Book launch for latest Hungerford Award winner

The winning novel in the prestigious 2020 City of Fremantle Hungerford Awards has been officially launched by Fremantle Press.

Described as ‘breathtaking’, ‘wise’ and ‘poetic’, Maria Papas’s novel Skimming Stones explores the impact of childhood illness and trauma on families.

Set in a paediatric oncology ward and at Lake Clifton in Australia’s South West, the novel tells the story of a nurse named Grace, who cares for and guides her young patients, but must also navigate her own past as a child who once bore witness to her sister’s leukaemia.

Maria Papas said stories were important to her because when shared they humanise the world, create community and provide comfort.

“My novel, Skimming Stones, came from a time when I was all but living at hospital with my child,” she said.

“Back then, I remember wanting so much to find the narrative that made sense. I wanted to jump forward into the future so I could look back onto this past and see that everything turned out okay.”

The City of Fremantle Hungerford Award is Western Australia’s most prestigious award for an unpublished work of adult fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction, by an unpublished writer.

The winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.

Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said was thrilled to see another Hungerford Award winner hit the shelves.

“Fremantle is a haven for creative industries and the arts, and literature is no exception,” Mayor Fitzhardinge said.

“There’s no doubt that winning the Hungerford Award makes the literary world sit up and take notice.

“The City of Fremantle is very proud of its relationship with Fremantle Press in presenting the Hungerford Award and launching the careers of so many talented local writers.”

The Hungerford Award has been running for 30 years, with the City of Fremantle the naming sponsor in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

As part of the City’s renewed sponsorship for 2020, 2022 and 2024 the award was formally renamed the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and prize money was increased to from $12,000 to $15,000.

Fremantle Press publisher Georgia Richter commended the City for its vision and dedication in supporting literature and valuing the arts in tangible ways.

“Our appreciation is huge, and for writers, the outcome of the City’s support is far-reaching,” Ms Richter said.

Since winning the Hungerford Award in 2018, Holden Sheppard’s novel Invisible Boys went on to win the 2019 Kathleen Mitchell Award and the 2019 WA Premier’s Award for an Emerging Writer, and was shortlisted for a 2020 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Readings Prize.

Earlier this month Screenwest and the streaming service Stan announced Invisible Boys would be made into a 10-part television series.   

Maria Papas’s novel Skimming Stones is now available in all good bookstores and online.