ARA Historical Novel Prize
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The ARA Historical Novel Prize is the richest individual literary prize in Australia and New Zealand with prize monies of $150,000 across two categories. The winner of the Adult category receives $100,000 with the Children and Young Adult winner receiving $30,000. The two shortlisted authors in each category receive $5,000 each, while the winner of the Reader's Choice Award also receives $5,000. The prize is run by the Historical Novel Society Australasia in partnership with the sponsor, ARA Group.
The 2020 Prize only awarded novels in the Adult category. The Children and Young Adults category was introduced in 2021 and the Reader's Choice Award was first awarded in 2025 for longlisted novels in the Adult category.[1]
The Historical Novel Society Australasia explained the boundaries of the prize as follows: "The definition of the genre set by the Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) is a novel in which the majority of the narrative, ie more than 50% of the events described, has taken place at least 50 years before publication.
"Historical sub-genres considered to be historical fiction include historical mystery, historical romance, and historical fantasy and alternate history. Time-slip novels, multiple-time period novels, and parallel narrative novels are also considered historical fiction with flexibility to crossover between eras stretching from 50 years or more in the past until contemporary times provided more than 50% of the events described take place at least 50 years before publication."[2]