McGuire wins 2024 Richell Prize
Myles McGuire has won the 2024 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for his story Stroke.
Prize judges, who selected the manuscript from a shortlist of seven, were ‘impressed by McGuire’s talent and assured touch,’ and believe that readers of The Slap (Christos Tsiolkas, A&U) and Love & Virtue (Diana Reid, Ultimo) will love the story.
The judges described Stroke as ‘a powerful work of fiction’.
‘Evocative and addictive, it offers a layered exploration of morality, perception, class, sexuality and abuse. Using multiple perspectives to reveal the story adds great depth and complexity to a thought-provoking and nuanced examination of a scandal at a privileged all-boys school. The characters are fully formed and the dialogue faultless.’
A Brisbane-based writer, McGuire previously won a Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award at the Queensland Literary Awards, and the Griffith Review Emerging Voices competition. He has also been nominated for the Glendower Award for an Emerging Writer and the Peter Carey Short Story Award. He is the programs and development manager at Brisbane Writers Festival.
McGuire said of the win: ‘It’s very rare, as a writer, to get an objective sense of whether something is working while it’s still in development. Winning the Richell Prize has been a massive boon to my confidence; given the number of entries, I already felt like a winner for having made the longlist. That the judges deemed Stroke to be the best in this field is frankly astonishing, and I’m so grateful that they loved the characters in this story as much as I do.’
Hachette publishing director and chair of judges Joel Naoum said: ‘Every writer on that shortlist was impressive, so choosing the winner was not easy, but Myles’s talent and evocative story gave him the edge. We are thrilled that Myles will now be mentored by Hachette and that this prize will provide him the space and support to complete the novel.’
Now in its 10th year, the Richell Prize was created in memory of former Hachette CEO Matt Richell, who died in 2014. It is awarded annually to an emerging writer of adult fiction or adult narrative nonfiction and provides the winner with $10,000 in prize money and a 12-month mentorship with one of Hachette’s publishers.
The 2024 award was presented at the prize’s 10th anniversary celebratory event by Hachette Australia, along with Hannah Richell and in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) and Simpsons Solicitors.
Said Hannah Richell: ‘I’m incredibly proud of the Richell Prize. In the last decade, thanks to the generosity of Hachette and our associated partners, as well as the courage of the writers themselves, the prize has established itself in Australia as a unique route to discovery for emerging writers. Matt Richell was a man who loved good writing in all its forms and this legacy speaks to his passion for finding and nurturing diverse new voices. Every year, our longlist surprises and delights and this year is no exception. I can’t wait to watch our shortlisted and winning writers take flight.’
The winner of last year’s Richell Prize was Alex Sawyer for the manuscript ‘Rat Daniels’.
Category: Awards Local news
