EWF and Hachette Australia, along with the Hannah Richell and in partnership with Simpsons Solicitors, are delighted to announce Chloe Anne as the winner of the 2026 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for her work The House Where Mercy Died.

Chloe Anne is a young emerging writer from South Australia whose entry, The House Where Mercy Died, impressed all the judges with its confidence and compelling storytelling. The judges, who were immediately captivated by the work and wanted to read more, said: ‘the literary ability to build tension and atmosphere was apparent from the opening paragraphs’.
The House Where Mercy Died is a gothic novel that focuses on twenty-seven-year-old Evie Hart’s return to her rural hometown for her mother Mercy’s funeral. Evie has spent years distancing herself from her mother, and she expects to stay only long enough to bury her, empty the house and then leave again. But at Mercy’s graveside, an elderly woman whispers something that unsettles everything Evie thought she knew: ‘Your mother wasn’t mad. She was afraid.’ It is a novel about grief, buried truth, and the dangerous difference between forgiveness and silence.

‘It is a tremendous privilege as always to administer the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. This prize is one of a kind in Australia. It not only changes the life of a singular writer year after year, but provides much needed affirmation, belief and encouragement to all who are longlisted. Myself and my co-CEO Jes Layton send our sincere congratulations to Chloe Anne for her winning entry The House Where Mercy Died, in what we know was an extremely competitive shortlist. We hope that this accolade and mentorship offered by Hachette Australia and the Richell family is enriching and fortifies what will no doubt be a shining career ahead in literature.’

Jess Zanoni, Artistic Director & co-CEO of the Emerging Writers’ Festival

Chloe Anne, winner of the 2026 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers

‘I was genuinely shocked when I found out I had won the Richell Prize. After speaking with the other shortlisted writers and hearing about their incredible work, I honestly didn’t think I had a chance. The Richell Prize is such a wonderful opportunity for emerging writers, and knowing it was created in memory of Matt Richell and his passion for discovering and nurturing Australian writing talent makes being part of it incredibly special. To have The House Where Mercy Died recognised, and to have people within the publishing industry believe in my potential as a writer, means more than I can put into words. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity, and I also want to congratulate the other shortlisted writers. Getting this far is an incredible achievement in itself, and I feel very lucky to have shared this experience with them.’

Monique Marani on winning the 2025 Prize

This year, the Richell Prize received 1022 entries. Each submission was read by two initial readers before the judging panel, which consisted of Cindy Manfong, publishing projects editor from the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF); Simon McDonald, fiction buyer from Dymocks; Jane Turner, bookseller and owner of Gertrude & Alice; Vanessa Radnidge, Head of Non-Fiction & Literary at Hachette Australia; and Hannah Richell, bestselling author and representative for the Richell family, who all read and closely reviewed the longlist. They then met to decide on the shortlist and then on the winner. The judging panel, chaired by Joel Naoum, Hachette Australia Publishing Director, ultimately selected The House Where Mercy Died as the worthy winner.

‘Chloe Anne’s The House Where Mercy Died is exactly what the Richell Prize exists to find − a distinctive new voice with a story to tell and the craft to tell it. The judges were unanimous, and it’s easy to see why: the writing is atmospheric, assured and it was hard to put down. We’re delighted to support Chloe through the Richell Prize mentorship and can’t wait to see where she goes next.’

Joel Naoum, Publishing Director at Hachette Australia

The Emerging Writers’ Festival would like to extend congratulations to all the shortlisted and longlisted writers for this year’s Prize on a commendable achievement, in being recognised for your work among the 1,000+ writers who applied in 2026. We can’t wait to see where Chloe Anne, and all the prize-listed writers will take their burgeoning literary careers beyond this year’s Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.