Writers Victoria is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition.
After a brief hiatus, Writers Victoria announced earlier this year the return of the Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition. This competition is an opportunity for emerging talents to have their work recognised and published on the Writers Victoria website.
This year, Writers Victoria received over 150 applications, a record number for this competition. After much deliberation, the judges Kylie Mirmohamadi and Paige Clarke (short story), Katia Ariel and Ernest Price (non-fiction) and Emma Andrews (Regional Award) selected the 2026 winners:
Short Story
Winner – Anjelica Rush, ‘Walkies’
Runner up – Nomusa Mwale, ‘The Spare Key’
Highly Commended
Non-Fiction
Winner – Rosa Cass, ‘Sisters In The Morning’
Runner up – Babi Rani Poudel, ‘Between Two Rivers’
Highly Commended
April Schroeter, ‘Petrovaradin Station’
Winner – Regional Award
Janenne Willis, ‘Empathy Bleed’
The first place in each category will receive $1,000, with the runner-up in each category awarded $500. The regional writer also received $500.
The quality of entries demonstrated the remarkable talent of the Australian emerging writing community.
Of the short story winners, the judges, Kylie and Paige, said:
‘Walkies’ – Who would have guessed an absurd, thrilling and delightful tale of a centaur could actually be a searing critique of the anxieties, politics and narcissism of daily life in the inner north of Melbourne? Yet, despite these astute social critiques, ‘Walkies’ is exceptionally funny and had the judges ‘chyah’-ing throughout. This is not just a prize-winning story, but a story to recommend far and wide.
‘The Spare Key’ – This story combines lyrical style with acute observation in its elicitation of gendered and intimate violence, and acts of female solidarity in the face of it. The writing is restrained and yet rich, and the piece achieves its moments of intensity by offering detail and information in measured quantities. The judges were particularly impressed by the evocative writing in the school fundraiser scene.
Of the non-fiction winners the judges, Katia and Ernest, said:
Winner: ‘Sisters in the Morning’, by Rosa Cass
This piece was the unequivocal winner for both judges, impressing with its depth and agility. A story that is nominally about two sisters in fact touches on all the great themes of life: death, loss, family, the passage of time and the decay of natural things. The braiding of the front story with Jewish tradition and Greek mythology is deft and elegant, and the careful use of imagery leaves a gorgeous sensory imprint. A moving, deeply coherent weaving; dark and luminous in all the right places.
Runner Up: ‘Between Two Rivers’, by Babi Rani Poudel
‘Between Two Rivers’ is a lyrical, deeply felt story of origin and belonging. Told in visible, vivid language, the piece takes us into a small Nepali village and all that it holds dear. Somehow, in 3000 words, the author manages to convey not just a place but its cosmology – the rhythms and beliefs, elements, festivals, smells, seasons and songs. It is a story of motherhood and childhood, and of the interconnectedness of all things. Exquisite at a line level (‘As a child, I thought every person in the world began the day beneath golden mountains’; ‘The water tasted of stone, shade and the inside of a mountain’), every moment is so beautifully crafted.
Of the regional winner, Emma said:
‘Empathy Bleed’ is a work of engineering as much as writing. With an astonishing use of voice – four in rotation – built like music, the author creates a delightful puzzle for the reader to navigate. The writing is lyrical and brave. It is prose, poetry and essay at once, holding deep time, Country and grief together.
The 2026 Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition is kindly supported by the Grace Marion Wilson Trust.