Tunion wins inaugural Antigone Kefala Memorial Prize

Giramondo Publishing has announced Carielyn Tunion as the inaugural recipient of the Antigone Kefala Memorial Prize.

Carielyn Tunion/ᜃᜇᜒ/林嘉蓮 (she/they) is a writer, videopoet, educator and cultural worker with a background in film studies. ‘She is interested in radical nostalgia, radical romanticism and the Tropical Gothic, and her work explores themes of memory, folklore and yearning from a Filipino and Hong Kong diaspora perspective,’ said organisers.

Tunion said, ‘Thank you sincerely for your generous support through the Antigone Kefala Memorial Prize. Your contribution helps me undertake research and creative work exploring the lives, desires, and representations of Filipina women across Australia and Hong Kong.’

The Western Sydney University prize aims to ‘encourage emerging writers at Western Sydney University from refugee, asylum-seeker, migrant or First Nations backgrounds where English may not be their first language’.

Tunion was celebrated at an event for Antigone Kefala, hosted by Giramondo Publishing at Gleebooks on Sunday 17 August 2025.

More information about the prize is available on the university website.

Category: Awards Local news