Introducing Bunbury writer Josh Kemp whose manuscript, Jasper Cliff has him commended in the Fogarty Literary Awards for a second time
Josh Kemp is no stranger to the Fogarty Literary Awards. He’s previously stood upon the stage at The Edith Spiegeltent to receive his longlisting for Banjawarn – his now award-winning debut novel – which, coincidentally, is in the running for a Western Australian Premier’s Award.
This time Josh has a one in six chance of winning $20,000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press for his new manuscript Jasper Cliff. It’s a gothic crime novel that Georgia Richter says ‘piles on the atmosphere and terror’ and is ‘the kind of thing you don’t want to read late at night’.
Josh describes how his character Lachlan’s car breaks down, leaving him marooned in Jasper Cliff, a Pilbara mining town experiencing the death rattles of a soon to be ghost town. You’ll be riveted by the excerpt Josh reads!
Show notes
About Josh
Josh Kemp is an author of Australian gothic fiction. His debut novel, Banjawarn, was the co-winner of the 2021 Dorothy Hewett Award and won the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction. It is also in the running to win a WA Premier’s Award. He’s previously been shortlisted for the Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award, longlisted for the Fogarty Literary Award and highly commended in the Viva La Novella Prize. He lives in the South West of Western Australia but finds himself drawn, over and over again, to the red dirt of the state’s north.
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 The unpublished manuscript for The Glass House was the winner of the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award.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
