Marani wins 2025 Richell Prize
Croatian Australian writer and theatre-maker Monique Ivankovič Marani has won the 2025 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.
Marani’s winning entry, “The Sweeter”, was selected from a shortlist of 5 manuscripts. Judges described the work as “confident, compelling storytelling from an exciting emerging writer”.
“The Sweeter” is set between Bosnia and Australia in the 1990s. It follows the fortunes of 15-year-old Nadalina, who lives with her ex-soldier father on the outskirts of post-war Mostar after the death by suicide of her mother – but is given an opportunity to escape the city.
Marani said of the win, “Receiving the 2025 Richell Prize is a rare gift – not only for what it offers me as an artist, but [also] for what it represents in our broader literary ecosystem. In a publishing landscape so often dictated by urgency and commerce, since its inception the Richell Prize has stood apart in its uncommon devotion to patience and its unwavering faith in emerging voices.”
Hachette Australia publishing director Joel Naoum said, “Monique’s manuscript exemplifies what the Richell Prize was established to recognise – a distinctive new voice with something powerful to say and the craft to say it. ‘The Sweeter’ is an extraordinary piece of writing – daring, atmospheric and emotionally intelligent.”
This year’s Richell Prize received 775 entries. The judging panel consisted of editor Nea Close-Brown, book buyer Kate Mayor, bookseller Sally Tabner, author Hannah Richell and publisher Vanessa Radnidge.
The Richell Prize was created in memory of former Hachette CEO Matt Richell, who died in a surfing accident in 2014. According to Hachette, the prize is “dedicated to removing barriers for unpublished writers, has no age limit and requires only 3 finished chapters at the time of submission, so as to encourage and empower writers to be brave and bold and back their talent.”
Marani also received second place in the AAWP Chapter One Award for the manuscript, presented by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs in partnership with University of Western Australia Publishing.
Now in its 11th year, the Richell Prize awards the winning writer $10,000 and a mentorship with a publisher from Hachette Australia.
Myles McGuire won the 2024 Richell Prize for his story “Stroke”.
Category: Awards Local news
