2017: Dr Lili Wilkinson

Novel: The wild kindness – A Young Adult novel

In 2016, Lili collaborated with missing Melbourne teen Bung Siriboon's family and the Missing Person's Advocacy Network to produce a piece of creative writing for Too short stories, an awareness-raising anthology.

The work sparked Lili's interest in the motif of the Australian lost child. The depiction of missing or dead girls and women can be a harmful trope which reduces female characters to plot devices or catalysts for emotional reactions in male protagonists. The narratives of lost boys are characterised by exploration and adventure (Peter Pan, Treasure Island), while lost girls are motivated by a desire to return to the safety of home (Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz).

In The wild kindness, Lili confronted this trope head-on, restoring agency to the lost girls of literature in a postmodern feminist reclamation.

Dr Lili Wilkinson's PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne focused her research on the links between young people, literature, the internet and activism. An author of 10 YA books, Lili also established the Inside a dog website for teen readers, the Inky Awards and the Inkys Creative Reading Prize at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library Victoria.

An Ambassador for the Stella Schools Program, Lili runs talks and workshops about gender bias in literature and culture, and now spends most of her time reading and writing books for teenagers.