Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard in running for the Readings Young Adult Book Prize

Readings staff members have selected Holden Sheppard’s Invisible Boys for the shortlist of this year’s Readings Young Adult Book Prize. Established in 2016, the prize recognises exciting emerging voices in Australian young adult literature.

Holden joins authors Meg Caddy, Wai Chim, Lisa Fuller, Katy Warner and Susan White, who also made the list.

Holden said, ‘I’m absolutely stoked to have been shortlisted for this prize. The crew at Readings have such bulk respect across the industry, so knowing my book has their expert seal of approval is really special. Being in the running for this award makes Invisible Boys all the more likely to be found by the readers who need to hear this book’s message the most, so this news makes me really happy.’

Described by reviewers as a genuine, authentic, character-driven story for all young people, Invisible Boys has been favourably compared to Puberty Blues and the works of Tim Winton. The story follows three young men growing up gay in a country town – Geraldton – where the author himself grew up. It was the recipient of the 2018 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and the 2019 Kathleen Mitchell Award, was a 2020 Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book and was shortlisted for a 2020 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award.

Selected by a revolving panel of Readings booksellers and 2020 guest judge Amie Kaufman, a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult and middle-grade fiction, the winner of the Readings Young Adult Book Prize will be announced at the end of July. Previous winners include Zana Fraillon (2017), Erin Gough (2018) and Eleni Hale (2019).

Invisible Boys is available from all good bookstores and online.