The MUD Literary Prize is an Australian

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

awarded annually at

Adelaide Writers' Week Adelaide Writers' Week, known locally as Writers' Week or WW, is a large and mostly free literary festival held annually in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, it forms part of the ...

since 2018 to a debut

literary novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

. It is sponsored by a

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

organisation, the MUD Literary Club, which was founded in 2012.

The organisation

The MUD Literary Club was set up by a group of philanthropists headed by businessman Tony Parkinson in 2012, its acronym arising from "Mates of Ubud", a group of people who banded together to fund the

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) is an annual 4-day literary festival held every October in Ubud on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Established in 2004, it is considered Southeast Asia’s biggest and most meaningful Literary festival, li ...

, which is held annually in

Ubud Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. ...

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

, after a large corporate sponsor withdrew. A friend of Parkinson, Sue Tweddell, became an enthusiastic driver of the project. The new committee decided to also direct funds to

, an annual free event held in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and since then has sponsored the appearance of two authors at each festival. One of these is an established major Australian author, and the other an emerging talent. It is the only philanthropic organisation supporting literature in Australia, and its collaboration with Writers' Week has been welcomed by the organisers. It continues to raise funds by hosting literary lunches featuring authors such as

Richard Flanagan Richard Miller Flanagan (born 1961) is an Australian writer, who has also worked as a film director and screenwriter. He won the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his novel '' The Narrow Road to the Deep North''. Flanagan was described by the ''Washing ...

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, wh ...

Hannah Kent Hannah Kent (born 1985) is an Australian writer, known for two novels – ''Burial Rites'' (2013) and ''The Good People'' (2016). Her third novel, ''Devotion'', was published in 2021. Early life and education Kent was born in 1985 grew up in t ...

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for '' The Idea of Perfection ...

, and many others, and also relies on several corporate sponsors as well as the subscriptions of its members, who pay person per year. A session entitled "MUD Literary Club: The 10th Anniversary", chaired by David Sly, was scheduled for the 2022 edition of Writers' Week, featuring Thomas Keneally, Hannah Kent, and

Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...

The prize

The MUD Literary Prize is awarded at Adelaide Writers' Week in March each year, and is worth in cash (up from in 2020) and the prestige, exposure and recognition that comes with being presented at a major literary festival. In 2023, the prize was increased to . The inaugural prize was presented to Sarah Schmidt on March 5, 2018 at the Adelaide Writer's Week. Her work, a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

based on the notorious suspected murderer

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

, reimagined the homicide of her parents and aftermath in 1892, and described the events from her and her sister's perspective. Since then, a shortlist and winner have been announced every year through 2023.

Prizewinners

Recipients

* 2018: ''See What I Have Done'', by

Sarah Schmidt Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

* 2019: ''Boy Swallows Universe'', by

Trent Dalton Trent Dalton is an Australian journalist and literary fiction author. Early life Trent Dalton grew up in a Housing Commission house in Bracken Ridge, a suburb on the northern outskirts of Brisbane. Journalism Dalton worked as a journalist f ...

* 2020: ''Master of My Fate'', by

Sienna Brown Sienna (from it, terra di Siena, meaning "Siena earth") is an earth pigment containing iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural state, it is yellowish brown and is called raw sienna. When heated, it becomes a reddish brown and is call ...

* 2021: ''

The Dictionary of Lost Words ''The Dictionary of Lost Words'' is the debut novel by Australian writer Pip Williams. It was sixth on the list of Australian fiction bestsellers for 2020 and as of 18 January 2021 it had sold more than 100,000 copies. Plot summary Esme's m ...

'', by

Pip Williams Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...

* 2022: ''Love & Virtue'', by Diana Reid * 2023: ''All That’s Left Unsaid'', by

Tracey Lien Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations Places United States * Tracy, ...

Shortlist

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.mudliteraryclub.com/, MUD Literary Club Australian literary awards Australian philanthropists Philanthropic organizations Australian fiction awards Awards established in 2018 2012 establishments in Australia