2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize –Children & Young Adult Category

The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) is delighted to announce the shortlists for the Adult and the Children & Young Adult categories.

SHORTLIST – CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT CATEGORY

The three talented authors, and their outstanding novels, selected in the Shortlist for the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize –Children & Young Adult Category are:

Moonboy by Anna Ciddor (Allen & Unwin)  STORYLINKS REVIEW by Jenny Ruge

The Year We Escaped by Suzanne Leal (HarperCollins Publishers) STORYLINKS REVIEW by Mia Macrossan

The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing) STORYLINKS REVIEW by Mia Macrossan

THE JUDGING PANEL

The judging panel for the CYA Category includes Dr Mark Macleod (Chair), Rebecca Lim and Belinda Murrell. According to Chair, Dr Mark Macleod:

This year’s longlist indicated a generational change in the ways Australian fiction writers have conceived of ‘history’: from a provincial mindset of the great exploits of outstanding men seeking excitement elsewhere, through a parochial preoccupation with subject matter that was exclusively Australian, to now a more balanced acknowledgment of Australia – including its long First Nations history – in a mutually meaningful international context. Anticipating future developments, the judges noted that ‘an international context’, however, still means basically European. We encourage writers and their publishers to explore the potentially rich historical narratives of Australians who trace their cultural heritage back to countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, and the Pacific.

Perhaps the fact that this year’s shortlist, and most of the longlisted titles, were written by women reflects the move away from patriarchal history. Perhaps, free of conventional hierarchies, women have been able to claim the space of what is historically significant in the increasingly diverse range of Australian lives. Whatever the reason, we encourage writers to explore more diverse modes of storytelling. It would be great to see more historical fiction for  junior readers and more novels using illustration to advance the narrative, as one title on the shortlist does.

The strength of this year’s shortlist nevertheless points to an exciting future for Australian historical fiction.

Congratulations to the shortlisted authors