AWC alumna Penelope Janu has won the 2017 XO Romance Prize

AWC alumna Penelope Janu has won the 2017 XO Romance Prize for her unpublished manuscript, On the Same Page.

Described by guest judge Alexandra Nahlous as “A wonderful, captivating story about a writer desperate to keep her identity hidden, and the man determined to expose her”, Penelope receives a $5000 advance and a publishing contract with XO Romance.

“It’s an honour to have been selected as the 2017 winner of the XO Romance Prize, particularly given the strengths of the other writers in the shortlist. I am happy that On the Same Page, a very Australian novel, has found a home with Brio Books, a very Australian publisher” says Penelope.

This is another big win for Penelope, whose debut novel, In at the Deep End, was published in 2017. Penelope’s second book On the Right Track will be published in June 2018.

Penelope was a solicitor and legal academic before she became a writer later in life, after completing a creative writing course with the Australian Writers’ Centre. Today she’s a full–time writer. View her inspirational story.

Penelope’s prize-winning novel, On the Same Page, will be released later in 2018.

Congratulations Penelope. We are thrilled for you!