Holden Sheppard wins Hungerford Award for Invisible Boys

Local author Holden Sheppard has won the prestigious T.A.G. Hungerford Award for his novel about growing up gay in country WA.

The Geraldton-born writer has been awarded $12,000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press for the manuscript Invisible Boys. Only WA writers writing their first full-length unpublished work are eligible for the prize.

Set in present day Geraldton, Invisible Boys explores the lives of several characters whose journeys and destinations may differ – but all are struggling to be seen and accepted as they are.

Sheppard said as a young gay man in Geraldton he felt that he was truly unseen. He says that having a publisher want to share his story was overwhelming.

“I wrote this novel for anyone who has struggled, or still is,” Sheppard said of the story.

“I want the pain of these characters to be visible to the world. I want the world to understand that boys and men suffer, and for gay boys in particular, even in 2018, this struggle can feel like the end of the world, but it isn’t”

Sheppard’s work has also been published in the latest edition of the Griffith Review, which this year is reflecting experiences of the postal survey on marriage equality.

Sheppard will be appearing at a special launch presenting by OUTinPerth, Boffins Books and Tribe Hotel.

We still have limited spaces left for this FREE event on Monday 19th November at 6pm. If you are interested, RSVP to [email protected]

OIP Staff