The University of Southern Queensland's 2018 Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize was awarded to writer and musician, Natalie D-Napoleon, at an awards ceremony in Toowoomba, Australia on  August 10, 2018.

Born and raised in Fremantle, Australia Ms. D-Napoleon currently resides in Santa Barbara, California and traveled to Queensland to accept the award. Her winning work was selected for the top honor from over 1,000 entries. Titled "First Blood: A Sestina," the poem is from a soon-to-be-published collection called "First Blood" and is about mythologising and de-mythologising coming of age through the window of a young girl.

“One of the things which inspired me to write this collection, Zemlja, which "First Blood" is from, was seeing the Richard Linklater film Boyhood,” Ms. D-Napoleon explained. “I left the film having really enjoyed it, but with one overwhelming thought - where are the great tales of girlhood? I began writing the poems in this collection with the aim to tell a story of my girlhood in the way the lives and childhoods of boys are told, with confidence and boldness.”

Having first started writing poetry and short stories in her teens, Ms. D-Napoleon’s early literary pursuits where published in local journals such as Westerly and Fremantle Arts Review. She then channeled her writing into music, fronting several Perth-based bands, including Bloom and Flavour of the Month, before establishing a solo career in the United States.

After spending the past decade recording and touring Australia, Europe, and the United States, it was her Santa Barbara base that ironically reignited her literary career leading to her being a finalist in the Penelope Niven Prize in Creative Nonfiction two years running and inspiring her to enter the Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize.

“We have a very active writing and poetry scene in Santa Barbara - we even have a poet laureate for the city,” Ms. D-Napoleon said. “I love the music of words, wordplay and the unspoken truths that poetry reveals. So being part of this wonderful community has helped me develop my love of poetry even more.”