11.03.20
We are now in the second year of the new Award Mentorship Program, which has been made possible by the generous funding support from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. The ASA has been able to offer twenty 20-hour mentorships with an experienced writer, editor or illustrator. In addition, the winners receive a one-year membership to the ASA, a free ticket to our popular Literary Speed Dating event and access to the Pathways to Publishing Program. The Program is a series of industry talks, and discussions with writers and illustrators on a closed Facebook page. The five highly commended winners receive an appraisal on the first ten pages of their manuscript or portfolio, as well as the Pathways to Publishing Program.
This revamped version of the Program has accepted applications from both established and emerging writers so that all writers and illustrators had the opportunity to seek professional development in order to take their skills to the next level.
The ASA received 240 applications this year and the overall standard was very high. We very much appreciate the time and effort given by our wonderful team of assessors, who have shared their comments below.
Adult Fiction Winners
Narrative Non Fiction Winners
Poetry Winner
Children’s, Young Adult, Picture Books Winners
Adult Fiction
The calibre of this years’ applicants for an ASA Fiction mentorship was so exceptional, it was hard to narrow it down to a handful of winners. I was honoured to spend the time reading through the broad range of entries, ranging from speculative and historical fiction, to literary and experimental manuscripts. Living at a period in time where fact is more often stranger than fiction, these emerging writers provide a unique lens that deepens our understanding and compassion for our battered planet, and for the beings that inhabit its rapidly-changing landscape. We are living through unprecedented times, and now more than ever, we need strong voices that speak with passion, rage and empathy, compelling us to hold on to what it is to be human. I am buoyed by the powerful range of Australian voices on this winners list.
It’s a privilege to judge the ASA mentorships, and also a responsibility. This year, the quality was outstanding. Some work was gorgeous on a sentence level, and I thought a mentorship might help tighten the plot or improve the narrative pace. Other manuscripts were driven by ripping stories but felt flabby on the line or peopled by undeveloped characters. My decisions were based not only on the quality of the manuscript as submitted, but also on its potential to become a substantial and satisfying piece of long-form fiction, regardless of the genre or style. I’d like to commend all the applicants on the originality of their applications this year, and also remind next year’s applicants that it’s impossible to read every manuscript through to the end. The first twenty pages should be as polished as you can make them. The accompanying statement, also, should convey something about why you find this project so compelling. To the unsuccessful writers, I’d urge you to keep working on your manuscripts; there were enough deserving applications to justify three times as many mentorships.
Narrative Non Fiction
While the number of applications for Narrative Non-Fiction was not as high as previous years, the overall quality of submissions this year was an even greater improvement on previous years, with very little to separate winning submissions.
Many applicants have clearly worked on their craft, having completed academic and vocational creative writing courses, workshops and fellowships, as well as having extensive publishing histories, including a number of awards.
Some entries were more suited to self-help than creative, narrative non-fiction, but the most successful submissions brought both journalistic and scholarly rigour and literary imagination to their work.
What distinguished the best applications were not only original ideas, but intriguing premises, innovative structures, distinctive voices and evocative and engaging writing, offering not only glimpses into worlds or lives many of us can barely imagine, but insights relevant to all of us and our world today.
Poetry
Of the seven applications for a poetry mentorship five were very competently written, interesting, and had the potential to be developed into manuscripts worthy of publication. Two of these stood out, for different reasons. One was a sophisticated, intellectual investigation of its subject, written in a variety of modes, and employing myriad allusions to literature which broadened and deepened the personal nature of this highly developed manuscript. The other, also a personal journey of discovery, was notable for its consistently striking imagery, especially visual imagery, its easy and effective control of the line, the unforced way in which the language enacted the emotions, and the convincing development of the narrative. This was the manuscript which, after much deliberation and not a little anxiety, I chose for the mentorship.
Children’s, Young Adult, Picture Books
It was a very strong crop of entries this year and extremely difficult to reduce to a top ten. For me, the strongest entries dropped us into the middle of things. We landed in the story and we discovered character in action. The best entries showed that the writer really knows what it’s like to be a kid or teen and what might be important to someone of that age. Themes or issues were explored subtly and story and character were primary. The stories gave space for the reader to make their own judgements and to fill in the gaps. They trusted the reader. And, like any good story, they followed the old ’show, don’t tell’ rule. I loved being part of it and I hope that everyone who submitted continues to hone these stories and to write others. Good luck!
There was an impressively wide range of genres, styles and themes explored in this year’s submissions. In the YA category, contemporary realism, historical fiction and speculative fiction were all represented. The children’s category encompassed novels, picture book texts and chapter books, in a variety of fiction genres, but also non-fiction, with picture book illustration in a category of its own. There were many interesting submissions, but the outstanding ones showed a deft command of language and narrative, an engaging voice, and an immersive originality of approach. All the winning and highly commended works were also well-pitched to the age range they were intended for, and the accompanying statements were thoughtful and succinct, with authors having an achievable vision of how the work might further progress under a mentorship.
The 2020 Award Mentorship Program for Writers and Illustrators is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
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