In 2024 the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award will celebrate its 33rd year.
Proudly sponsored by the City of Fremantle and Fremantle Press, Western Australia’s most prestigious award for an unpublished work of adult fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction by an unpublished writer offers a cash prize of $15,000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press and a fellowship at the Centre for Stories.
ENTRIES
Award entries will open again in 2026. Subscribe to the Fremantle Press enewsletter to get an alert.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award shortlist is:
- Far From Wonderful by Howard McKenzie-Murray (fiction)
- Screech by Jodie Tes (fiction)
- I Remember Everything by Fiona Wilkes (fiction)
- የተስፋ ፈተና / Trials of Hope by Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes (narrative non-fiction / poetry)
Download the judges’ report here: [2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award Judges’ Report] and read the full media release here: [Anticipation Peaks as Four Writers Contend for the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award]
MORE INFORMATION
If you require assistance with your electronic submission, or for any other inquiries, please contact Fremantle Press on (08) 9430 6331.
The award is proudly sponsored by
About T.A.G. Hungerford (1915–2011)
T.A.G. Hungerford was widely admired as a quintessential Western Australian writer and identity. He was a major contributor in helping us define our sense of self and place in a rapidly changing world. His first collection of short stories was published in 1976 by Fremantle Press. In 1987 T.A.G. Hungerford was made a member of the Order of Australia. In 2002 he was the recipient of the Patrick White Award and in 2004 he was declared a Western Australian State Living Treasure. He was always a great supporter of new and emerging writers and was proud to have the award named for him. A collector’s edition of Stories from Suburban Road was released in March 2016.
2022 winner Molly Schmidt
Molly Schmidt is a writer and journalist from the coastal town of Albany, Western Australia. An only child, she grew up roaming paddocks and climbing paperbark trees on Menang Noongar country. Storytelling has been part of Molly’s world since she could speak. When she was ten years old, her father lost his battle with terminal cancer. Molly began writing to process this loss, and through written word has found healing, growth and her life path. In both her journalism career and novel writing practice, Molly is passionate about producing stories that are inclusive of all members of her community. While writing Salt River Road, she collaborated with Noongar Elders from Albany, with the goal of producing a novel that actively pursues reconciliation between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people. Molly completed a thesis on the topic at Curtin University in 2021, supervised by Professor Kim Scott and Dr Brett D’Arcy, for which she received First Class Honours. This novel, Salt River Road, was the recipient of the 2022 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award.
Salt River Road was released in October 2023.
Past recipients of the award are Holden Sheppard, Madelaine Dickie, Brenda Walker, Jay Martin, Gail Jones, Natasha Lester, Maria Papas, Jacqueline Wright, Robert Edeson, Nathan Hobby, Bruce Russell, Christopher Murray, Donna Mazza, Simone Lazaroo and Alice Nelson.
Hungerford books
Winning and shortlisted books
