We are delighted to announce the eight shortlisted essays in the running for the KYD Creative Non-Fiction Essay Prize 2023. Designed to celebrate and showcase the best and most inventive creative non-fiction, the prize attracted almost 200 entries from around Australia, across a broad range of topics and styles.
Judged by our inaugural winner Caitlin McGregor, the winner will receive $3,000 in prize money, donated by Kill Your Darlings; two runners up will each receive $1,000. All three winning essays will be published in KYD in 2023.
Congratulations to the following shortlisted entrants:
‘Here We Go Round’ by Anna Burns (VIC)
A personal essay about the Russia-Ukraine War and the cyclical nature of conflict, written by an Eastern European migrant who sees history repeating itself.
‘The Lighthouse’ by Ana Louisa Davis (NSW)
A lyrical essay about how the past can echo into the present and how the present can change the past. The writer investigates the legacy left by her late father’s addiction and how writing memoir can merge time, trauma and healing.
‘Think an empty room, moonly with phoneglow’ by Xiaole Zhan (VIC)
A lyrical personal essay on digital spaces, family and memoir. The writer reflects on maintaining links with family overseas via the internet and the fine line between the private and the public.
‘The Singing Bone’ by Kimberley Knight (NSW)
A meditative piece on the larynx—the voice box. Exploring the subject through the scientific, the personal and one criminal case, this essay explores the inner workings of the respiratory tract to speak, to sing and also to protect us.
‘Unholy Anorexia’ by Coco Stallman (VIC)
A personal and historical exploration of the phenomenon of ‘holy anorexia’ and other spiritual manifestations of fasting, hunger and want. The writer draws upon scientific papers, historical journals, films and their own life to dispel ideas that glorify disordered eating.
‘The climate of our weathers’ by Annabelle Lukin (NSW)
An exploration of how the fossil fuel industry has kept the words weather and climate separate, and how they are headed for a collision course as the planet heats up.
‘Path Integration’ by Fatima Measham (VIC)
A meditative essay about place-making and the impossibility of reconciling with colonisation. The writer explores their own life as it intersects with a local creek, using prose and visuals to navigate across personal, environmental and historical scales.
‘Revelation: On Trepanation’ by Ria Kealey (VIC)
An essay on the writer’s ongoing fascination with the practice of trepanation—the ancient practice of drilling a hole in the skull. Moving through ancient sources, fragments of journal entries and recollections, this piece probes at obsession, and the blessings and limits of revelation.
Thanks to everyone who entered—and stay tuned for the winners’ announcement next week!
