Hachette Australia, along with the Richell family, and in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) and Simpsons Solicitors, is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2024 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers, now in its tenth year.

This year there were over 1000 entries and every entry was read by two readers before the judging panel – Lindy Jones, from Abbey’s Bookshop; Bianca Valentino, editor and writer; Anjelica Rush, from the Avenue Bookstore; Vanessa Radnidge, Head of Literary at Hachette Australia; and Hannah Richell, bestselling author – all read and discussed the entries to decide on the brilliant shortlisted writers.

Averil Robertson THE CALM AFTER THE STORM
This is an engaging and intriguing work that explores themes of identity, belonging, mental health, and the consequences of crime and the judges found its timely examination of these contemporary issues compelling. The clever examination of redemption appealed and the judges were impressed by the brilliantly realised and evocative setting, the character-driven storyline and the emotional investment the writer extracts from the reader.

In announcing the shortlist, the judges said: ‘The increasing importance of the Richell Prize in the Australian literary calendar makes judging this prize a delight. Giving our time to encourage emerging writers and honour Matt Richell’s legacy is something we all feel lucky to be a part of. This year the twenty-one longlisted writers were exceptional, so it was very hard to narrow it down to choose our shortlist. It took many discussions to agree on the seven writers we felt we had to acknowledge because their work and talent were so impressive. Congratulations to the 2024 shortlist and thank you to all the longlisted writers; you made our job very difficult but we love the depth of talent we are seeing in the emerging writer community in Australia. We hope every writer who entered the Prize has benefitted from the experience because we know we have.’

The Richell Prize winner will be announced at a special ten-year anniversary event on 27 November.

Read more at Hachette Australia…