Exciting news! The HNSA, in partnership with our generous sponsor, ARA Group, is expanding the ARA Historical Novel Prize to include a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature.
What does this mean? The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies. Only in its’s second year of operation, it’s now the richest genre based literary award. The winner of the Adult category Prize will be awarded $50,000, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the two shortlisted authors. In the CYA category, the winner will receive $30,000, while the two short listers will receive $5,000 each.
Designed to give historical novelists the opportunity to be recognised in a class of their own, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is a true celebration of historical fiction, and a real opportunity to foster it on a grander scale, and encourage younger readers to embrace the genre.
Last year, we received nearly 200 entries for the inaugural prize. These novels provided not only entertainment and escapism, but also enlightened readers on the richness of history. I am looking forward to exploring the bygone eras illuminated in the 2021 entries, particularly those submitted for our new CYA category.
ARA Group Founder, Executive Chair and Managing Director — and patron of the arts — Edward Federman said he was determined to expand the prize funding to support more of Australasia’s most talented authors during a time of immense uncertainty in the industry.
“In its second year, we’re proud to not only continue, but amplify, the impact the ARA Historical Novel Prize will have on the literary community in Australia and New Zealand by rewarding a wider breadth of authors for their contributions to our society’s extraordinary library of published works. ARA Group is hopeful the launch of the new CYA category and additional funding for the ARA Historical Novel Prize will not only make a considerable difference to the lives of the winning authors, but also ensure the telling of history lives on.”
I’m also delighted to announce our wonderful panel of judges are:
- Adult Category: Nicole Alexander (Chair), Carmel Bird and Roanna Gonsalves
- CYA Category: Paul McDonald (Chair), Thuy On and Catherine Mayo
Once again our thanks go to the New England Writers’ Centre for administering the submission process.
Entries open for the prize on 14 April 2021. We’ll announce the winners at the 2021 HNSA virtual conference on 22 October. So make sure you save those dates in your diary! For more information on the contest, please visit the ARA Historical Novel Prize page. You can catch up on our last year’s winners there, too.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been made possible through the generous patronage of ARA Group, Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider. The ARA Group, is committed to supporting the arts and literature. It does this in a number of ways – as a Principal Partner of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, as a Principal Partner of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, as a Principal Partner of the Monkey Baa Theatre, and as a sponsor of the Historical Novel Society Australia’s biennial conferences – and now as the sponsor of this very significant literary prize.
HNSA Chair
