AWC alumna shortlisted for Australia’s inaugural Matilda Children’s Literature Prize

Congratulations to AWC alumna Samera Kamaleddine (a graduate of our Creative Writing Stage 1 course), for being shortlisted in the inaugural Matilda Children’s Literature Prize.

Launched in 2020, the mission of this prize is to discover Australia’s next great voice in children’s literature. Samera was shortlisted from nearly 300 entries! A huge feat.

From the press release:

Samera’s manuscript is The Truth About Luck, and is ‘the story of a 16-year-old Lebanese-Australian who struggles to navigate the complexities of her identity and cultural perceptions.’

The other shortlisted manuscripts were:

• “Crush by Selena ‘SR’ Silcox, where the city meets country as two teenage girls from different worlds fall for each other amongst the cane farms of a small town.”
• “Exposed by Sandy Bigna, about a teenager who starts having strange flashbacks about drowning and becomes obsessed with the need to know how her heart donor really died.”

Congrats to the three shortlisted writers. 

The winner will be announced on August 18, 2020, and will receive a publishing deal with a $10,000 advance against royalties.

Would you like to know more about the Matilda Children’s Literature Prize? Visit the HarperCollins website for more details.