Going Down Swinging would like to extend a huge congratulations to the recipients of the inaugural Wheeler Centre’s The Next Chapter writers’ scheme!
The ten recipients of the 2018 Next Chapter scheme are:
- Evelyn Araluen (poetry, NSW)
- Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen (memoir, VIC)
- Jean Bachoura (memoir, VIC)
- Ennis Cehic (short fiction, VIC)
- Nayuka Gorrie (nonfiction, NSW)
- Lian Low (young adult speculative fiction, VIC)
- Yamiko Marama (memoir, VIC)
- Ara Sarafian (comic fiction, VIC)
- Adrian Stanley (young adult fiction, SA)
- Adam Thompson (short fiction, TAS).
We’re especially proud of Ennis Cehic, whose work on the strange intersection of advertising and poetry you can find in Going Down Swinging #38. Check out an excerpt here, and his essay on the same topic here. Ennis will be continuing his Sadvertising series with The Next Chapter, and we’d just like to say: we picked it first.
The Next Chapter is a new initiative by the Wheeler Centre, supported by The Aesop Foundation, which aims to support emerging writers across Australia. It is specifically interested in fostering the next generation of voices whose work reflects the diversity of the Australian experience, enabling their stories and voices to be heard.
The selected writers each receive $15,000 to develop their work, as well as a mentorship to connect them with readers and publishers, ensuring their writing reaches the eyes and ears it deserves.
The 2018 winners were selected by a judging panel made up of writers Ellen van Neerven, Benjamin Law, Maxine Beneba Clarke and Christos Tsiolkas, as well as Wheeler Centre Head of Publishing Sophie Black and Director Michael Williams. In addition to the winners, the panel highlighted Mehdi Habibi (short fiction, NSW), Fiona Murphy (memoir, VIC), Bobuq Sayed (fiction, VIC) and Adut Wol Akec (poetry, VIC) as highly commended entrants. These four will receive $500 and membership at their local writers’ centre.
Without a doubt, this is a group of writers to watch. The panel has excellent taste, and we can’t wait to see what Ennis and the other recipients will achieve through this incredible program.
Georgia Coldebella is an editorial intern at Going Down Swinging. She writes reviews, comics and short stories, usually about identity, fairy tales and the restorative powers of coffee.
Photo from The Next Chapter.
