UQP Announces Winners of the 2026 Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers

By The Book Source10 November 2026

PoetryDerek ChanField Notes on Vanishing

Deal Sheet card: Field Notes on Vanishing

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Key detailsThe Book Source

PrizeUQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers 2026

Winner (fiction)Edmario Lesi, for Schoolboys

Winner (poetry)Derek Chan, for Field Notes on Vanishing

Prize money$5000 for each winner

ResidencyAt UQP's office at The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, with return flights and accommodation if required

MentoringSessions with an experienced writing mentor matched to each winner, and editorial mentoring with a UQP editor

Professional developmentA session with senior UQP staff on marketing, publicity, rights and sales

PublicationThe final manuscript is considered by a UQP publisher, with an option to publish

JudgesSiang Lu, Shastra Deo and UQP Publishing Director Ben Ball

About Edmario LesiPhD candidate in English and Creative Writing at The Australian National University; 2025 recipient of the Queensland Writers Centre Fellowship for Underrepresented Writers

About Derek ChanHolds an MFA from Cornell University; two-time recipient of the Corson-Browning Poetry Prize

Announced10 November 2026

Original source: University of Queensland Press ↗

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