In 2024 acclaimed Australian writer and La Trobe University Adjunct Research Fellow Christos Tsiolkas was one of the judges of the Melbourne Prize for Literature Writers Prize. This prize is awarded to an essay demonstrating outstanding originality, literary merit, and creative freshness.

The prize was won by Dr Carrie Tiffany, lecturer in English and Creative Writing at La Trobe University, with Dr Judith Bishop, Tracey Banivanua Mar Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University, winning the civic choice award.

In this discussion Christos, Judith and Carrie discuss the essay form. Can the essay be fresh? What makes a great essay and, why do they write them?

They discuss Carrie’s essay – ‘Seven Snakes,’ published in Meanjin, Judith’s essay, ‘History repeats (A tale of artificial noses),’ published on the Melbourne Prize website and Christos’ most recent essay, ‘Politics is Not Religion,’ published in The Monthly.