The Hope Prize 2024 Winners

First Place – $10,000 AUD
John Merkel – “Shadows Cast by the Moon”
Awarded by Simon & Schuster Australia

Second Place – $2,000 AUD
Jacqueline Warner – “Creating Ripples”
Awarded by Readings and The Hope Prize

Third Place – $1,000 AUD (shared)
Carol Byrne – “The Black Hole”
Will Cordner – “Tramlines”
Awarded by Readings and The Hope Prize

The 2024 Hope Prize Shortlist

The following authors were shortlisted for the 2024 Hope Prize. Their stories—alongside the winning entries—appear in our latest anthology, Tomorrow There Will Be Sun, published by Simon & Schuster in support of our 2024 charity partner, Beyond Blue.

  • Alison Batten – “Leaving”

  • Julia Burns – “She is Gone”

  • Carol Byrne – “The Black Hole”

  • Sam Cecins – “The Chicken Thief”

  • Will Cordner – “Tramlines”

  • Jake Cullen – “The Cat at No 4”

  • Kristen Dagg – “Wetlands”

  • Bronwyn Hall – “Jam It”

  • Kane Heng – “Mother's Milk”

  • Rebecca Higgie – “Tinged with Gold”

  • Emmylou Hocking – “If God Is The Red Gum”

  • Isaac Hogarth – “Beasts of Burden”

  • Eleanor Kirk – “WWRGD?”

  • An Ngo Lang – “The Best Pieces Not from Me”

  • Tessa Lunney – “Ultramarine”

  • John Merkel – “Shadows Cast by the Moon”

  • Madelyn Postman – “Things My Dad Told Me”

  • Zubia Sarfraz – “A Veiled Courage”

  • Ani Kayode Somtochukwu – “The Sorrow and the Pity”

  • Jacqueline Warner – “Creating Ripples”