Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce the shortlist for the Children and Young Adult (CYA) Category of the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize.
The shortlisted titles for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize – CYACategory are:
Secret Sparrow by Jackie French (HarperCollins Publishers)
Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin)
Spies in the Sky by Beverley McWilliams (Pantera Press)
Congratulations to the talented historical novelists who are in contention for a prize pool of $40,000.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize winners will be announced on 23 October 2024.
FROM THE JUDGING PANEL
The judging panel for the CYA Category includes Anna Ciddor (Chair), Danielle Clode and Lystra Rose.
According to judging panel, “It is an amazing coincidence that all three of the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize Children and Young Adult shortlisted books have bird-themed titles, but this is, in fact, extremely apt. Out of a wonderfully varied long list, the judges felt these three books soared high, not only with gripping and appealing story arcs and strongly relatable characters, but also by achieving great heights in the quality of their research. Each author has seamlessly woven this research into their storytelling, achieving exciting, immersive experiences for young readers. The three shortlisted titles explore universal challenges and emotions while at the same time bringing to light and to life historical moments little known to Australian readers.”
Secret Sparrow by Jackie French
(HarperCollins Publishers)
ABOUT JACKIE FRENCH
Jackie French AM is an award-winning writer, wombat negotiator, the 2014–2015 Australian Children’s Laureate and the 2015 Senior Australian of the Year. In 2016 Jackie became a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to children’s literature and her advocacy for youth literacy. She is regarded as one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors and writes across all genres — from picture books, history, fantasy, ecology and sci-fi to her much loved historical fiction for a variety of age groups.
QUOTE FROM JACKIE FRENCH
“The job of an historian is to find the truth. The job of a writer is to tell a story so compelling that the reader is immersed- and secrets die. It has been a joy and privilege in The Secret Sparrow to find the truth, then tell the story of some of those indomitable women and girls in WW1. It is impossible to express my joy at the ARA shortlisting. Thank you, all of you, not just for myself, but on behalf of those whose heroism has been hidden for so long.”
ABOUT SECRET SPARROW
In 1917 sixteen-year-old Jean McLain is working as a post-office assistant in England. But when she wins a national Morse code competition, the British army makes a request Jean cannot refuse – to take a secret position as a signaller in France.
If Jean can keep the signals flowing between headquarters and the soldiers at the Front, Britain might possibly win the war.
But the British army are determined to hide its desperation – and will go on to burn every document that showed how women and girls were working behind the scenes, in the trenches and even in battles during World War I.
Decades later, an old woman tells the story of ‘the telegraph girl’: the friends she lost, the man who loved her, and the happiness she so surprisingly found again.
Based on true events, this story of adventure, courage and unshakable loyalty restores women and girls to their place in history that the authorities tried to erase.
FROM THE JUDGING PANEL
Jackie French spent over ten years researching the hidden story of women who were used as signallers on the front line in World War 1, then turned this into a nail-biting novel using her evocative word-painting brush. Secret Sparrow opens in 1978 with a teenage boy fleeing from floodwaters, rescued by an elderly stranger. As the two spend the night watching ‘moonlit ripples coiling across the drowned land’ the woman gradually reveals her past. The horrors of her life as a signaller in World War 1 are cleverly counterbalanced by touches of humour, a love interest, and the image of a teenage boy sheltering from floodwaters in a rubbish bin.
Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky by Rebecca Lim
(Allen & Unwin)
ABOUT REBECCA LIM
Rebecca Lim is an award-winning Australian writer, illustrator and editor and the author of over twenty books, including Tiger Daughter (a CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers and Victorian Premier’s Literary Award-winner), The Astrologer’s Daughter and the bestselling Mercy. Her work has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, Queensland Literary Awards, Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award and Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, shortlisted multiple times for the Aurealis Awards and Davitt Awards, and longlisted for the Gold Inky Award and the David Gemmell Legend Award. She is a co-founder of the Voices from the Intersection initiative to support emerging young adult and children’s authors and illustrators who are First Nations, People of Colour, LGBTIQA+ and/or living with disability, and co-editor of Meet Me at the Intersection, a groundbreaking anthology of YA #OwnVoice memoir, poetry and fiction.
QUOTE FROM REBECCA LIM
“I’m extraordinarily honoured to have been shortlisted for this vitally important prize. Thanks to the esteemed judges, the HNSA, and the ARA Group for their generosity, and for supporting historical fiction for readers and writers of all ages. Besides hopefully being a stirring tale of adventure, Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky also functions as a corrective, a thought experiment, and an elegy for a lost era in which the stories of lesser-known Australians went unsung and unheard.”
