award Mentorship Program for Writers and Illustrators!
We are now into the third year of the revised award mentorship program, which has been made possible by the generous funding from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. The Award offers twenty 20-hour mentorships with an experienced author, illustrator or publishing professional to help develop their manuscript or illustration project to a publishable standard. In addition, the winners each receive access to the Pathways to Publishing program, a free ticket to our popular Literary Speed Dating event and one-year’s free membership to the ASA. The five highly commended applicants receive a 2-hour consultation on the first ten pages of their manuscript or illustration project, as well as access to the Pathways to Publishing Program.
The ASA received close to 300 applications for the 2021 award; a 20% increase from last year’s entries. The standard of the applications was remarkably high and the assessors noted the diversity in genres and stories that were submitted this year. The assessors have shared their comments below.
Winners
Highly Commended: Verity Croker
Highly Commended: Zewlan Moor
Highly Commended: Annie Wilson
Winners
Winners
Highly Commended: Deborah Ritchie
Winners
Highly Commended: Ghina Makari Cane
Winner
Children’s, YA and Picture Book Illustration
“2021 has been another outstanding year. We had a record-breaking number of applications which acknowledges the continued rise in popularity of children’s and YA books. I was impressed with the broad range of topics and themes. We have relatable characters tackling all kinds of issues, including climate change and the recent pandemic. One highlight was the liveable and detailed world-building in each of the entries. I enjoyed being transported to Paris, travelling to an intergalactic planet, and exploring a small town which has been turned upside down by animals on the run.
I was also pleased to see plenty of humour in the entries, particularly in the picture book and children’s writing categories. Even when some middle-grade and YA stories were serious in tone, there were still fragments of light-heartedness. Picture book entries carried a playfulness in words and rhythm that made them ripe for read aloud fun.
The entries that stood out to me had voices that yearned to be heard. They took a familiar story and put their own irresistible spin on it. I wanted to keep reading to see how their dilemmas unfolded, a promising sign that these stories will hook their intended audience.
I am proud to have settled on a top 10 that covers a variety of genres, from science fiction and historical fiction, to contemporary stories that will speak to kids today. I admire the finalists’ steely determination to unearth their manuscripts’ true potential, as well as humility in acknowledging that they seek help because they don’t have all the answers. This mindset will reap rewards in their writing and illustrating journey.”
"I really enjoyed reading these stories. What a range of ideas, styles and approaches. But, creating a shortlist means good writing and ideas will miss out. Please do not think your story was not worthy if you did not make the list. The amount of entries was huge and the quality high.
The stories that shone had strong, intriguing, believable characters from the moment you met them. They got to the point quickly and dispensed with over-explaining or over-writing.
Most ideas were original, most of the writing was engaging, but only in a few stories was the voice clear and strong. Publishers often say they are looking for your style as an author, a voice that is compelling, as well as your great story.
Congratulations to everyone who entered. It takes courage and determination to be a writer and just by entering you have shown yourselves to have both!"
Fiction
“This year’s applications were diverse, from crime novels and thrillers to historical, literary and speculative fiction, collections of short stories and popular fiction. Making a decision was extremely difficult, as many manuscripts showed much promise, and the dedication and passion of the authors was strikingly evident. It’s wonderfully heartening to see writers continuing to engage with fiction as a way of representing and examining our ever-changing world.
It was very helpful in making these selections to have a well written, clear and comprehensive accompanying 300-word statement, indicating what kind of a book the writer has set out to write (including examples of similar published works) and – this is just as important – what the writer would hope to get out of a mentorship. All of the winning manuscripts were submitted with 300-word statements of a very high quality. Many of these identified the aspects of the manuscript that the author was able to see were not yet working – this bodes well for a fruitful mentorship.”
“When I agreed to be an assessor for the 2021 Australian Society of Authors Mentorship Awards, I had no idea how difficult the task would be. Every single application I read showed promise, dedication and a huge amount of passion, and I was reminded how many fabulous writers there are in Australia. As an author, I’ve trained to avoid cliches, but here’s one anyway: everyone who entered is a winner!”
Non-Fiction
“The general quality of applications for narrative non-fiction was gratifying. Many of the entries were the outcome of years of persistence and the passion with which the majority of authors pursued their writing was obvious. Those authors who missed out on this year’s awards should not be discouraged from honing their ideas and exploring story-telling techniques. Migration stories and the experience of multiculturalism, often in the form of memoir or autobiography, were the most popular theme in this year’s entries, followed by biographies. Historical non-fiction was a notable absence.
There was little separating the top half-dozen entries which stood out for the quality of their writing and the choice of subject matter. The winning manuscripts were chosen for the strength of their story lines driven by compelling characters and personal experiences. What drew me to the shortlisted entries was their rhythmical prose, the balance between colour and context and their ability to immediately engage with the reader. The confidence apparent in the writing bodes well for further manuscript development and, ultimately, the strong possibility of seeing the works published.”
Poetry
“Of the eight applicants for a poetry mentorship three submitted manuscripts which, with a little editing and judicious revision, would be suitable for publication. Each of them had a strong individual voice, a clear understanding of their themes and subjects, and a solid grasp of a poetic line. Clearly, they were familiar with contemporary poetry. Two applicants showed promise in flashes but their manuscripts were of inconsistent quality and needed far more development. The three weaker applicants, though they could write and had ideas, submitted manuscripts which revealed little knowledge of the qualities which made successful poetry.
The poems submitted by the eventual winner were sharp and refreshing; they displayed an easy, unforced and flexible style which was suited to a sense of inquiry and discovery; the ideas were interesting and the lineation confident.”
The 2021 Award Mentorship Program for Writers and Illustrators is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
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