Express Media is excited to announce the shortlist for The 2016 John Marsden and Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers.

Ten years since its inception, The 2016 John Marsden and Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers was open exclusively to secondary school students across Australia. We were delighted to receive over 300 entries from young writers across the country.

The award is judged by author and Express Media patron, John Marsden, and staff of Hachette Australia, and recognises excellence across three categories; fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry.

The 2016 John Marsden and Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers shortlist is:

Fiction

• Niamh McConney, Like Sleep To The Freezing, WA
• Brandon Young, Reality Runner, VIC
• Emily Winter, Tortoise Man, QLD
• Abigail Strangward, Marmalade, VIC
• Jordan Amos, While You Were Sleeping, ACT

Creative Nonfiction

• Darrelyn Nguyen, The Formula For Life, NSW
• Georja-Rai Abdoo, Big Eyes, NSW
• Erica Sayon, Connections, VIC
• Duniasha Kapukotuwa, How To Hurt Your Best Friend, VIC
• Lily Lancaster, My Mechanical Mind, QLD

Poetry

• Samuel Hughes, Unmastered, VIC
• Jos Alcorn, Memory, SA
• Charlotte Head, Clarity, NSW
• Natalie Catalan, Young Ice, QLD
• Niamh Brazil, The Accordian, NSW

Our 15 shortlisted writers will receive feedback on their entries from prize judges, have the opportunity to participate in an exclusive workshop with best-selling author James Phelan and a Meet and Greet lunch with John Marsden.

Winners of each category receive a $500 cash prize, $500 reimbursement of travel to Melbourne Writers Festival, a selection of YA titles from Hachette Australia, and publication of their work in Express Media’s flagship publication, Voiceworks. Winners will be announced by John Marsden at the Melbourne Writers Festival on Thursday 1 September.

Keep your eye on Typeface over the coming weeks for interviews with each shortlisted writer. For more information, please visit expressmedia.wpengine.com/jmp.