Aesop and The Saturday Paper have been cultural partners since 2014, promoting the written word through an annual calendar of events. Together, they nurture writers of longform non-fiction through The Horne Prize, an essay award valued at $15,000.
This year’s prize will be presented in early December for an essay of up to 3000 words, addressing some part of the theme ‘Australian life’ – shining light on a particular aspect of who we are, from a contemporary perspective. Entries are open until midnight on September 17, 2018.
All writers are invited to enter. Taking cues from Donald Horne’s rigorous exploration of Australian culture, essays should be founded on reportage, and bring light to a person or issue that helps us to understand who we are.
The Horne Prize will be given for an essay:
- Of exceptional quality
- Of no more than 3000 words
- Written between May 13 and September 17, 2018
- Addressing some part of the theme ‘Australian Life’, be that a profile or a reported feature centred on a particular issue, or a series of vignettes or something else that explains who we are and how we live. It could be hard news or it could be something softer, so long as it is grounded in interviews and observation.
- Entrants need not be published or professional writers, but craft skills of professional calibre are essential. For a benchmark, we suggest reading last year’s winning essay, Kerryn Goldsworthy’s The Limit of the World, and the work of other prominent contemporary essayists.
- Entrants need not be Australian citizens – we seek insights from all writers who have been engaged with or affected by Australian culture.
Catherine Bouris
Community Manager at Writers Bloc, Founder of Young Australian Writers, @catherinebouris on Twitter