Have you written the next The Book Thief or Sacred Hearts but need help polishing it?
In honour of historical novelist, Elizabeth Jane Corbett, the HNSA is offering the chance for a previously unpublished author from Australia or New Zealand to receive a mentorship with Wendy J Dunn to develop a completed first draft of an unpublished historical fiction manuscript for young adults.
The EJ Corbett Mentorship will open on 6 November 2024.
Submissions close on 4 December 2024 at 5pm AEST
Winner to be announced on 12 February 2025.
about the mentorship
The winner will receive five (5) mentoring sessions at times to be arranged between the winner and tutor. Wendy J Dunn will read and assess the novel in its entirety, then meet with the mentee via Zoom, initially for 1-2 hours, to discuss the winner’s inspiration and goals, and to identify ‘roadblocks’ requiring Wendy’s assistance. Wendy will provide in-depth feedback on plot, characterisation, pacing, dialogue, world building and effective use of research. Recordings of the Zoom sessions will provided together with Wendy’s comments and notes. Three x 1 further 1-hour sessions, followed by a final 1-2 hour session, will then be arranged to track progress and provide encouragement and support. Wendy will also proofread the manuscript and provide comments on the way forward.
WHAT IS YOUNG ADULT FICTION?
There is no hard and fast definition of young adult (YA) fiction but for the purpose of the contest, the novel is aimed at a readership age group between the ages of 12 and 18. Books generally explore themes and issues relevant to young readers including coming of age stories, interpersonal and/or family relationships etc and can cover mature and complex themes. The main character is usually of similar age to the targeted YA audience but there can be older characters in the story. You can learn more about the definition of Young Adult Fiction in this article by Wendy J Dunn.
WHAT IS HISTORICAL FICTION?
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- An historical novel is one in which the majority of the narrative, namely, more than 50% of the events described, has taken place at least 50 years before publication.
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- Historical subgenres considered to be historical fiction include historical mystery, historical romance, and historical fantasy and alternate history. Time-slip novels, multiple-time period novels, and parallel narrative novels are also considered historical fiction with flexibility to crossover between eras stretching from 50 years or more in the past until contemporary times provided more than 50% of the events described take place at least 50 years before publication.
ABOUT WENDY J DUNN
Dr Wendy J Dunn is an award-winning Australian author, playwright and poet. She is the author of two Anne Boleyn novels: Dear Heart, How Like You This?, The Light in the Labyrinth, her first young adult novel, and two Katherine of Aragon novels, Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters and Falling Pomegranate Seeds: All Manner of Things. Her firstmajor nonfiction work, Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, a Tudor Life, was published by Pen & Sword books in 2023. They have now commissioned Wendy to write a second nonfiction work.
A respected and longtime member of the Tudor writing community, Wendy was the Founding Editor of Backstory and Other Terrain, two academic writing journals belonging to Swinburne University. Wendy is a sessional tutor for the university, receiving the Swinburne University Postgraduate Research Award. Wendy still manages Other Terrain.
Wendy mentored Alison Stegert, the winner of the 2020 EJ Corbett Mentorship contest whose manuscript was published in 2024 as Her Majesty’s League of Remarkable Young Ladies.
ABOUT THE JUDGE
Dr Rachel Nightingale is an author, award-winning playwright, educator and actor. With a passion for storytelling and the theatre, it was only natural that her first fantasy series, the Tales of Tarya trilogy, would centre on both. She has also co-authored Mandala: Journeys Within the Circle, with artist Karen Scott, and Raluana Lane, a historical fiction novel about the invasion of Rabaul (Papua New Guinea) during WW2. An award winning playwright, her plays have been performed in Australia, New Zealand and Manila. Having survived improv theatre, travelled the world and immersed herself endlessly in research and creative practice, she often finds herself at the mercy of stories that demand to be written. She lives in regional Australia with her family and a very bossy cat.
ABOUT ELIZABETH JANE CORBETT
Elizabeth Jane Corbett sadly passed away in January 2020. She was a talented author, dedicated member of the HNSA Committee, reviewer for the international Historical Novels Review, and a mainstay of our historical fiction community. She had a great love of Wales, and learned the Welsh language in order to research her books fully. Her debut young adult historical novel, The Tides Between, was named a Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book for older readers. Liz described the book as ‘an historical coming-of-age novel about fairy tales and facing the truth. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the power of myth.’
When Elizabeth Jane wasn’t writing, she worked as a librarian, and taught Welsh at the Melbourne Welsh Church. In 2009, her short-story, Beyond the Blackout Curtain, won the Bristol Short Story Prize. Another, Silent Night, was short listed for the Allan Marshall Short Story Award. She died suddenly in her beloved Wales at Stiwdio Maelor on a research trip for her next novel about the wife of Owain Glyn Dŵr – the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales.
Liz liked red shoes, dark chocolate, commuter cycling, and reading quirky, character driven novels set once-upon-a-time in lands far away.
Her advice to aspiring authors was: ‘It will be hard work and you may have to wrestle with confusion and self-doubt (even after you’ve won prizes and been published). So, focus on the journey and learning your craft. And remember, writing is the real magic.’
The HNSA Committee hopes the mentorship will keep the memory of Elizabeth Jane Corbett alive while providing the opportunity for an aspiring author to walk in her red shoes in writing a successful historical novel for young adults.
