![Playwright Dylan Van Den Berg and Street Theatre director Caroline Stacey. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong Playwright Dylan Van Den Berg and Street Theatre director Caroline Stacey. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/32suSVsqH3pdw6NJyh92X9D/c861a594-2799-426a-ac45-a78a857ff5af.jpg/r0_493_6000_3866_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Canberra playwright Dylan Van Den Berg has won the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for drama for his locally-produced play Milk.
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The 29-year-old, who lives in Fisher with his partner Emily and their two-year-old daughter Charlotte, was presented with the award in Melbourne on Thursday evening.
"I'm really excited, really stoked," he said.
"You don't expect this kind of recognition when you write something but it's always lovely. Certainly being part of the shortlisted nominees was enough for me. The win is an extra bonus."
Milk, which was produced by The Street Theatre, also last year won the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.
The play is a search for answers, sought from characters on an island, ancestors or ghosts who might be able to fill the missing gaps in a life.
![Playwright Dylan Van Den Berg. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong Playwright Dylan Van Den Berg. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/32suSVsqH3pdw6NJyh92X9D/a44d2239-d228-41da-b133-a43c77deced8.jpg/r0_0_4002_5995_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A Palawa man of mixed heritage, Dylan grew up near Devonport in Tasmania. He moved to Victoria when he was 12 and then to Canberra to study at the Australian National University.
"I came about 10 years ago, which is scary to think about now," he said.
"I studied here and headed off to Sydney for a couple of years and then ultimately returned to Canberra where I'm raising my family and settling in."
The Victorian Premier's Literary Award for drama includes a $25,000 prize.
Dylan said the money would make "a huge difference".
"What is does as a writer is that it buys you some time to work on the next thing," he said.
"Time is so precious. Most of us are juggling and working a number of jobs and things, so what it does is carve out some dedicated time for writing. It's a really, really wonderful and rare thing."
Dylan supplements his income from writing with acting and directing gigs as well as consultancy work.
He said Canberra was a place where he could pursue his writing dreams.
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"I really love the arts scene in Canberra. It's small but what I like about it is it's tightknit and supportive," he said.
"That leads me into mentioning Caroline Stacey and The Street Theatre where Milk was produced last year. Caroline has been such a supporter of me over the years.
"This is a work produced in Canberra and the fact it is having national ripples is surprising but also really gratifying.
"I think it's hopefully shedding some light that there are artists in Canberra and we have a lot to say."
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