Needham wins 2024 MUD Literary Prize

Kylie Needham has been announced as the winner of the 2024 MUD Literary Prize, at an event at the Adelaide Festival, for her novel Girl in a Pink Dress (Hamish Hamilton).

Girl in a Pink Dress was acclaimed by the judges for its ‘intriguing exploration of the sexual politics of the art world,’ with the prize organisation describing the novel as ‘a searing account of the interplay between an artist and his source of inspiration and also of the quiet fury that arises from sacrificing one’s own talent for another’s.’

Needham is a screenwriter who has previously won two AWGIE (Australian Writers’ Guild) Awards for her television scriptwriting. Prose work from Needham has also appeared in the 2019 Better Read Than Dead Writing Anthology, the Quarry Journal and the 2014 Adelaide Biennial catalogue.

Presented each year for the best debut literary novel by an Australian writer, the prize is awarded by Adelaide philanthropic group MUD Literary Club, with a cash prize of $10,000.

Needham’s book was chosen from a shortlist that also included Thirst for Salt (Madeleine Lucas, A&U), Immaculate (Anna McGahan, A&U), and The Prize (Kim E Anderson, Pantera).

The judging panel for this year’s award included Andrew Saies (chair), Louise Adler, Laura Kroetsch, Noel Grieve, David Sly and Mandy Thomas.

The 2023 winner was Tracey Lien for All That’s Left Unsaid (HarperCollins). More information about the prize is available on the MUD Literary Club website.

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