UQP shortlists six writers for 2026 Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers

Two winners will each receive $5,000, a Brisbane residency and editorial mentoring, with results due in November.

University of Queensland Press has named six writers on the shortlist for its 2026 Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers.

They are Derek Chan for the poetry manuscript Field Notes on Vanishing, Edmario Lesi for the novel Schoolboys, Jodey Brand for the young adult work Sorry, I Am Not The Moon, Neha De Alwis for the novel Ghost Hare, Donyale Mac Krill for the non-fiction work States of Emergency, and Sahib Nazari for the novel Alone Together.

Two winners will be named in November. Each will receive $5,000, a residency at UQP's office at the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus, with flights and accommodation covered if needed, and sessions with a writing mentor matched to their project. They will also be mentored by a UQP editor and attend a session with senior staff on marketing, publicity, rights and sales.

The judges are Miles Franklin winner Siang Lu, poet Shastra Deo and UQP publishing director Ben Ball, who said the entries were large in number, varied and of high quality. The inaugural prize was won by Suri Matondkar, whose Cheatercock UQP has since acquired.