MUD Literary Prize

Australian literary prize From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The MUD Literary Prize is an Australian literary award awarded annually at Adelaide Writers' Week since 2018 to a debut literary novel. It is sponsored by a philanthropic organisation, the MUD Literary Club, which was founded in 2012.

The organisation

Cameron Stewart (right) at the 2025 Adelaide Writers' Week

The MUD Literary Club was set up by a group of philanthropists headed by businessman Tony Parkinson in 2012, its acronym arising from "Mates of Ubud", a group of people who banded together to fund the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, which is held annually in Ubud, Bali, after a large corporate sponsor withdrew.[1] A friend of Parkinson, Sue Tweddell, became an enthusiastic driver of the project.[2] The new committee decided to also direct funds to Adelaide Writers' Week, an annual free event held in Adelaide, South Australia, and since then has sponsored the appearance of two authors at each festival. One of these is an established major Australian author, and the other an emerging talent.[1]

It is the only philanthropic organisation supporting literature in Australia, and its collaboration with Writers' Week has been welcomed by the organisers. It continues to raise funds by hosting literary lunches featuring authors such as Richard Flanagan, Thomas Keneally, Hannah Kent, Kate Grenville, and many others,[1] and also relies on several corporate sponsors as well as the subscriptions of its members, who pay A$500 person per year.[3]

A session entitled "MUD Literary Club: The 10th Anniversary", chaired by David Sly, was scheduled for the 2022 edition of Writers' Week,[2] featuring Thomas Keneally, Hannah Kent, and Christos Tsiolkas.[4]

The prize

The MUD Literary Prize is awarded at Adelaide Writers' Week in March each year,[1] and is worth A$5,000 in cash as of 2021 (up from A$3,000 in 2020[5]) and the prestige, exposure and recognition that comes with being presented at a major literary festival.[3] [6] In 2023, the prize was increased to A$10,000.[7]

The inaugural prize was presented to Sarah Schmidt on March 5, 2018 at the Adelaide Writer's Week. Her work, a crime novel based on the notorious suspected murderer Lizzie Borden, reimagined the homicide of her parents and aftermath in 1892, and described the events from her and her sister's perspective.[8]

Since then, a shortlist and winner have been announced every year through 2023.

Prize winners and shortlisted works

More information Year, Author ...
Year Author Work Result Ref
2018 Sarah Schmidt See What I Have Done Won [9]
Claire G. Coleman Terra Nullius Shortlist [9]
Rachel Leary Bridget Crack
2019 Trent Dalton Boy Swallows Universe Won [10]
Peter Cochrane Making of Martin Sparrow Commended [10]
Robbie Arnott Flames Shortlist
Michelle Johnston Dustfall
Angela Meyer A Superior Spectre
2020 Sienna Brown Master of My Fate Won [11]
Tabitha Bird Lifetime of Impossible Days Shortlist [11]
Julie Keys The Artist’s Portrait
Molly Murn Heart of the Grass Tree
Kate Richards Fusion
2021 Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words Won [12]
Katherine Tamiko Arguile The Things She Owned Shortlist [12]
Cath Moore Metal Fish Falling Snow
Catherine Noske The Salt Madonna
Andrew Pippos Lucky’s
Nardi Simpson Song of the Crocodile
2022 Diana Reid Love & Virtue Won [13]
Hannah Bent When Things Are Alive They Hum Shortlist [13]
Jacqueline Bublitz Before You Knew My Name
Campbell Mattinson We Were Not Men
2023 Tracey Lien All That's Left Unsaid Won [14]
Mandy Beaumont The Furies Shortlist [14]
Sharron Booth The Silence of Water
Emily Brugman The Islands
Jessica Stanley A Great Hope
2024 Kylie Needham Girl in a Pink Dress Won [15]
Kim E. Anderson The Prize Shortlist [15]
Madeleine Lucas Thirst for Salt
Anna McGahan Immaculate
2025 Jumaana Abdu Translations Shortlist [16]
Finegan Kruckemeyer The End and Everything Before It
Raeden Richardson The Degenerates
Cameron Stewart Why Do Horses Run?
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References

External links

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