Five manuscripts have been shortlisted for the 2024 $10,000 Text Prize. The winner will be announced in mid-June.

The Feathers of Farwood by Jayne McIntyre (Middle grade)
When Eva Feather’s father is turned into an owl by the dreaded Gripps, she knows she must find a cure. On the night of Farwood's Founder’s Day Gala Dinner, Eva gets her hands on the elusive spell book that will reverse the curse. The only trouble is, the book may not exist – and the feathery curse may not be a curse at all…


Jayne McIntyre is a children’s writer who enjoys blending magical realism with Australian settings. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and works in marketing on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. In 2023, she completed a residency at Varuna and was a finalist in the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network Awards.

I Don’t Want to be Your Friend by Olivia Muscat (Middle grade)
Maeve has been blind since birth, and Annie lost her sight in a recent accident. When the pair meet at school, they don’t get along. Maeve struggles to understand Annie's experience, and Annie thinks Maeve is a know-it-all. But when they are forced to sit out of an activity together, they form a bond that will develop over a hectic school year.

Olivia Muscat is a writer, performer, critic and disability arts activist. She has been published in several notable anthologies including Meet Me at the Intersection and Growing Up Disabled in Australia. She has been awarded residencies and fellowships through Arts Access Victoria, the Wheeler Centre, Writers Victoria and Varuna. She was recently invited to develop a work of theatre through the Arts House Develops Program and has a children’s picture book set for publication in 2025.

A Gift from the Birds by Caroline Stills (Middle grade)
When Millie loses her mum to cancer, she struggles to connect to her friends and her grieving dad. Her only comfort comes in the crows that visit her backyard each day, bringing gifts in return for food. As Millie and her dad do their best to heal, they discover the crows might have more to teach them than they first thought.   


Caroline Stills lives and writes in the scenic Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne/Naarm. She has had several picture books published although she loves to write for young people of all ages. A Gift from the Birds is her first middle-grade novel.

Love on the Zigzag by Alison Whipp (YA)
After a near-fatal accident when they were kids, Stephanie ‘Sticks’ Cricks looks out for her older brother Cam like it’s her fulltime job. As the end of school nears, the pair know they must forge their own paths, but life is complicated. Told in alternating viewpoints, this is a heart-warming story about family dynamics, growing up and what it means to care for each other.

With an eye for mischief and a trademark witches’ cackle, Alison Whipp throws her creative energy into writing when she’s not lawyering through the day. Alison won the CYA YA unpublished category in 2021 and an Affirm Press YA mentorship in 2022, and was an Adaptable finalist in 2023. She was a finalist for the Joanne Burns 2024 Microlit Award, and her piece appears in the Spineless Wonders Remnant anthology. She lives on Worimi country with her Welsh-Australian family and three cheeky chickens.

Happy Medium by Jessica Wu (YA)
Natalie is sixteen and dreams of becoming a stand-up comic. But it’s hard to think about life on the stage when you can barely raise your hand in class. When a volunteer gig at the local nursing home provides an unexpected training ground for Natalie to hone her comedic skills (and build her confidence), things start to turn around.  

Jessica Wu is a healthcare worker by day and writer by night (and sometimes very early mornings). Happy Medium is her first novel.

For publicity enquiries, please contact Nikki Boltz:    
nikki.boltz@textpublishing.com.au