Meet the 2022 David Unaipon Award winner Mykaela Saunders

Meet the 2022 David Unaipon Award winner Mykaela Saunders

Are you an emerging First Nations writer? Do you have an unpublished manuscript?

Last year's brilliant winner Mykaela Saunders joined a long line of exciting and important past winners including Tara June Winch, Paul Collis, Ellen van Neerven, Jeanine Leane, Samuel Wagan Watson, and Larissa Behrendt. Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt calls the David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer "the most important development program for First Nations writers in Australia". 

Mykaela joined us to talk about persistence (she's entered 4 times!), what it felt like to win, and more about her short story collection that's set to be published by UQP in 2024. 

If you've ever thought about entering the David Unaipon Award, or know somebody who's written a great book, get in quickly because entries for the 2023 David Unaipon Award close on 14 April. The judges are excited to read your work and award one winner $15,000 and publication with University of Queensland Press! 

Why did you choose to enter the David Unaipon Award? 

I’ve always been aware of the David Unaipon Award as it’s has launched some of my favourite writers into the world – Jeanine Leane, Ellen van Neervan, Samuel Wagan Watson, and Lisa Fuller to name a few. The prize money and chance to publish with UQP are the biggest drawcards, so much so that I’ve entered this award 4 times, with 2 different manuscripts.

I first entered in 2017 with my novel 'Last Rites of Spring' and it didn’t get a look-in so I worked on the manuscript and re-entered it in 2020, and it was shortlisted. The next year, 2021, I had finished most of my stories for 'Always Will Be' so I entered that – again, it didn’t get a look-in, so I took that as a sign to keep working on it and happily it won when I re-entered it in 2022.  

Tell us about your short story collection, Always Will Be? It’s coming out next year (and we’re very excited for it!) What inspired you to write it?

Always Will Be started life as the creative component of my Doctor of Arts degree at the University of Sydney. In this project I wanted to think about how I could use speculative fiction to imagine various futures for my community, the Tweed Goori community. The stories are all set in the Tweed, but in different versions of the future. The stories look at different climate scenarios and political structures, and they also explore different facets of Aboriginal sovereignty, which is especially important to me.   

How long had you been working on your book? 

I wrote the first few stories in 2017 in my workshop classes in Sydney University’s amazing creative writing program. I slowly added to the collection over the years, amassing around twenty five stories. Eighteen will be in the final book. I wrote the last of these stories in 2021. 

What advice do you have for First Nations writers thinking about entering the David Unaipon Award? 

Just go for it, because even if you don’t get anywhere it’s good motivation to get a draft together for the deadline. And then if it doesn’t place, that’s a good kick up the bum to keep working on it until it's the best version it can be. It only took me 4 goes, but I got there in the end!

Thanks so much, Mykaela! We can't wait to read your book in print. 

Entries close here by Friday 14 April. If you have questions, take a look at our frequently asked questions, please do email us at qla@slq.qld.gov.au or call us on 07 3842 9321. Good luck!