ARA Historical Novel Prize shortlists announced
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the shortlists for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize.
Shortlisted titles, selected from longlists announced last month, are:
Adult
- The Unearthed (Lenny Bartulin, A&U)
- Women & Children (Tony Birch, UQP)
- Edenglassie (Melissa Lucashenko, UQP)
Adult highly commended
- The Beauties (Lauren Chater, S&S)
- A Better Place (Stephen Daisley, Text)
- To Sing of War (Catherine McKinnon, Fourth Estate)
Children and young adult
- Secret Sparrow (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
- Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky (Rebecca Lim, A&U Children’s)
- Spies in the Sky (Beverley McWilliams, illus by Martina Heiduczek, Pantera).
Adult category chair of judges Tony Maniaty said: ‘The sheer inventiveness of the three finalists sets them apart. All exemplify the novel in its modern form, venturing into the complexities of the past in quite different and exciting ways, while breaking literary conventions. With often surprising turns, the genres of crime, Indigenous history and social realism are porously blended here into fresh forms of historical fiction, very effectively connecting past and present.’
CYA category chair Anna Ciddor said: ‘Out of a wonderfully varied longlist, 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.’
Winners will be announced on 23 October. This year, the overall prize pool increased from $100,000 to $150,000; the adult category winner will receive $100,000, and the children and young adult category winner will receive $30,000, while other shortlisted authors will receive $5000 each.
Established in 2020, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is open to historical fiction books from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Last year’s winners were Gail Jones (adult category, for Salonika Burning, Text) and Amelia Mellor (children and young adult category, for The Bookseller’s Apprentice, Affirm).
The judging panel for the adult category includes Maniaty (chair), along with Michael Williams, Sienna Brown, Meenakshi Bharat and Catherine Chidgey; while children and young adult category judges include Ciddor (chair), along with Lystra Rose and Danielle Clode.
More information about the prize is available on the HNSA website.
Category: Awards Local news
