Richell Prize 2017 Short List just announced

The short-list for the Richell Prize 2017 has just been announced.

This is a prize for emerging writers, so it gathers quite a large number of entries. There were 579 entries this year and the judges managed to whittle that down to these five.

We know you want to know who’s on it, so without further ado, from the media release:

Michelle Barraclough, As I Am
Sam Coley, State Highway One
Julie Keys, Triptych
Miranda Debeljakovich, Waiting for the Sun
Karen Wyld, Where the Fruit Falls

We’re a little bit excited that So you want to be a writer community member, Michelle Barraclough has made it to the short-list. Congrats, Michelle!

What hurdles did these emerging authors and their work have to jump to make it this far? From the media release:

Applicants were required to submit the first three chapters and a synopsis of their proposed work of adult fiction or narrative nonfiction, with the winner to receive $10,000 and mentoring from a Hachette publisher to help develop the work to publication.

The judges for 2017 are bestselling author Hannah Richell, Emerging Writer’s Festival director Izzy Roberts-Orr, Sydney bookseller Amelia Lush and Hachette publisher Robert Watkins.

Congratulations to all those who entered and those who made the long and short lists respectively. Hats off to the judges for making it through nearly 600 entries.

The winner will be announced on 1 November 2017 at an official ceremony in Sydney.

We’re waiting with bated breath to see who wins.