Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce that entries for the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize are now open.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia, incorporating both an Adult category and a Children and Young Adult (CYA) category. The Prize is 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.
Chair and Program Director of the HNSA, Elisabeth Storrs, said the ARA Historical Novel Prize is an excellent opportunity for writers to showcase their work in the increasingly popular genre of historical fiction.
“Last year, we received 130 entries for the prize, all of which demonstrated the power of the historical fiction genre to explore what lies hidden and unspoken in society today, illuminated by the sometimes shadowy, yet revealing, paths to our past.”
“Last year’s winning novels demonstrated the irresistible prose, unforgettable characters, meticulous research, and epic storytelling for which historical fiction is known—as I’m sure this year’s will do as well. The ARA Historical Novel Prize is a true celebration of the genre, and a real opportunity to foster the genre on a grander scale,” said Storrs.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is made possible through the generous patronage of ARA Group. The ARA Group, and its Founder, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Edward Federman, are committed to supporting the arts and literature.
“Responsible leadership of a business organisation in today’s world necessitates the allocation of some resources to make the world around us a better place. ARA believes celebrating writing, sharing ideas and telling stories is more important than ever,” said Federman.
The judging panels consist of:
- Adult Novels: Angelo Loukakis (Chair), Madison Shakespeare and Meg Keneally
- CYA Novels: Paul McDonald (Chair), Deborah Abela and Rachael King
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. This year entries for the Adult category must be submitted in its digital edition only. Entries for the CYA category will be accepted in both print and digital format. Works must be published between between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022 to be eligible. The history explored can be from any era or society across the world.
Key dates:
- Awards open: 9am (AEST) 13 April 2022
- Awards close: 5pm (AEST) 15 June 2022
- Longlist announced (nine books): 14 September 2022
- Shortlist announced (three books): 28 September 2022
- Winners announced: 20 October 2022
To enter the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize, visit:
For more information about the ARA Historical Novel Prize, and to see last year’s winners, please visit the HNSA website.
The HNSA supports and promotes the writing, reading and publication of historical fiction across Australia and New Zealand. It is the third arm of the international Historical Novel Society.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been made possible through the generous patronage of ARA Group. The ARA Group, and its Founder, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, 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 and the Melbourne Writers Festival, as a Principal Partner of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, as a Principal Partner of the Monkey Baa Theatre, as a Key Partner of the Story Factory and as a sponsor of the Historical Novel Society Australia’s biennial conferences – and now as the sponsor of this very significant literary prize.
