Belinda Castles
Belinda Castles won the $20,000 Australian / Vogel award in 2006 for her second novel, The River Baptists.Set over the course of a long hot tense summer, when sparks constantly threaten to ignite bushfires, The River Baptists examines a small, tight-knit riverside community and how it manages secrets, lies and the weight of living with the past.
The Australian / Vogel award is Australia's richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of 35.
Belinda was also named by The Sydney Morning Herald as one of Australia's best young novelists in 2008.