The Historical Novel Society Australasia is recognised as the home of the historical fiction genre in Australasia as the third arm of the international Historical Novel Society. The society considers the genre provides entertainment and education to readers while offering a valid perspective beyond the viewpoint of the historian. Both the imagination and dedication of historical novelists create authentic worlds which can enrich a reader’s understanding of real historical personages, eras and events.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia, thanks to our Foundation Partner, the ARA Group. The Prize incorporates a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature, in addition to the Adult category. As such, after just three years of operation, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies. The Prize awards $50,000 to the Adult category winner, with an additional $5,000 awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors. In the CYA category, the winner receives $30,000, while the two short listers receive $5,000 each. Entries are now open for the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize, and will close at 5pm (AEST) on 15 June 2022. For more information about the 2022 Prize, subscribe to our newsletter.
The HNSA promotes the writing, reading and publication of historical fiction, especially in Australia and New Zealand, through its biennial conferences held since 2015. Our events showcase the best literary talent and enable readers, writers and publishing professionals to celebrate the genre. The 2021 HNSA Virtual Conference was an online celebration of one of the world’s most popular genres over two weekends. The theme of our 2021 Conference was ‘Recovery—Restoring, Reconciling and Re-imagine Lost Histories’. Our speakers examined the role and responsibility of historical novelists in recovering lost, overlooked or deliberately erased histories, and whether the genre can play a part in achieving truth in reconciliation.
Our next conference will be held in 2023.
The inauguration of the ARA Historical Novel Prize is the crown jewel in HNSA’s suite of literary contests.
HNSA also runs the the Elizabeth Jane Corbett Mentorship for Young Adult historical novelists, ARA HNSA Short Story Contest, the TCW HNSA First Pages Pitch Contest, and introduced the Colleen McCullough Residency held on Norfolk Island in 2019.
The HNSA Committee is excited to announce the launch of our 2022 online program of workshops and chat salons. Join us this winter for an exciting line-up of authors and industry professionals. It’s the perfect way to spend those chilly August days. WORKSHOP WEEKEND: 6 & 7 AUGUST 2022 Our Workshop Weekend will run on
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce that entries for the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize are now open. The ARA Historical Novel Prize is the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia, incorporating both an Adult category and a
It’s time to catch up on the sessions you missed in the HNSA 2021 Main Weekend Program or revisit the ones you enjoyed! There are 28 sessions recorded including In Conversations, Panels and the First Pages Pitch Contest. Chat salons and workshops were not recorded to preserve privacy and intellectual property rights. The recordings will
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