The Hope Prize 2025 Winners

First Place – $10,000 AUD
Celeste MohammedPlenty Time

Second Place – $2,000 AUD
Johann de WaalSnow

Third Place – $1,000 AUD (shared)
Cate KennedyEleven Days and One Hour

All prizes awarded together by Readings and The Hope Prize.

The 2025 Hope Prize Shortlist

The following authors were shortlisted for the 2025 Hope Prize. Their stories, alongside the winning entries, will be published by Simon & Schuster Australia in support of our 2025 charity partner, CAMFED.

Nazia Akhtar — The Letter

Ellem Austin — People Like Us

Susanna Elliffe — Patron Saints of Road Kill

Selina Graham — Bog Butter

Elisa Hall — The Blood Pact

Mónica Ibarra Parle — Little Angels

Joshua Kemp — The Last Blue Mallet on Earth

Claire Low — Over My Dead Body

Jeannie Mackenzie — A History of Loss in Fifteen Domestic Objects

Ciera McElroy — Still Life

Ellen McQueen —The Baby Shower

Honni van Rijswijk —The Magpie Season

Ronan Ryan — Ghoul

Trina Saffioti — Never Talking to Island Boys Again

Caroline Söderlund — The Pond Mermaid

Claire Tafoya — Laurel of the Canyon

Heleen Wagemans — The Street of a Thousand Loaves