Chen wins Deborah Cass Prize 2019

Writer Janette Chen has won the 2019 Deborah Cass Prize for emerging writers from migrant backgrounds for her manuscript extract ‘Wall of Men’.

Chosen from a shortlist of 10, ‘Wall of Men’ was announced as the winner on 4 December at an event in Melbourne.

The judges also commended two runners-up: Anna Kortschak for ‘Pieces of Nothing’ and Belinda Paxton for ‘Clinging to Space Hardware’.

Chen receives $3000, a three-month mentorship with an established writer, and will be considered for publication by Black Inc.

The Deborah Cass Prize was established in 2015 to honour academic and writer Deborah Cass, who was the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants. Writers Victoria administers the application process and promotes the prize, which is awarded to an ‘early-career Victorian author who was born overseas or has at least one parent who was born overseas’. In 2017, the prize broadened its eligibility criteria to include writers from anywhere around the country.

For more information about the award, see the website.

Category: Awards Local news