Margery Hellmann, Wave Words, Photo: Washington Library
Winning a literary prize can be an invaluable starting point for an emerging writer. It can give the winner a lot of exposure and can open doors to meeting publishers and to begin building a readership. It can also provide a sense of validation for the writer which can give them a massive confidence boost. 2013 Monash Prize winner, Rebecca Slater, said that winning ‘was incredibly validating and made this whole writing business seem like a real-life, actually-plausible thing.’ The prize money is an amazing opportunity to travel or rent a studio in order to work on your next piece. Or you could just throw a party and buy a shiny new bike; the money is yours to spend how you please!
