Bacon awarded 2024 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence

African Australian speculative fiction author Eugen Bacon has been named the 2024 University of Tasmania Hedberg Writer-in-Residence, worth $30,000.

Eugen will use the Hobart residency, which consists of three months writing, working with students and taking part in community conversations, to progress work on a new novel, Crimson in Quietus (A Sauúti novel), ‘a new kind of mystery where the investigator is not a detective but a sound magic scientist’, said the university, announcing the 2024 residency.

‘This residency will help me crucially research and write my novel,’ said Bacon. ‘It will give me quiet time and space away from the everyday hubbub to craft a competitive story that engages with difference and makes a worthy contribution to Australian and worldwide literature.’

Born in Tanzania and based in Melbourne, Bacon is the author of several novels and collections, with her most recent novel, Serengotti, shortlisted for the fiction prize at the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and her work recognised in several international awards and publications.

‘In writing this black speculative novel, I hope to continue engaging with difference in cross-cultural worlds, climate action, social justice and developing culturally diverse and female characters as heroes,’ she said.

Previous recipients of the residency include inaugural winner Robbie Arnott, who used the residency to work on Limberlost, and Gail Jones, whose recently released novel, One Another, was written during her residency.

Category: Awards