New $30,000 historical fiction prize

The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) and infrastructure and facilities service provider ARA Group have announced a new $30,000 award for an outstanding historical novelist.

The award is open to entries by Australian and New Zealand authors for books published between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2020. The entries will be judged on excellence in writing, depth of research and reader appeal.

For the purpose of the award, historical fiction is defined as a novel written at least 50 years after the events described, or by an author not alive at the time of the events described.

HNSA chair Elisabeth Storrs said the award recognises and rewards historical novelists. ‘After building a community of writers, readers and publishing professionals over our past three biennial conferences, the HNSA is delighted to be given the chance to raise the profile of a genre that values creativity, authenticity and discovery,’ Storrs said. ‘We are grateful to the ARA Group for its financial support, which will make a substantial contribution to the winner’s work.’

The New England Writers’ Centre (NEWC) will administer the awards. Submissions open on 1 May. For more information, see the HNSA website.

Category: Awards Local news