Charlie Markbreiter & Maz Murray

After deliberation, the third Hodler Prize was awarded jointly to three narrative works: the podcast “Otherworld” by Jack Wagner, the video game “Skate Story” by Sam Eng, and the novel “Jaw Filler” by Charlie Markbreiter and Maz Murray. A special Witness Award is given to the documentary “2000 Meters to Andriivka” directed by Mstyslav Chernov.

‘I loved the timeliness of this book and the two authors together making a world not so far from our own, where the digital realm could actually be a form of freedom. It thinks through the rise of anti-trans culture and the internet not only as a place of safety but maybe a new body. It was so fun to read and I love two people writing a book together. So genius.’ Precious Okoyomon (Hodler Prize 003 Jury)

‘You don’t need dysphoria to be trans. You don’t need a body at all.’

« When Detective Sean Hastings is asked to investigate the disappearance of Character, he enters the First Trans Commune in Sim World, a virtual reality cult community imagineered by transfluencer Kevin, and bankrolled by a mysterious tech company, VSI.

"Haunted by the death of his cis gay guy college bestie and their shared diasporic dilemmas, Taylor, VSI’s token QTPOC face, sees potential in Kevin’s ability to Release trauma into the virtual world. Meanwhile, Casey, Sean’s ex, hopes Releasing will cure their Long Plague. Then femme fatale Mitchelle reappears. And the plot twists. A pulpy neo-noir romp through the anxiously assimilated transmasculine id, Jaw Filler asks: who is VSI, and what do they really want? Can you be your own dad? And if Character’s mind is trapped in Sim World, then where is his body?" Montez Press