Introducing Karleah Olson whose manuscript, A Wreck of Seabirds, has secured her a place on the Fogarty Literary Award shortlist
Karleah Olson has a one in six chance of winning $20,000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press. Her manuscript, A Wreck of Seabirds, is in the running for the prestigious 2023 Fogarty Literary Award for Western Australian writers aged 18 to 35. It’s a gothic YA novel that Georgia Richter describes as a ‘beautiful moody work’.
We are excited to bring you this interview that Brooke Dunnell recorded with Karleah last week. Karleah describes the multiple storylines and time shifts which she so deftly manages to bring together in one cohesive whole by the end of the novel. She discusses how the Australian landscape inspired her work and includes a reading from A Wreck of Seabirds.
Show notes
About Karleah
Karleah Olson is a PhD candidate at Edith Cowan University, where she is studying Australian coastal gothic literature.
About the hosts
Brooke Dunnell is a writer, mentor and workshop facilitator. Her short fiction has been widely published, including in the short story collection Female(s and) Dogs, which was a finalist for the 2020 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award and shortlisted for the 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Award. The unpublished manuscript for The Glass House was the winner of the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award. Brooke has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Western Australia and lives in Boorloo (Perth) with her husband and two dogs.
Books by Brooke Dunnell, 2021 Fogarty Literary Award winner
Last Best Chance (coming soon, Fremantle Press 2024)
Brooke’s website: brookedunnell.com/
Brooke on socials: Instagram @Brooky.Brooks and Twitter @TheSpineLabel
Georgia Richter has an MA (Creative Writing) from the University of Western Australia and is an IPEd Accredited Editor. She has taught creative writing, professional writing and editing at the universities of Melbourne and Western Australia, as well as at Curtin University. Georgia joined Fremantle Press in 2008 as the fiction, narrative non-fiction and poetry publisher.
Books by Georgia Richter, Fremantle Press publisher
How to be an Author: The Business of Being a Writer in Australia
About the award
Read more about this year’s shortlist here.
The Fogarty Literary Award is a biennial prize for an unpublished manuscript by a Western Australian author aged between 18 and 35 for a work of fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction. The winner receives a cash prize of $20,000 from the Fogarty Foundation and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.
The 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.
Music: ‘Letter to a Daughter of St George’, from the Meat Lunch EP: Songs from Floaters. Written by Alan Fyfe. Performed by Trevor Bentley (guitar and vocals – @trevormb) and Chris Parkinson (harmonica). Produced by Blake Carnaby of Nuglife studios with impresario work by Benjamin P. Newton.
Producer: Claire Miller
Mastered and edited by: Aidan d’Adhemar
