THE RICHEST LITERARY PRIZE IN AUSTRALIA AND nEW ZEALAND
As entries open for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize, The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with founding sponsor ARA Group, are pleased to announce a significant increase in the prize money for the award to $150,000– placing it as the richest individual literary prize in Australia and New Zealand.
The overall prize pool has been increased from $100,000 to $150,000 with the winner of adult category receiving $100,000. The prize provides Australian and New Zealand historical novelists the chance to be rewarded and recognised with this amazing increase. Edward Federman, the Executive Chair and CEO of the ARA Group says,
“I am proud to support The ARA Historical Novel Prize, which continues to celebrate excellence in writing in this increasingly popular genre. Our vision for the Prize is to reward the endeavours of outstanding Australian and New Zealand authors to create historical narratives which bridge together tales of our past and present.”
Elisabeth Storrs, Chair of the HNSA, says, “HNSA welcomes the opportunity to continue to elevate the genre by rewarding historical novelists with both literary acclaim and a significant tangible benefit. We are grateful to the ARA Group for its financial support, which will make a life changing contribution to each winners’ work.”
TWO CATEGORIES AVAILABLE
The Prize encompasses two categories:
Adult: The prize winner receives $100,000, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors.
Children and Young Adult (CYA): The prize winner receives $30,000 with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors.
The Awards are open to novels in which the majority of the narrative must have taken place at least 50 years before publication. See our rules for the all eligibility criteria.
OUR JUDGING PANELS
The judging panel for the Adult category includes Tony Maniaty (Chair), Michael Williams, Sienna Brown, Meenakshi Bharat and Catherine Chidgey. Children and Young Adult category judges include Anna Ciddor (Chair), Lystra Rose and Danielle Clode. See further details on our Judging Panel page.
PREVIOUS ILLUSTRIOUS PRIZE WINNERS
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been running for 4 years and previous winners of the prize include Gail Jones (2023), Tom Keneally (2022), Jock Serong (2021) and Mirandi Riwoe (2020), and YA author and two-time winner Katrina Nannestad (2021,2022) and Amelia Mellor (2024).
KEY DATES
Key Dates:
- Entries Open: 10 April
- Entries Close: 12 June at 5pm
- Longlists Announced: 4 September
- Shortlists Announced: 25 September
- Winners Announced: 17 October
For learn more and enter the contest, visit: https://hnsa.org.au/ara-historical-novel-prize/
OUR GENEROUS SPONSOR – THE ARA GROUP
About ARA Group
The ARA Group provides essential services for facilities and infrastructure throughout Australia and New Zealand. ARA takes pride in their engagement within the community through the ARA Endowment Fund. The Fund is committed to making a meaningful difference by donating 100% of its annual interest earnings to The Go Foundation, The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and The David Lynch Foundation. Since 2017, the ARA Group has sponsored the Historical Novel Society Australasia’s biennial conferences. ARA is Principal Partner of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Melbourne Writers Festival, the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the Monkey Baa Theatre and the Story Factory, and Crown Sponsor of Taronga Zoo. https://aragroup.com.au/
About Historical Novel Society Australasia
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) is the third arm of the international Historical Novel Society and home to the historical fiction genre in Australasia. Since 2015, the Society’s biennial conference has promoted the writing, reading and publication of historical fiction. The Awards continue to celebrate the best of literary talent in the genre. HNSA also runs the HNSA First Pages Pitch Contest, the Colleen McCullough Residency held on Norfolk Island and the Elizabeth Jane Corbett Mentorship for Young Adult fiction historical novelists. https://hnsa.org.au/
