2022 Fresh Ink Prize Winner Announced

Alejandra has written short stories for many years and this is her first manuscript. Her short stories have been published in range of anthologies and magazines. She has also written short plays, one which was performed at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta. Born in Uruguay, she migrated to Australia at the age of seven with her family as a military dictatorship was about to take over the country. It is these life experiences that have shaped her writing; writing that explores both migration and universal themes of identity, loss, aging, mental health and resilience.  along with a range of anthologies and magazines.

Judge Maggie Ball said: “The work presents a stunning and original overview of Latinx communities in both America and Australia, exploring how the family escape the civic-military dictatorship in the 1970s and find a home among the South American community of Western Sydney. Now, decades later, each member of the family reckons with the tension between the rich meaning they draw from their heritage and the human need for new experiences.

“An often-ignored perspective, Salsa in the Suburbs is poignant in its intersectional dialogue, innovative in its use of the first-person and inspiring in its well-developed characters that carry humour, trauma and Uruguayan history with immense strength. Alejandra Martinez’s voice is unique and deserving of a wider audience; her prose is sophisticated; the temporal shifts in her manuscript are expertly realised. We look forward to Alejandra being able to use this prize to develop her manuscript and cannot wait to see her novel in bookshelves across the country.”