Chan wins 2025 Paragraph Fellowship

Time to Write has announced Grace Chan as the 2025 winner of the $25,000 Paragraph Fellowship for ‘Caretakers’, a speculative fiction novel.

Born in Malaysia, Chan is a psychiatrist living with her young family in Melbourne. Her debut novel Every Version of You (Affirm, 2024) was shortlisted for the Age Book of the Year Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Christina Stead Prize and longlisted for the Indie Book Awards and the Stella Prize.

Chosen from a shortlist of six, Chan said, ‘The Paragraph Fellowship will make an unparalleled, life-changing difference to my ability to complete “Caretakers”. Winning this prize now allows me to take dedicated time off from my paid employment and devote this time to writing my novel.

‘It’s also an incredible vote of confidence for a writer struggling to complete her second novel in the midst of the many demands of life. The Fellowship has saved this manuscript from being shelved.’

Chan was announced as the winner at a ceremony held at The Wheeler Centre as part of the Emerging Writer’s Festival.

Time to Write also announced author Toni Jordan (Tenderfoot, Addition) as incoming judging chair for 2026, replacing literary critic Beejay Silcox.

Last year’s winner was Jamie Marina Lau for ‘Air Travel’, with Josephine Wilson receiving highly commended for ‘Middleborough’.

More information is available on the Time to Write website.

Category: Awards Local news News