Names of a Hare one leap closer to the 2026 HNSA Award for Adult Fiction
Bernice Barry is still in the running for the richest individual prize in the region for her novel The Names of a Hare.
Awarded by the Historical Novel Society of Australasia, in partnership with the ARA Group, to novels where the majority of the story is set more than 50 years ago. The Historical Novel Prize recognises Australian and New Zealand historical novelists writing for Adults and Children & Young Adults, with a total prize pool of $155,000.
Set in Cornwall, Barry’s book imagines what life would be like for a neurodiverse healer at the height of the witch trials. Bernice Barry said, ‘After receiving a copy of Lorna Doone as a school prize when I was ten, I was more interested in the mysterious woman who lived on the cliff than in any of the main characters. I wondered how she ended up there and where she came from, so when I decided to write a book set in Cornwall, and discovered that Blackmore’s “Mother Meldrum” was based on a real woman who came from the region, things fell into place – more so when I learned she had many different names, just like the protagonist in my own book!’
HNSA Chair Elisabeth Storrs said the 2026 list demonstrated the power of historical novels to bring history to life by illuminating forgotten, erased or neglected histories.
This year’s judging panels comprise industry professionals and prominent historical novelists. The Adult category was chaired by Linda Funnell, with panellists David Whish-Wilson, Renée Otmar and Robyn Cadwallader.
Voting for the Readers’ Choice Award is still open. For the second year running, HNSA newsletter subscribers can vote for their favourite Adult category novel, with the winning author receiving a $5,000 cash prize.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize has been made possible through the generous patronage of the ARA Group, which is committed to supporting the arts and literature.
The shortlists will be revealed on 23 September, with the winners announced on 15 October at a ceremony in Sydney.
