Emerging Writers’ Festival, along with Hachette Australia and the Richell family, are honoured to present The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for 2024, supported by Simpsons Solicitors. After receiving over 1,100 entries, we are delighted to announce the seven writers on this year’s shortlist.

Read on for the 2024 shortlisted writers and the judges’ words on their work…

Rebecca Douglas, Welfare Queens

The use of humour and relatable dialogue immediately drew the judges in with its lively tone. The work is energetic and entertaining right from the start. The judges loved the way it was full of ‘in-your-face’ attitude and brought to life a refreshing cast of characters on the margins of society to address systemic issues surrounding poverty and mental health that set it apart and made for a very memorable story.

Matt Freeman, Old Monsters

A spine-chilling collection of horror short stories that are pacy but concise and well edited, with rarely a word out of place. The focus on characters’ experiences and relationships indicates a writer who values depth and complexity and there are fully realised worlds and characters within each story. The judges recognised the restraint and finesse the writer displayed, which added to the unsettling atmospheres and engagement with the stories.

Chloe Hillary, We All Fall

A polished and evocative family drama that utilises magical realism to investigate complex themes of human impact on the environment, family tensions, grief and personal growth. The narrative arc is compelling, showing the evolution of relationships over several summers, each marked by significant emotional events and character development. The landscape is subtly and beautifully described and the characters, even the minor ones, are fleshed out and vital. The writer’s observational skills and ability to construct interior dialogue and exterior atmosphere impressed the judges.

Myles McGuire, Stroke

The judges found this to be an impressively written fiction revolving around a scandal at a privileged all-boys school. It offers a layered exploration of morality, perception, class, sexuality and abuse. The multiple perspectives add depth and complexity, making it thought-provoking and nuanced. The prose is both evocative and addictive, the characters are fully formed and the dialogue faultless. The judges were keen to keep reading.

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.

Mariam Tokhai, The Interpreter

This is a well-constructed and polished work, with believable characters. The exploration of grief, cultural identity, and family struggles engaged the judges on multiple levels. Tension is built up from the beginning but even though there are awful things on the border of knowledge there is also a kernel of hope. The judges were impressed that the work offers a window into the Afghani experiences of trying to balance traditional roles with a society that doesn’t make it easy to integrate whilst expecting assimilation.

Becca Wang, Birthright

A finely drawn coming-of-age novel about a young woman growing up in a Chinese-Australian family. The work demonstrates an ability to weave complex emotional themes with an exploration of cultural identity, indicating a strong grasp of character-driven storytelling. The writer’s style demonstrates maturity and an understanding of nuanced relationships. The judges found the story completely engaging and the voice lyrical, confident and compelling. The writer plays skilfully with language and structure: Chinese dialogue is peppered throughout the English-language prose, and this exploration of immigrant identity, racism and family drama in contemporary Australia was impressive.

The writers on the shortlist have been judged on the first three chapters of their submitted work, along with a synopsis outlining the direction of the proposed work and details about how the author’s writing career would benefit from winning the Prize.

In announcing the shortlist, the judges had this to say:

‘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 winner will receive $10,000 in prize money, to be donated by Hachette Australia, along with a 12-month mentorship with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers. Hachette Australia will work with the winning writer to develop their manuscript with the first option to consider the finished work and the shortlisted entries for publication.

The countdown is now on for our shortlisted writers, with the winner of the Prize announced on 2 November.

Hachette Australia and Hannah Richell would like to thank The Emerging Writers’ Festival who have worked with them to make this Prize a reality. The Emerging Writers’ Festival would also like to thank Simpsons Solicitors for assisting them financially with the administration of the Prize.


Learn more about the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers here.