ABOUT Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky
Thirteen-year-old Fu, his younger sister, Pei, and their mother live in a small rural community in Southern China that is already enduring harsh conditions when it is collectivised as part of Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward campaign that ultimately led to economic disaster, widespread famine and millions of deaths.
After tragedy strikes, and threatened with separation, Fu and Pei set out on a perilous journey across countries and oceans to find their father, who left for Australia almost a decade ago. With nothing to guide them but a photograph and some documents in a language they cannot read, they must draw on all their courage and tenacity just to survive – and perhaps forge a better life for themselves.
An unforgettable story of family, resilience and the complex Asian-Australian experience from the esteemed author of Tiger Daughter, winner of the CBCA Book of the year for Older Readers.
FROM THE JUDGING PANEL
Rebecca is skilful at weaving complex issues like racism, death, and famine with careful sensitivity through the innocent worldview of siblings 13-year-old Fu and his 11-year-old sister Pei. Lyrical and evocative, this powerful story tells historical truths about Mao’s Great Leap Forward (the unfurling of communism) and Australia’s appalling Immigration Restriction Act, the White Australia policy. Rebecca balances life’s harsh realities with powerful themes of bravery, resilience, and finding unexpected kindness in unlikely places. Her depth of research is woven with meticulous skill. Rebecca’s descriptions are imaginative and original, making it that dopamine-driven term we readers love to call a page-turner. Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky is an important novel, inviting readers to travel into the past to learn, laugh, and empathise through Fu and Pei’s courageous journey … knowing hope is on the horizon.
Spies in the Skies by Beverley McWilliams
(Pantera Press)
ABOUT Beverley McWilliams
Beverley McWilliams loves sharing history with young children. In August 2019, she published her debut picture book Born to Fly, which received a notable commendation from the CBCA.
Beverley’s writing has also been published online and in magazines, and she is a regular contributor to The School Magazine, Australia’s longest-running literary publication for children.
Beverley is the event coordinator for the Society Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI SA) and a member of the Australian Society Authors. She lives by the beach in beautiful South Australia with her family and menagerie of pets who provide endless inspiration.
A quote from Beverley McWilliams
“I’m thrilled that Spies in the Sky has been shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize. To be recognised alongside such talented authors is an honour.
Historical fiction brings history alive, allowing readers to truly connect with the past. Thank you to the ARA and HNSA for supporting this genre.”
ABOUT SPIES IN THE SKIES
Royal Blue is a royal racing pigeon from a long line of champions. Every morning he wakes in his comfortable loft at Sandringham House, eats the very best seeds and spends the day training with his best friend to be the fastest and strongest pigeon in Britain.
But there’s a war going on, and things are changing. Then one day the King himself comes to the loft and chooses Blue for a very special assignment.
As Blue goes on missions, helping with rescues, carrying secret messages and facing dangers he never could have imagined, one thing will become clear: never underestimate a pigeon.
From THE judging panel
‘Spies in the Sky’ by Beverly McWilliams is a beautifully constructed story about war, class, friendship – and pigeons. From the opening pages the main character, ‘Royal Blue’ – a privileged racing pigeon, takes us on a sweeping adventure from his luxurious home in the royal pigeon loft, into the war service and onto the front line. No matter how dark the events surrounding them, Blue and his feathered friends share support, humour and extraordinary courage. Based on the true story of messenger pigeons in the war, McWilliams provides a compelling and impeccably researched tale that is both uplifting and perfectly paced, as befits the incredible aerial skills of her main protagonists.
About the Prize
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is worth a total of $150,000 in prize monies. The Prize will award $100,000 to the Adult category winner, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors. In the Children and Young Adult (CYA) category, the winner will receive $30,000, while the two shortlisted authors will receive $5,000 each.
The prize is open to novels where the majority of the narrative takes place at least 50 years ago by authors who are Australian or New Zealand citizens or residents.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been made possible through the generous patronage of ARA Group.
ABOUT ARA GROUP
ARA Group provides a comprehensive range of building services and products to major customers throughout Australia and New Zealand and – through its workplace giving program, The ARA Endowment Fund – plays a proud and positive role in the community.
The ARA Endowment Fund currently donates 100 per cent of the interest earned annually to The Go Foundation, The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and The David Lynch Foundation.
ARA Group has also sponsored the Historical Novel Society Australasia’s biennial conferences since 2017, is Principal Partner
