2nd April, 2024

In mid-late 2023, UQP announced a nationwide call-out for essays for a new anthology, by autistic women and gender-diverse people, to be co-edited by autistic writers Jo Case and Clem Bastow, and generously supported by the Australia Council.

The anthology will comprise both commissioned essays and those chosen via the call-out. Today, on World Autism Awareness Day 2024, I am delighted to announce that my essay has been selected for publication in the anthology.

UQP has announced that the final book, due out in April 2025, will contain essays by the following writers:

Tash Agafonoff, Kai Ash, Clem Bastow, Jo Case, Ange Crawford, Khadija Gbla, Shadia Hancock, Jess Ho, Kay Kerr, Sarah Kian-Judge, Phoebe Lupton, C.B. Mako, Jerico Mandybur, Sienna McAlister, Caitlin McGregor, Lauren Metzler, L.T., Erin Riley, Alison Sampson, Danni Stewart, Cher Tan, Amanda Tink, Marlee Jane Ward, Anna Whateley & Kate Gordon, and Fiona Wright.

I am extremely honoured to be included in the anthology alongside many writers whose work I’ve admired for a long time–and whose work, writing, and activism was so important through my own process of learning what it means to be autistic.

4th September, 2021

Each year–and every year since 2015–the Emerging Writers Festival has launched the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers, in partnership with Hachette Australia and the Richell family. Last year, mid-pandemic and G’s cancer treatment, I abandoned my intention to enter, and this year, between caring duties and work (and still, a global pandemic), I still almost didn’t. But with five minutes to go before the deadline, I uploaded my documents and hit submit on my entry.

The Richell Prize was established in memory of Hachette Australia’s CEO, Matt Richell, who died suddenly in 2014. The Prize is also supported by Simpson Solicitors in Matt’s memory. It is an incredible opportunity for emerging writers, with a monetary component to the prize ($10,000) and more significantly, for me, a year of mentoring with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers.

I am thrilled to be selected on the longlist this year, and even if this is as far as I go, I am hopeful that my book will one day (soon!) find a home somewhere. Perhaps, even in your home.

Congratulations to all the longlistees/writers/entrants and thank you, to the Emerging Writers Festival, Hachette Australia and the Richell family for this opportunity!

The complete longlist can be found at the link below:-

2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers Longlist

26th June, 2020

Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition 2020

Since 2008, Writers Victoria has held the annual Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition which aims to support and profile emerging Victorian writers.

In 2020, Natasha Agafonoff received first place in Non-fiction and also the Best Regional Writer Prize for her piece ‘Sexy Nails’.

Judge’s comments: ‘Sexy Nails’ weaves past and present together seamlessly, telling both the writer’s story and her grandfather’s, and shines a light on a specific chapter of history that is not often explored. By grounding the work in the physicality of her fingernails, Agafonoff takes a risky writing bet that pays off, resulting in a piece that is haunting and visceral.

Sexy Nails will be published in the October/November edition of The Victorian Writer.

Results for all categories are available at Writers Victoria here.