In honour of historical novelist, Elizabeth Jane Corbett, the Historical Novel Society Australasia is offering the chance for a previously unpublished author from Australia or New Zealand to receive a mentorship from Wendy J Dunn to develop a completed first draft of an unpublished historical fiction manuscript for young adults.
Key Dates
Submissions open: 6 November 2024
Submissions close: 4 December 2024 at 5pm
Winner announced: 12 February 2025
Bring your stories from the past closer to publication
Aspiring Australian and New Zealand authors of young adult historical fiction are invited to apply for a unique writing mentorship designed to help bring their stories from the past closer to publication!
The HNSA is calling upon aspiring writers to take the next step in their creative journey, with applications for the 2026 E.J. Corbett Mentorship now open until 16 December 2026.
Held biennially in honour of much-loved historical novelist Elizabeth Jane Corbett, the mentorship offers a previously unpublished author the opportunity to develop a completed first draft of an unpublished young adult historical fiction manuscript with the guidance of award-winning Australian author, Dr Wendy J Dunn.
All submissions will be assessed by judge Dr Rachel Nightingale, an author, award-winning playwright, educator and actor. Dr Nightingale said she will be looking for the qualities that defined E.J. Corbett’s own writing:
“Writing that has clarity but also sings, characters that draw you into their lives, and historical veracity that transports you to a time and place far from here – these are what Elizabeth (Corbett) did so well, and what I hope to find in the competition entries.”
The successful applicant will receive five personalised mentoring sessions with Dr Dunn, who will provide detailed feedback and practical guidance across the craft of novel writing, including plot, characterisation, pacing, dialogue, world-building and historical research. The program is designed to help writers identify challenges, strengthen their manuscripts, and develop their work towards publication.
Open to citizens and residents of Australia and New Zealand, the mentorship welcomes completed first-draft manuscripts of at least 20,000 words. Eligible works must be historical fiction written for young adults, with a readership broadly aged 12 to 18. Historical settings may span any country or period, provided the majority of the narrative takes place at least 50 years in the past.
Elizabeth Jane Corbett was a talented author, dedicated HNSA committee member and passionate advocate for historical storytelling. Her debut young adult novel, The Tides Between, was recognised as a Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book for Older Readers. Through this mentorship, HNSA seeks to honour her contribution to the literary community while giving an aspiring writer the encouragement, expertise and opportunity to realise their creative ambitions.
Previous mentorship recipients include David Shield (2024), and inaugural recipient Alison Stegert (2020), whose winning manuscript was published in 2024 as Her Majesty’s League of Remarkable Young Ladies.
Applications open 4 November 2026 and close 16 December 2026. An entry fee of $25 applies. Applicants are encouraged to review the full eligibility criteria and submission requirements before entering.
Our Mentor
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. Shades of Yellow, her metafiction novel, was published in 2025. Her first major nonfiction work, Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, a Tudor Life, was published by Pen & Sword books in 2023, and used for research by Alison Weir for her novel ’The Boleyn Secret'. They have now commissioned Wendy to write a second nonfiction work. The subject of this work is also the subject of the novel she is writing.
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.
Our Judge
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.