The 2020 KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award Longlist


We are delighted to announce the longlist for the 2020 Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award.

Now in its fourth year, this award was established to support the development of early-career authors, provide them with the opportunity to work with industry professionals, and assist them in creating publishing pathways in the future.

This year, the award attracted a record 229 entries from across Australia.

Congratulations to all those on the 2020 longlist:

  • Mood by Roz Bellamy (nonfiction)
  • Abomination by Ashley Goldberg (fiction)
  • The Dead Falls by Joshua Kemp (fiction)
  • End, Kosciuszko by Joseph Kerr (fiction)
  • My Cities of Refuge by Daniel Kraus (nonfiction)
  • Mother by Yasmin Mobayad (fiction)
  • The Lies in Silence by Picorelli Pal (fiction)
  • The Push Back by Hayley Scrivenor (fiction)
  • The Curse of Khara Khoto by Liana Skrzypczak (fiction)
  • Gone From My Sight by Jem Tyley-Miller (fiction)

The judges for the 2020 award are Picador publisher Mathilda Imlah, KYD​ publishing director Rebecca Starford and 2019 KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award winner Sam van Zweden.

The shortlist will be announced on 15 July. All shortlisted writers will be awarded the KYD/Varuna Copyright Agency Fellowship, which will take place from Monday 21 to Sunday 28 September and includes:

  • 6 nights’ accommodation and all meals at the historic Varuna
  • Intensive and personalised editorial mentoring with KYD publishing director, Rebecca Starford, for the duration of the fellowship
  • Daily workshopping with other shortlisted writers
  • Additional professional development services facilitated by Varuna

The winner of the KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award will also receive a cash prize of $4000.

This project is supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.