ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE
The winners of the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize were announced last night at a well-attended event at The Sydney Mint. Run by The Historical Novel Society Australasia since 2020, the prize is open to novels where the majority of the narrative takes place more than 50 years ago.
Known as the richest individual literary prize in Australasia, the adult category offers a generous prize of $100,000. The incredibly high quality of entries in 2025 was reflected in the rare decision by the judging panel to select joint winners in the Adult category, with Tasma Walton and Robbie Arnott sharing the lucrative prize with I Am Nannertgarrook and Dusk respectively. Suzanne Leal has won the Children and Young Adult category with The Year We Escaped, the story of four unlikely friends in WWII, with a prize of $30,000, and Emily Maguire was presented with $5,000 for the inaugural Readers’ Choice Award with Rapture.
Edward Federman, the Executive Chair and CEO of the ARA Group which sponsors the prize says, “I am proud to support The ARA Historical Novel Prize, which continues to celebrate excellence in writing in this increasingly popular genre. I congratulate all the talented winners of the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize.”
JOINT ADULT WINNERS
Robbie Arnott – Dusk (Picador Australia, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia) *
Tasma Walton – I am Nannertgarrook (Bundyi, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia)
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT WINNER
Suzanne Leal – The Year We Escaped (HarperCollins)
READERS CHOICE
Emily Maguire – Rapture (Allen & Unwin) *
Dusk and Rapture have been reviewed by QRC. Click on the title to read our review.