Writer and actor Megan Wilding has been announced as the winner of the 2017 Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwright’s Award. The prestigious $25,000 prize is comprised of a $15,000 commission to write a new play and a $10,000 cash prize. Wilding’s new play will tell the story of an Indigenous woman who takes violent revenge against a man who sexually assaulted her as a child.

“Being chosen as the recipient of The Balnaves Award means the world to me”, said Wilding. “I’m so grateful to The Balnaves Foundation and to Belvoir for believing in me and giving me the platform and support to strengthen and explore my voice, just like it has done for all the phenomenal previous winners”.

“I entered The Balnaves Award because I had a story that I really wanted to write. The Award will give me the tools to fully invest in the process of writing. I’m so excited to jump all the way in with the support and guidance of Belvoir.”

“As a young Aboriginal woman who is a survivor of child molestation, I had this question in my head of ‘what would it be like if we told victims of paedophilia to get over what had happened...