Is the difference between a hoarder and an eccentric collector a matter of relative affluence and class? This question is one of many the Miles Franklin Literary Award finalist, Emily Maguire, is keen to find answers to as the latest recipient of the Charles Perkins Centre Writer in Residence Fellowship at the University of Sydney.

The Sydney-based author receives $100,000 and access to the university’s library and medical research institute which examines some of the biggest public health scourges of modern times – obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease – looking at these illnesses beyond mere biology.

Author Emily Maguire is this year's recipient of the Charles Perkins Fellowship. Credit:Steven Siewert

For her next book, a novel addressing hoarding, consumerism and illness, Maguire will be sitting down with the centre's researchers, educators and clinicians to see the role that family, social class and economic status play in it all.

Maguire was chosen for the year-long residency from a shortlist of notable writers including Stella prize winner Heather Rose, (The Museum of Modern Love), Gabriel Carey, co-writer of Puberty Blues, Ceridwen Dovey (Only the Animals) and Kate Cole-Adams (Anaesthesia). Inaugural winner, Charlotte Wood, is expecting to complete her book written on women and ageing this year.