Text Prize 2019 shortlist announced

The shortlist has been announced for the 2019 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing.

The five shortlisted manuscripts are:

• ‘Tellurian Blue’ by Danielle Clode, a debut fantasy novel that follows Young Eilidh, sole Askernish heir, who must embark on a quest to restore the people of Barra and the House of Askernish to their lands.
• ‘Yenda’ by Jannali Jones, the story of Yenda, who must save her remote community in the Northern Territory after Gaarn, a divine being in the form of a magpie, helps her to realise the bizarre things happening around town herald the rise of a powerful and malevolent spirit.
• ‘The Lost Paddock’ by Eleanor Limprecht, about four cousins left with a babysitter for two weeks on a farm in rural Australia, whose lives are turned upside down when the babysitter disappears one morning.
• ‘Loner’ by Georgina Young, a humorous and heartfelt exploration of new adulthood, set in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, that follows Lona, who’s in inexplicable debilitating love with a bespectacled Doctor Who-obsessed former classmate.
• ‘Year of the Hawk’, by Jenna Heller, a coming-of-age story about a girl seeking acceptance and belonging while navigating changing friendships, rocky split-family dynamics, and preparing a hawk for release into the wild.

The five manuscripts have been chosen from almost 300 entries for the $10,000 prize, with this year’s authors ranging from award-winning writers to debut novelists.

The winner of the 2019 Text Prize will be announced on 15 May at an event in Melbourne.

For more information, see the Text website.

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