Congrats to the AWC alumni shortlisted for the 2021 Richell Prize

The shortlist for the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers has just been announced, and we are proud to congratulate our talented AWC alumni on the list! The winner will receive $10,000 in prize money from Hachette Australia, and a year’s mentoring with one of their publishers.

Kay Harrison has been shortlisted for Flip the Bird. Kay has completed a number of AWC courses including Copywriting Essentials, Travel Writing, Creative Writing 30-day Bootcamp and is a member of the Freelance Writing Masterclass Program.

According to the media release, the judges described Kay’s novel as “A beautiful rendering of the joy of coming home to Australia and the sadness of unreached potential… A superb piece of writing with a narrative arc that promises a journey that is both intelligent and lyrically satisfying”.

Ben Randall’s Snakehead is also shortlisted for the prize. Ben has completed Creative Writing Stage 1 with AWC. 

The judges had this to say about Ben’s novel: “This disturbing biography is a first-hand account of the global sex trade, exposing the scale and brutal indifference of this abhorrent practice…  Remarkable for the clarity and sophistication of its writing style, the subject matter is sensitive and delicately handled. This is a confronting story and the author maintained both maturity and humility in the narrative voice and shares important information in a gripping and compelling way… Chilling yet compulsive reading.”

Congratulations to Kay and Ben!

View the full shortlist on Hachette Australia’s website.

Who are the judges?

According to the media release the judging panel consists of Hannah Richell, bestselling author; Katy Downey, bookseller at The Leaf Bookshop; Jasmin McGaughey, editor and writer; Robbie Egan, from the Australian Booksellers Association; and Vanessa Radnidge, Hachette Head of Literary and Non-Fiction.

We are excited to see our community members in the shortlist and wish everyone the best of luck.

Stay tuned for the 2021 Richell Prize winner announcement on Thursday, 4 November 2021. Hachette Australia will work with the winning writer to develop their manuscript, and has first option to consider the finished work, and the shortlisted entries, for publication.