Exciting news! The HNSA, in partnership with our generous sponsor, ARA Group, is expanding the ARA Historical Novel Prize to include a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature.
What does this mean? The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies. Only in its’s second year of operation, it’s now the richest genre based literary award. The winner of the Adult category Prize will be awarded $50,000, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the two shortlisted authors. In the CYA category, the winner will receive $30,000, while the two short listers will receive $5,000 each.
Designed to give historical novelists the opportunity to be recognised in a class of their own, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is a true celebration of historical fiction, and a real opportunity to foster it on a grander scale, and encourage younger readers to embrace the genre.
Last year, we received nearly 200 entries for the inaugural prize. These novels provided not only entertainment and escapism, but also enlightened readers on the richness of history. I am looking forward to exploring the bygone eras illuminated in the 2021 entries, particularly those submitted for our new CYA category.
ARA Group Founder, Executive Chair and Managing Director — and patron of the arts — Edward Federman said he is hopeful the launch of the new CYA category and additional funding for the ARA Historical Novel Prize will not only make a considerable difference to the lives of the winning authors, but also ensure the telling of history lives on.
For more information on the contest, please visit the ARA Historical Novel Prize page. You can catch up on our last year’s winners there, too.
THE 2021 ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia. The 2021 Prize will now incorporate a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature, in addition to the Adult category. As such, in just its second year of operation, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is now worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies.
The Prize will award $50,000 to the Adult category winner, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors. In the CYA category, the winner will receive $30,000, while the two short listers will receive $5,000 each.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been made possible through the generous patronage of ARA Group—Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider. The ARA Group, and its Founder, Executive Chair and Managing Director Edward Federman, are committed to supporting the arts and literature. They do this in a number of ways – as a Principal Partner of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, as a Principal Partner of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, as a Principal Partner of the Monkey Baa Theatre, and as a sponsor of the Historical Novel Society Australia’s biennial conferences – and now as the sponsor of this very significant literary prize.
ABOUT THE PRIZE
The definition of the genre set for the prize will ensure a breadth of talented writers is eligible to enter. Historical fiction will be defined as a novel in which the majority of the narrative must have taken place at least 50 years before publication.
A range of sub-genres are eligible, including historical mystery, historical romance, alternate history, historical fantasy, multi-time, time-slip, and parallel narrative novels.
The judging criteria include depth of research, widespread reader appeal, with excellence in writing as the deciding factor.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is open to all authors who are citizens or residents of Australia or New Zealand. Authors, publishers, or agents may submit books in print or digital editions. Works must be published between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 to be eligible. The history explored can be from any era or society across the world.
With prize money of $100,000, the ARA Historical Novel Prize gives Australian and New Zealand historical novelists the chance to be recognised in a class of their own, with the most significant prize purse for any genre-based prize in Australasia. The 2021 Prize will now incorporate a newly created category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature, in addition to the Adult category.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize
In just its second year of operation, the ARA Historical Novel Prize will award $50,000 to the Adult category winner, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors. In the CYA category, the winner will receive $30,000, while the two short listers will receive $5,000 each.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been made possible by the generosity of our Foundation Partner, ARA Group—Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider. ARA Group has ensured the success of our last two biennial conferences with their continuing support.
We’re also delighted to involve regional Australia in our endeavour with the New England Writers’ Centre kindly administering the submission process.
