The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) announced the winners of the ARA Historical Novel Prize 2024 at a celebratory event at NSW Parliament House last night.
Offering the richest individual literary prize in Australasia, with a prize pool of $150,000, the awards recognise the outstanding literary talents of novelists who illuminate stories of the past, providing a window into our present and the future.
The 2024 winners span across generations, including an epic novel of First Nations resistance and a dramatic war story with a difference.
Melissa Lucashenko, an acclaimed Aboriginal Writer of Goorie and European heritage, was awarded the Adult Prize for her novel Edenglassie (University of Queensland Press).
Lucashenko will take home $100,000, which places the ARA prize money ahead of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Miles Franklin Award, Stella Prize and even The Booker Prize (£50,000).
Other winners
On the Adult Short list, each receiving a $5,000 prize:
- Lenny Bartulin: The Unearthed (Allen & Unwin).
- Tony Birch: Women & Children (University of Queensland Press).
Beverley McWilliams was named the Children and Young Adult winner for Spies in the Sky (Pantera Press), a delightfully engaging fiction story inspired by the true history of pigeons who went to war. McWilliams received $30,000 prize money for this category.
On the Children and Young Adult Short list, each receiving a $5,000 prize:
- Jackie French: Secret Sparrow (HarperCollins Publishers).
- Rebecca Lim: Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky (Allen & Unwin).
This year the ARA Historical Novel Prize increased its prize pool by 50 per cent to $150,000, made possible through the generous patronage of ARA Group.
Edward Federman, the ARA Group Founder, Executive Chair, Managing Director and patron of the arts said, ‘It has been a pleasure to be involved in making a long-lasting contribution to the arts, particularly to the historical fiction genre that has not always received the attention it rightly deserves.
‘Our hope is that the ARA Historical Novel Prize will not only make a considerable difference to the lives of this year’s winning authors, but also shine a light on the historical fiction genre and the work of all entrants across Australia and New Zealand.’
The prize is open to novels where most of the narrative takes place at least 50 years ago. Previous winners include Gail Jones (2023), Tom Keneally (2022), and two-time CYA winner Katrina Nannestad (2021, 2022).
The winners were announced at Parliament House, the oldest surviving building in the Sydney CBD. Attendees included Wenona Byrne (Director, Creative Australia), Brooke Webb (CEO, Sydney Writers’ Festival) and Kate Evans (Broadcaster, ABC Radio). Elisabeth Storrs, author and Chair of HNSA presented a keynote on the role of historical fiction in popular culture.
You can find further information about the prize here: https://hnsa.org.au/ara-historical-novel-prize/.
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