Tonight, at the Richell Prize Tenth Anniversary Celebratory held in Sydney, Hachette Australia and EWF, along with the Hannah Richell and in partnership with Simpsons Solicitors, announced Myles McGuire as the recipient of the 2024 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for his work Stroke.

In judging the Prize this year, all the judges were impressed by McGuire’s talent and assured touch. The judges believe that readers of The Slap and Love & Virtue will love this story.

Myles McGuire is a writer and editor from Meanjin, Brisbane. He has previously been nominated for the Queensland Young Publishers and Writers Award, and the Peter Carey Short Story Award, among other prizes. He is currently the Program Coordinator at Brisbane Writers Festival.

‘To be trusted with the legacy of Matt Richell, and indeed this prize, has been a huge privilege for Emerging Writers’ Festival over the past decade. To encounter new talent and to give it a space to be nurtured and developed is something that touches the very heart of our organisation. For ten years, we have administered this singular prize, and have watched the careers of many entrants flourish beyond winning or placing on the long and short lists. To place in this prize is no small feat, especially in this anniversary year, with a record number of entrants (over 1,100). Congratulations to all listees and gratitude to our readers and judges, who have the brilliant and difficult job of reading all the entries and finally, selecting a winner. As we know, to win this prize is simply the beginning. Our immense congratulations to Myles McGuire for the winning entry, Stroke. We are thrilled for you, and excited to see where this journey takes you.’

Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh, Executive Director & Co-CEO of the Emerging Writers’ Festival

Stroke is a powerful work of fiction. Evocative and addictive, it offers a layered exploration of morality, perception, class, sexuality and abuse. Using multiple perspectives to reveal the story adds great depth and complexity to a thought-provoking and nuanced examination of a scandal at a privileged all-boys school. The characters are fully formed and the dialogue faultless.

‘In this tenth anniversary year it was wonderful to have over one thousand entries. The standard was incredibly high, demonstrating that the Richell Prize is now one of the most important awards for emerging Australian writers because it is a development prize and not restricted by age or genre. As the Chair of the judging committee I can say that there were long discussions about the shortlist and every writer on that shortlist was impressive so choosing the winner was not easy, but Myles’s talent and evocative story gave him the edge. We are thrilled that Myles will now be mentored by Hachette and that this Prize will provide him the space and support to complete the novel.’

Joel Naom, Hachette Australia Group Publishing Director

Emerging Writers’ Festival would like to extend congratulations to all the shortlisted writers for this year’s Prize on a commendable achievement. We can’t wait to see where the winner, Joel Naom, and all the shortlisted writers will take their burgeoning literary careers beyond this year’s Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.

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