THE ANNUAL TEXT PRIZE FOR YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S WRITING

The winner of the 2017 Text Prize is Adam Cece for The Extremely Weird Thing That Happened in Huggabie Falls. See our Blog Post for full details.

The shortlist for the 2018 Text Prize was announced on Thursday, 12 April. Visit our shortlisted authors announcement here.

Submissions for the 2018 Text Prize are now closed.

The winner of the 2018 Text Prize will be announced at a function on Thursday 26 April.

The $10,000 Text Prize aims to discover incredible new books for young adults and children by Australian and New Zealand writers.

Awarded annually to the best manuscript written for young readers, the prize has unearthed extraordinary, multi-award-winning books and launched international publishing careers.

Published and unpublished writers of all ages are eligible to enter with works of fiction or non-fiction.

The winner receives a publishing contract with Text and a $10,000 advance against royalties.

'The Text Prize is going from strength to strength, as the publisher continues to choose winners that push the boundaries of young adult fiction.' Books+Publishing

‘Quickly building a glowing reputation.’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘Nobody should be surprised that the Text Prize is producing some of Australia’s finest young adult and children’s writing.’ ALPHAreader

‘I think the Text Prize is a great opportunity for any author, regardless of their publishing history. I entered it after being prompted by my third-year creative-writing students (when I was teaching at Curtin University). After raving about how great the prize is and how they should all enter, one of them said, ‘If it’s so good, why don’t you enter it?’ And the challenge was on! It was great to have the following year’s deadline to work towards.’ A. J. Betts, author of Zac & Mia

Read the full Q&A with Prize alumni and check out the FAQ.

Adam Cece, winner of the 2017 Text Prize

Adelaide writer Adam Cece has beaten nearly 300 entries to win the $10,000 2017 Tenth Annual Text Prize for his hilariously crazy story, The Extremely Weird Thing That Happened in Huggabie Falls.

An extremely weird and hilariously crazy story about three friends and the extremely weird thing that happened in the weirdest town in the world. A laugh-out-loud madcap adventure for middle-grade readers that turns weirdness upside down.

In 2015, Adelaide-based Adam Cece published his first children’s book, Wesley Booth Super Sleuth. He is a member of a number of writing organisations and is a manuscript assessor for the SA Writers Centre.

On winning the Text Prize, Adam said, ‘I am so honoured to have won the Text Prize in its tenth amazing year, and humbled to be in such a good company. The whole team at Text is so passionate and so good at what they do. I am over the moon.

Publisher Michael Heyward said, ‘The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing is about launching careers. It’s about finding new voices. This year, the tenth year of the Text Prize, is testament to the abundant literary talent we have in this country. We read around 300 manuscripts and decided to offer publishing deals to all four writers on the shortlist, something we have never done before. It was difficult to pick a winner, but in the end we couldn’t resist Adam Cece’s sublimely ridiculous tale for middle-graders The Extremely Weird Thing that Happened in Huggabie Falls. It’s hard to imagine how this delightful book won’t charm the socks off its readers. This book is a crash course in Dutch werewolves, vegetarian piranhas and crazy street names. It’s a particular pleasure to publish a book that will make its readers—children and grown-ups alike—happy. We can’t wait to tell the whole publishing world, both in Australia and internationally, about Huggabie Falls and its inhabitants, who are so crazy even they find each other weird.