Olivia De Zilva Wins the 2019 Deakin University Nonfiction Prize

Last week, Express Media and Deakin University announced the 2019 Deakin University Nonfiction Prize winner, Adelaide-based writer, Olivia De Zilva.

De Zilva’s ‘Let’s Eat食飯!’ impressed the judges with its ingenious weaving of culture and personal reflection within a beautifully versed commentary on the bonds that family share. 

Our own Briohny Doyle was one of the judges, and Maria Takolander announced the winner at the opening night of the Word for Word National Non-Fiction Festival in Geelong, with Olivia reading an excerpt of ‘Let’s Eat食飯!’ ahead of Tyson Yunkaporta in conversation with Harriet Gaffney.

De Zilva is quoted as saying, “It feels great that a work inspired by my whacky family with pop-culture allusions to Neighbours, Gangsta’s Paradise and smiley fritz be acknowledged by a panel of esteemed judges. I hope that winning this award will allow me to explore my family’s story further in future writing.”

Kat Capel was also highly commended for their piece, work & love. Capel said, “I would like to thank Deakin and Express Media for their support of emerging writers and their affinity for diversity and risk taking, of which the shortlist is an example. I am honoured to
be highly commended amongst such a talented pool of writers, thank you!”

To learn about writing and literature courses offered at Deakin, you can explore undergraduate and postgraduate options, here.

 

*Featured image by Jason Leung on Unsplash