Young Adult Fiction (2012-)
Subcategory of South Australian Literary Awards
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Notes

  • Inaugurated in 2012.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2024

winner y separately published work icon Completely Normal (and Other Lies) Elizabeth James , Richmond : Hardie Grant Books , 2022 24412939 2022 single work novel young adult

'Love has rules. So does grief. And Stella Wilde’s about to break them all.

'Stella Wilde is secretly in love with the hottest guy in school, Isaac Calder. He seems to love her back, but there’s a problem – he already has a girlfriend, the gorgeous Grace Reyes. 

When Isaac is killed in a car accident, the entire school is turned upside down with grief. And while Grace can mourn publicly, Stella has to hide her feelings to stop people from finding out about her and Isaac being more than friends.  

'But how long can Stella keep lying – to herself and everyone else? And when the truth finally comes out, how will it affect her newfound friendship with Grace?'  (Publication summary)

Year: 2022

winner y separately published work icon The Gaps Leanne Hall , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2021 20080482 2021 single work novel young adult

'What does it mean to be the one left behind?

'When sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell is abducted, the news reverberates through the whole Year Ten class at Balmoral Ladies College. As the hours tick by, the girls know the chance of Yin being found alive is becoming smaller and smaller.

'Police suspect the abduction is the work of a serial offender, with none in the community safe from suspicion. Everyone is affected by Yin’s disappearance—even scholarship student Chloe, who usually stays out of Balmoral drama, is drawn into the maelstrom. And when she begins to form an uneasy alliance with the queen of Year Ten, Natalia, things get even more complicated.

'Looking over their shoulders at every turn, Chloe and Natalia must come together to cope with their fear and grief as best they can. A tribute to friendship in all its guises, The Gaps is a moving examination of vulnerability and strength, safety and danger, and the particular uncertainty of being a young woman in the world.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon Small Spaces Sarah Epstein , Glebe : Walker Books Australia , 2018 13957629 2018 single work novel young adult thriller

'We don’t pick and choose what to be afraid of. Our fears pick us.”

'Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing. As disturbing memories resurface, Tash starts to see Sparrow again. And she realises Mallory is the key to unlocking the truth about a dark secret connecting them. Does Sparrow exist after all? Or is Tash more dangerous to others than she thinks?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2018

winner y separately published work icon My Sister Rosa Justine Larbalestier , Australia : Allen and Unwin , 2016 9060523 2016 single work novel young adult

''I promise,' said Rosa. 'I won't kill and I won't make anyone else kill.'

'I can't see the loophole. Since the guinea pig there's been nothing. Months now without Rosa killing as much as a mosquito.

'As far as I know.

'Che Taylor has four items on his list: 1. He wants to spar, not just train in the boxing gym. 2. He wants a girlfriend. 3. He wants to go home. 4. He wants to keep Rosa under control.

'Che's little sister Rosa is smart, talented, pretty, and so good at deception that Che's convinced she must be a psychopath. She hasn't hurt anyone yet, but he's certain it's just a matter of time. And when their parents move them to New York City, Che longs to return to Sydney and his three best friends. But his first duty is to his sister Rosa, who is playing increasingly complex and disturbing games. Can he protect Rosa from the world - and the world from Rosa?

'My Sister Rosa will have you on the edge of your seat from the very first page to the last.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2016

winner y separately published work icon Are You Seeing Me? Darren Groth , North Sydney : Random House Australia , 2014 7585290 2014 single work novel young adult

'This road trip will have earth-shattering consequences . . .

'Twins Justine and Perry are about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime in the Pacific Northwest.

'It's been a year since they watched their dad lose his battle with cancer. Now, at only nineteen, Justine is the sole carer for her disabled brother. But with Perry having been accepted into an assisted-living residence, their reliance on each other is set to shift. Before they go their separate ways, they're seeking to create the perfect memory.

'For Perry, the trip is a glorious celebration of his favourite things: mythical sea monsters, Jackie Chan movies and the study of earthquakes.

'For Justine, it's a chance to reconcile the decision to ‘free' her twin, to see who she is without her boyfriend, Marc – and to offer their mother the chance to atone for past wrongs.

'But the instability that has shaped their lives will not subside, and the seismic event that Perry forewarned threatens to reduce their worlds to rubble . . . ' (Publication summary)

Works About this Award

Young at Heart 2013 single work column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , April no. 228 2013; (p. 12-13)
Getting Creative to Reach Audience Craig Gamble , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 23 March 2013; (p. 5)
Winton's Teen Novel Has Some Knockers Tanya Chilcott , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 February 2013; (p. 9)
'Parents object to explicit school text'
From Tashi to Eternity Anna Fienberg , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 44 no. 4 2012; (p. 10-12)
'When children's author Anna Fienberg decided to write a novel for grown-ups, she discovered that leaving the world of young readers means starting from a cold clean slate.'
JK Rowling Twilight and ...Me Keith Austin , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Author , December vol. 44 no. 4 2012; (p. 6-9)
'Keith Austin didn't just want to write a book for young adults. He wanted it to be something special, out of the box. Then years later, it's been published. here's what he learned...'
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