The 2022 Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript
Deadline for entries
5pm AEST 30 November
Dorothy Hewett (1923-2002) is considered one of Australia’s most important writers whose work challenged the norms of twentieth century Australian culture. As a writer, Hewett made her mark as a poet, playwright, novelist, short-story writer memoirist and staunch activist, Hewett’s life and work gave voice to the marginalised. In 1986, Hewett was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to literature. Hewett won the Western Australian Premier’s Poetry Award in 1994 and 1995 for her collections Peninsula and Collected Poems: 1940-1995.
The Dorothy Hewett Award is open to all writers who have completed a manuscript and are seeking publication. The work must be fiction, narrative nonfiction or poetry, inclusive of hybrid genres such as verse novels or memoir. The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000, courtesy of Copyright Agency, and will be offered a publishing contract by UWA Publishing. The 2021 joint Award winners were Kgshak Akec for her novel, Hopeless Kingdom, and Josh Kemp for his novel, Banjawarn (submitted as Strangest Places). The inaugural winner, Extinctions by Josephine Wilson, went on to win the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
The 2022 Award will open for submissions on Monday November 1st, and remain open for the month of November, closing on the 30th at 5pm AWST. This year's judges and more information will be announced shortly - stay tuned! Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on information.