Winning manuscript celebrates the strength of queer youth and the importance of queer elders
Chuckie Raven won the 2025 Fogarty Literary Award at the Western Australian Government House Ballroom on Tuesday 3 June. Raven receives a $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press and a $1,500 writing fellowship from Centre for Stories for their winning manuscript Glimmers in the Sea Glass.
Raven described the novel as being about family and how we define and redefine it. They said, ‘It’s about the strength of young queer people and the importance of our queer elders and our community. It’s also about silence, and the ways it creeps into our lives, our circles, and how we can speak it out of existence.’
Raven said they were still processing their shortlisting, much less the win. They said, ‘It feels like the world of writing has opened up to me and I can’t imagine where that’s going to lead. It feels so validating and humbling to have my work read and noted. I’m also really excited about the possibility of bringing another queer West Australian story to the world.’
Executive Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation, Annie Fogarty AM, said Chuckie Raven was a talented writer with a passion for sharing the kinds of stories they wish they’d had when growing up. She said, ‘Through their work as a youth advocate, Chuckie is already having a positive impact on the world. We are proud to play our part in helping Chuckie reach the readers who need this book.’
Fremantle Press CEO Alex Allan said, ‘Once again the Fogarty Award has unearthed a unique manuscript that we’re excited to publish. The judges were so impressed with this novel that highlights how lived queer experience has changed across decades as well as how that experience can be so strongly affected by the community in which you live.’
Glimmers in the Sea Glass is scheduled for publication in 2026, while shortlisted writers Jessica Baker, Seth Malacari and Serena Moss will work with publishers Georgia Richter and Cate Sutherland to further develop their manuscripts.
The Fogarty Literary Award is for Western Australian writers aged 18 to 35. Since its inception in 2019, it has attracted 145 entries, and eleven previously unpublished writers have released books, with three – Karleah Olson, Josh Kemp and Michael Burrows – going on to win or be shortlisted in major national literary prizes.
Three novels were also highly commended by the judging panel, which consisted of Fremantle Press publishers Georgia Richter and Cate Sutherland, Fogarty winner and author Brooke Dunnell, and Centre for Stories Program Coordinator Camila Egusquiza Santa Cruz. The highly commended novels were Dark Red by Kayla Browne, Wagger’s Champloo by Patrick Marlboroughand Encore, Encore by Elliot Stone.
About the winner
Chuckie Raven’s queer YA novel Glimmers in the Sea Glass takes us from the oppressive silence of small towns to the locked wards of a children’s hospital, immersing us in the lives of two young protagonists separated by twenty years. This engrossing page-turner pulls the reader deep into the heart-wrenching, heartwarming rollercoaster lives of its characters.
Chuckie Raven (they/them) is a youth worker and craftsperson living in Nollamara, WA. They’re the founder and lead of the Perth Pride Shed, Perth’s first LGBTQIA+ community shed. They are passionate about protecting queer kids and, through their work with The Freedom Centre, have met many brilliant young minds who give them endless hope for the future. Chuckie writes stories they wished they’d had growing up. Their debut novel Glimmers in the Sea Glass is born out of their own queer experience and their family’s experience of living in WA’s South West. Instagram: @ChuckieRaven
About the sponsors
Fogarty Foundation was established by Brett and Annie Fogarty in 2000 to support and provide educational and leadership opportunities for young people across the spectrum of the Western Australian community. As well as partnering with a range of organisations, the Foundation has initiated its own programs that include the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program, CoderDojo WA and Fogarty EDvance.
Founded in 2015 by John and Caroline Wood, Centre for Stories is a vibrant and inclusive literary arts and cultural organisation that uses storytelling to grow skills and confidence, inspire understanding and promote community cohesion.
Fremantle Press is an independent book publisher, based in Western Australia, and embedded in the Australian cultural landscape. Charged with giving voice to Western Australian writers and bringing stories about this place to the world, the Press has published more than a thousand titles and has launched the careers of an extraordinary number of diverse, award-winning and bestselling storytellers, including Indigenous writers and artists. @FremantlePress