Canberra author Mark Henshaw was been awarded the Copyright Agency's inaugural $40,000 Author Fellowship and will use it to finish his latest novel, The Missing.
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It's not the first time he's won a $40,000 prize. Early 2015 he took out the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for his well-known psychological thriller The Snow Kimono, which was rejected by 32 American publishes before winning the award.
His new piece of work, The Missing, is an existential thriller set both in France in Australia, about one man's tenuous hold on his life and identity.
The judging panel of Brian Johns AO (chair), Malcolm Knox and Geordie Williamson was "particularly excited by the extract of the novel for which [Henshaw] is seeking funding".
Mr Johns described Henshaw as "a powerful talent we want to survive, nurture and grow".
Mr Henshaw took 25 years to publish his second novel, after his 1988 debut novel Out of the Line of Fire was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin and Age Book of the Year awards, won two other prizes, and became one of the best-selling Australian literary novels in the 80s.
It was released in the nation's bicentenary year and sparked controversy about Australian writers' place on a global stage.
Mr Henshaw lived in France, Germany, Yugoslavia and the US, before moving to the ACT. He was a curator at the National Gallery of Australia until returning to writing fiction full-time.
His most recent win was targeted to authors in their mid-to-late career, as the Copyright Agency acknowledged there were plenty of awards available for new and emerging writers, but fewer for more experienced authors who still need support.
The Copyright Agency Fellowships were established to mark its 40th anniversary in 2014.
