Australasian Literary Historical Novel PrizeAustralia’s leading infrastructure and facilities service provider ARA Group has partnered with The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) to create a new major literary prize for an outstanding historical novelist. The new 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 money for any genre-based prize in Australasia.
The New England Writers' Centre is proud to have been associated with the inaugural Historical Novel Prize, as part of the Prize sub-committee and in the administration of entries. 
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Watch the official winner announcement here
ANNOUNCEMENT DATESOpened 1 May 2020 and closed for submissions on 30 June 2020
Longlist announced: 7th October Shortlist announced: 28th October Winner announced: 10th November 
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BACKGROUND to the 2020 Inaugural Historical Novel Prize
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ARA Group Founder, Executive Chair and Managing Director Ed Federman said as a patron of historical literature, he was honoured to partner with HNSA to launch ARA Group’s first-of-its-kind major literary prize. “ARA Group has been involved in advocating for and celebrating the arts for many years through our Principal Partnership of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, Monkey Baa Theatre, the National Institute of Dramatic Art, and our workplace giving program, the ARA Endowment Fund. We are hopeful this prize will have a profound impact on the life of the winning author in this increasingly popular genre, and create a lasting legacy. It’s important we help foster the arts in Australasia not only to enrich people’s lives, creating a culture of reading and writing, but also to ensure our stories and history live on.” he said.
Applications are open to all authors — whether traditionally or self-published — who are residents or citizens of Australia or New Zealand, with books published between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2020. Entries may be submitted by authors, publishers and agents. HNSA Chair and Author Elisabeth Storrs said the award recognises and rewards authors with both literary acclaim and a tangible benefit. “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,” she said. “We are grateful to the ARA Group for its financial support, which will make a substantial contribution to the winner’s work.” |
ARA Group and HNSA are also pleased to gain the assistance of the New England Writers’ Centre (NEWC), based in Armidale NSW, which will administer the submission process. Author and Chair of NEWC, Sophie Masson, said: “As a dynamic regional arts organisation in an area rich in literary history, the New England Writers’ Centre has always supported great writing and opportunities for writers. We are absolutely delighted to be involved in the inauguration of such a major new fiction prize, which will highlight the strength of a most exciting and diverse genre.”
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 written at least 50 years after the events described, or by an author not alive at the time of the events described, who therefore must approach those events only through research. More information about the prize can be found at www.hnsa.org.au/ara-historical-novel-prize. 
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