UWA graduate awarded WA literary prize

A creative writing graduate from The University of Western Australia has been awarded a prestigious literary prize for young writers and a publishing contract for her winning manuscript The Glass House.

UWA PhD graduate Brooke Dunnell (South Perth) won the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award for Western Australian writers aged 18 to 35, receiving a $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation and the publishing contract with Fremantle Press.

The Glass House, centres on 36-year-old Julia, who takes a break from her faltering marriage in Melbourne to help her ageing father move out of the family home in Perth.

Brooke turned 35 just one week after entries for the award closed and said the Fogarty deadline pushed her to finish her manuscript.

“In other circumstances I might have run out of puff and started to second-guess myself before getting it to the level where I was happy to have others read it,” Brooke said.

“Because I began and finished writing the manuscript so close to the deadline, I didn’t have the chance to share it with [my] readers … so I couldn’t be sure whether everything was working the way I intended.”

Brooke Dunnell

Executive Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation, Annie Fogarty AM, said the Foundation was absolutely delighted to help another inspiring writer make the leap from manuscript to published book.

“Brooke’s talent as a short story writer is garnering her national recognition and we believe she has a long writing career ahead,” Ms Fogarty said.

“More than this, her experience as a creative writing mentor and workshop facilitator will hold her in good stead when she provides literary leadership to other young Western Australian writers as a Fogarty Foundation ambassador.”

Fremantle Press CEO Jane Fraser said the Fogarty Literary Award had already unearthed a wealth of talent.

“We’ve published five books by the Fogarty alumni to date and we’re thrilled by the responses we’ve had from reviewers and the reading public,” Ms Fraser said.

The Fogarty Foundation was established by Brett and Annie Fogarty in 2000 to support and provide educational and leadership opportunities for young people across the spectrum of the Western Australian community. 

The Glass House is scheduled for publication in 2022.