Fellowship prize added to City of Fremantle Hungerford Award
The prize for the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award has increased in value, with the addition of a new writing fellowship from the Centre for Stories.
In addition to the $15,000 cash prize from the City of Fremantle and publishing contract from Fremantle Press, the Centre for Stories has offered a fellowship with a 12-week hot desk residency at the centre, which gives the winning writer access to a library of over 3000 books, meeting-room facilities, a $1500 stipend, and the opportunity to engage with other writers during their time in the workspace.
Fremantle Press CEO Alex Allan said that for 33 years the biennial award had provided much-needed stimulus for Western Australian writers, creating opportunities for talents like Gail Jones, Natasha Lester, Holden Sheppard and Molly Schmidt to get their first book published: ‘Just as Fremantle Press was born out of the simple idea that WA stories—the stories of this place and its people—ought to be told and shared with the world, the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award came from the desire to give debut writers the chance to take their place alongside our more established authors.’
Centre for Stories CEO and founder Caroline Wood said: ‘Our hot desk fellowships at the Centre for Stories have proven successful and popular. Writers, readers and the community love them. We are excited to be working with Fremantle Press to continue and extend this excellent offering, and their award winners will join others who are energising and making a valuable contribution to our local arts scene. Together, our partnership will support writers and enable them to flourish.’
Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said: ‘I watched [2022] winner Molly Schmidt go from strength to strength—she gained an instant network of Hungerford alumni to share experiences with, and the prestige of the award helped her novel Salt River Road reach national audiences in print, audio and ebook formats.’
The City of Fremantle Hungerford Award is presented biennially to a full-length manuscript of fiction or narrative nonfiction by a Western Australian author previously unpublished in book form. This year’s judging panel includes Seth Malacari, Marcella Polain and Richard Rossiter, alongside Fremantle Press publisher Georgia Richter.
Submissions for the 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award close on 17 March, with the winner to be announced in October.
More information about the submission process is available on the Fremantle Press Submittable page.
Category: Awards Local news
