UQP mentorship prize winners announced
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has announced the winners of the inaugural UQP Mentorship Prize for under-represented writers.
Chosen from a shortlist of 5, the winners are:
- SD Munawara for “Those Who Believe” (fiction)
- Suri Matondkar for “Tongue: Essays on language, identity and being an international student in Australia” (non-fiction).
Somali-Australian writer Munawara’s “fiction writing is concerned with faith, community, and the everyday practice of Islam in this country,” said the publisher. She was shortlisted for the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize and is working on a short story collection.
Munawara said, “Even at this early stage, the UQP Mentorship Prize has contributed massively to my self-confidence, my drive, and my imagination. I feel invigorated by this opportunity, and more equipped than ever to shape my manuscript into the book I want it to be.
“My writing has thus far been a largely solitary journey, but thanks to this incredibly comprehensive prize I have so much support to look forward to in the coming year, and I could not be more grateful.”
Matondkar is a writer and doctoral student interested in language and identity, “whose memoir-style essays are imbued with wit and anger,” said the publisher. She was a 2024 Hot Desk Fellow at the Wheeler Centre and was awarded the 2025 Eric Dark flagship fellowship by Varuna, The National Writers’ House. Her work has been published in Cordite, Kill Your Darlings, Island and Roxane Gay’s Emerging Writer Series, and she was shortlisted for the 2024 Island Nonfiction Prize.
Matondkar said of the award, “This isn’t going to feel real anytime soon because, while I love these essays, I did not think they’d make it this far. To get them in front of a publisher like UQP was so massive, but to be chosen a winner is absolutely wild. All my gratitude to the judging panel for this lovely opportunity – I’m so hopeful and so excited for what it may bring.”
The prize was judged by author Siang Lu; author, journalist and academic Sarah Malik; and UQP publishing director Madonna Duffy.
Duffy said, “[Munawara and Matondkar] submitted work that announced them as serious writing talents, prepared to take risks with style, form and story. We are looking forward to working with them both to progress their distinctive works of nonfiction and fiction, respectively.”
The 2025 winners will commence their mentorships in February 2026.
More information is available on the UQP website.
Pictured [left to right]: Suri Matondkar and SD Munawara.
Category: Awards Local news
