In 2026, the Kat Muscat Fellowship enters its eleventh year, and a new iteration.

Founded in 2015 by the Muscat family in collaboration with Express Media, the fellowship honours the life, work and legacy of Kat Muscat, a brilliant young mind of the Australian writing community whose formidable talent was demonstrated through her incisive writing and perceptive editing. Kat was an integral part of the Express Media community for many years, stepping up to become Editor of Voiceworks from 2012 – 2014. Throughout her 10 years with Express Media, Kat helped to shape the careers of young writers and editors from all around Australia.

In 2026, the Kat Muscat Fellowship will become the Kat Muscat Award, a change that recognises the invaluable role played by Voiceworks in Kat's life. Each year, a cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to a contributor to Voiceworks whose writing best embodies the values of Kat's personal mantra—defiance, feminism and empathy. The inaugural prize will be awarded to a 2025 contributor to Voiceworks, and the winner will be selected by the current Editor of Voiceworks, Joel Keith. Furthermore, a grant of $2,000 will be made to Voiceworks, allowing Australia's premiere youth literary journal to expand the opportunities it provides to writers under 25 across the country.

Express Media extends its deepest thanks to the outgoing Kat Muscat Fellowship committee, the literary community and the Muscat family, as well as new annual patrons Bri Lee and Grace Heifetz. Your generous support, guidance and encouragement have made this vital program possible.

Past recipients of the Kat Muscat Fellowship are: Bri Lee (2016), Fury (2017), Ana Maria Gomides (2018), Liana Skrzypczak (2019), Maddie Godfrey (2020), Dženana Vucic (2021), Munira Tabassum Ahmed (2022), Taylor Mitchell (2023), Xiaole Zhan (2024) and Adalya Nash Hussein (2025).