And the Winner of the Most Underrated Book Award (MUBA) Is…

The Grapple Annual Number 1 edited by Duncan Felton (Grapple Publishing)

Congratulations to Grapple author Duncan Felton and Grapple Publishing!

At an award ceremony last night at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre, book lovers recognised the underrated books of 2015 which included Grapple and two other nominees: Isabelle of the Moon and Stars by S.A. Jones (UWA Publishing) and Funemployed, Life As An Artist in Australia by Justin Heazlewood (Affirm Press)

The Most Underrated Book Award (MUBA) is an annual award that, according to founders the Small Press Network, “aims to shine a light on some of the outstanding titles produced by small and independent Australian publishers that, for whatever reason, did not receive their fair dues when first released.”

The Grapple Annual is a calendar-based anthology, full of prose, poetry, comics and art. It’s a diverse collection, with contributors from Canberra, Australia and around the world. Only 365 numbered and dated copies of each Annual are printed (366 in leap years).

Better Reading director Cheryl Akle was one of three judges of the final prize winner. Past winners of the award include: A Wrong Turn at The Office of Unmade Lists by Jane Rawson, published by Transit Lounge (2014), Fish-Hair Woman by Merlinda Bobis, published by Spinifex Press (2013) and inaugural winner The Cook by Wayne Macauley, published by Text Publishing.

To find out more go to the Small Press Network website