Abigail Elder Wins 2018 Judith Rodriguez Writing Prize
The Australian writing community was greatly saddened by the recent passing of much-loved poet, PEN advocate, teacher, and Deakin University Honorary Fellow Judith Rodriguez. A tribute to Judith has been published on the PEN website.
Judith’s life and work will continue to be honoured through the Judith Rodriguez Prize, awarded annually to to an outstanding piece of work in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction submitted in a third-year Deakin writing unit during trimester 1 or 2.
The winner receives $450 worth of mentoring from a professional writer (via Writers Victoria), a free annual membership to Writers Victoria, and publication of the winning piece in Verandah. The 2018 winner, highly commended entries, and longlist have been announced…
Longlist
- Abigail Elder: “We Came Here to Find our Own Names”
- Katelin Farnsworth. ‘Charlie”
- Phoenix Hogarth. ‘Signal IX”
- Effie Mann: “My Grandpa Said”
- Michael Muscat: “A Writer by Any Other Name”
- Dani Netherclift: “Vesta’s Trees”
- Jayden Salmon: “Waterlocked”
- Tegan Zurbo: “Gregory Lane”
Highly Commended
- Effie Mann: “My Grandpa Said”
- Michael Muscat: “A Writer by Any Other Name”
- Katelin Farnsworth: “Charlie”
WINNER: Abigail Elder: “We Came Here to Find our Own Names”
Praise from the judges: “We Came Here to Find our Own Names”is about the secrets we keep from ourselves and from those closest to us. The author subtly and cleverly builds this story around a never-stated and never-conceded violent act, such that the story also becomes a portrait of a kind of madness. The author’s sleek control and deft use of ambiguity is dynamic and transformative, resulting in a narrative that is both vibrant and thrilling.
Meet the winner: Abigail Elder is a newly formed Australian who lives by the beach with her partner and her dog and her rocks. She has been previously published in WORDLY Magazine and the Geelong Writers Anthology. Elder recently graduated from Deakin University, and is sitting quietly in a room considering what she will do next.
