The Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer: Judges 2004

Joel Becker (Convenor)

Joel Becker is Director of the Victorian Writers' Centre and has been in the book industry for more than 30 years as a bookseller, writer, editor, consultant and freelance cultural project manager. Joel has previously been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards for Australian Crime Writing and the Australian Book Design Awards, as well as being on the selection panel for the State Library of Victoria Creative Fellowships awarded in 2003 and 2004.

Garry Disher

Garry Disher is the author of novels, short story collections, history textbooks, writers' handbooks and crime thrillers. Disher's reputation was first established with fiction for young adults. He has won several prizes in that genre, including the Children's Book Council Award for The Bamboo Flute (1992). His novels for adults have also attracted attention, most notably The Sunken Road (1996) which was shortlisted for several awards. Most recently, Disher has won several international awards for his crime fiction. His Wyatt series is widely considered one of the best series of crime fiction from an Australian writer.

Melanie Ostell

Melanie Ostell is the senior editor at Text Publishing and has been with the company since 1997. She is involved in all aspects of managing fiction and non-fiction titles from receipt of manuscript to the finished book. Text authors include Murray Bail, Tim Flannery, Shane Maloney, Inga Clendinnen, Tom Gilling and Sarah Murgatroyd.