The Spark Prize: workshop recap and FAQs
The Spark Prize: workshop recap and FAQs
The Spark Prize is a new biennial joint venture between Hardie Grant Books and RMIT Writing and Publishing that aims to foster talent in the narrative non-fiction genre and provide the successful applicant with the essential tools they’ll need to drive their book proposal to publication.
The Prize includes $2000 in prize money, a six-month editorial mentorship with Hardie Grant Books and a one-week residency at RMIT's stunning McCraith House on the Mornington Peninsula. This exciting opportunity, free to enter and open to all writers in Australia, presents a tailored experience for one writer to develop their project from a budding idea into a strong final piece with the support of industry professionals.
Under the guidance of Hardie Grant, student-interns working within RMIT's Bowen Street Press will be actively involved in the administration and facilitation of the Spark Prize, gaining invaluable industry experience working alongside one of Australia's most vibrant and innovative independent publishers, while playing a role in supporting the development of new and important creative work.
To learn more about the prize, including entry guidelines and dates, visit Hardie Grant Books.
The Spark Prize: In Conversation Workshop
On Friday 2 October RMIT Writing and Publishing hosted an online in-conversation workshop event to offer applicants and any emerging writer an insight into what makes a strong book proposal. The event featured Hardie Grant publisher, Arwen Summers, and Publisher of RMIT's Bowen Street Press, Tracy O'Shaughnessy, alongside Hardie Grant author Emily Clements and Lecturer in RMIT's Master of Writing and Publishing, Zoe Dzunko, and explored narrative non-fiction and the nature of the editor-author relationship, as well as giving writers an insight into making their book proposal stand out in the industry.
If you weren’t able to join on the day, you can catch up on the conversation in the event recording. You can also learn more about the prize and read some tips for preparing a strong book proposal in the FAQ below.
The Spark Prize: FAQs
Can a team of more than one person apply for the prize?
Unfortunately this prize is only for individual writers. But co-written and anthology-based narrative non-fiction is an interesting space to pursue!
My project isn’t finished – I’m still researching, writing or interviewing. Will I be penalised for submitting something early on in the writing process?
This is a developmental prize and the expectation is that you will still be working on the project. We want to support you to do research, work with an editor, and finish the project. It’s a good idea in the proposal to be up front about how far along you are.
How do I come up with an idea for narrative non-fiction?
Writers come up with ideas for non-fiction in lots of different ways. You could start by spending a few days reading the news. See if you notice any similarities between stories, ideas you can match up, compare and contrast. Make a list of something YOU urgently want to know about. Ask someone who knows you well, What’s the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to me? Ask yourself, What’s the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to someone I know? Then, develop the idea by researching it and brainstorming it.
How central is the idea of 'narrative arc' in narrative non-fiction?
This isn’t a prize for wildly experimental works, but just because something is narrative doesn’t mean it has to be linear. You have lots of avenues open when you’re starting to tell your story. You can even look at fiction for techniques for writing narrative non-fiction. It’s all about finding the right shape, form, or voice for the idea you want to get across.
If writing a memoir, how accurate does it need to be? What if memory of details are patchy but the broader impacts of events are what you want to communicate?
There are so many ways to tell one's story and ‘truth’ and ‘memory’ are complicated! If the story is drawn from life, one's experience, and seeks truth, that's the best we can strive for as writers, although it’s always good to think about how others might feel about what you’re sharing.
What if my proposal covers sensitive material?
If you're writing about traumatic experiences, it's good practice to mention it at the top of the proposal, so that any potential readers are prepared for the content. If what you’re writing about could have some sensitivities from a legal perspective, please make sure you explain this clearly in your propal.
Can you break down the different requirements of the book proposal for the prize entry?
PROJECT TITLE
A title is often the first thing writers come up with, but you should treat it as a working document—something you come back over the life of the project to check in on progress. Ask yourself, Is this still the best title for the project? Does it reflect what I’ve really ended up doing, or just what I thought I would do? It can be a good exercise to ‘try on’ a different title once in a while, even if you end up going back to the original idea.
BIO
Be clear and simple in your bio—no need to try to be funny. Include any additional training or qualifications not just related to writing but that might support your approach to your topic or anything that shows why you’re the right person to write this story, e.g. careers, training or life experience outside of the arts. Remember though, it’s the proposal that counts, not the bio or credentials.
ONE-PAGE SYNOPSIS
This is hard to do, but very valuable. You can treat this as a working document while you’re writing the book too. It stops you missing the forest for the trees, since a book is a huge project but you will still need to follow and develop the main thread. You can start with a couple of comparison titles. This is not a sign of unoriginality. It shows that you’ve researched the market and understand the context for your work. ‘In the tradition of Too Afraid to Cry…’ or ‘The Lotus Eaters meets Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil…’ – this is more persuasive to seasoned editors than claiming ‘you have never read anything like my work before’. Tell us what’s most interesting to YOU about the work. Is it driven by suspense, voice, a particular character? Why do you want to write about it in the first place?
Plan your synopsis in scenes or ‘key narrative points’. If in doubt, follow a simple three-act structure (screenwriting textbooks are fantastic for non-fiction writers). Remember, the synopsis is not a blurb. Don’t withhold anything from the reader, e.g. by being afraid to spoil the ending. Recap where the characters or ideas were at the start of the story, then outline where we leave them. That’s the shape of the story and you should be able to sum up some kind of change or movement. This would normally be in third person, but if it feels appropriate to write in first person, go ahead.
DETAILED CHAPTER OUTLING (maximum of 3000 words)
There’s no expectation that you will know exactly what happens in your book, as this is a developmental prize. But there’s a lot you can tell us in a chapter outline even without having finished. It can feel strange to plan this much detail without actually writing it, especially if you want to research an idea and expect your story to change based on interviews. But once you start doing it, you will find that you can write more than you think. For ease of organisation, the chapter outline could include your proposed chapter headings. Sections could be phrased as complete paragraphs or bullet points – whatever is the clearest and simplest way for you to outline your plans. Don’t be afraid to outline your questions: What do you hope to find out in this chapter? What kinds of concerns or questions will you cover? If you’re still stuck, you could find some non-fiction books in this genre, and write dot point summaries of what happens in each of their chapters. This mapping exercise can teach you about structure, and you can even use it as a blueprint for your own work.
SAMPLE (maximum of 5000 words)
If in doubt, keep it simple. 5000 words seems like a long sample, but it’s better to do a few things really well than try to squeeze in everything that will be good about your project. If your project alternates between different perspectives/voices, perhaps use your writing sample to showcase this, or anything else you think is really important for judges to know about your work. You could include one long chapter, or several shorter chapters. The samples you provide don’t have to be consecutive. Just be aware of what the reader knows and doesn’t know. If you’re skipping ahead, or starting midway through the story, for example, you might need to write a short intro to set the reader up.
FORMATTING
It’s worth making it as easy as possible for judges to read your work, e.g. if it comes from a blog, copy and paste it into a document and follow the formatting guidelines. You can include photos, illustrations, charts, graphs, and whatever else you think is important in your proposal. Show your drafts to readers you trust, people who will be critical of your work. (A surprising number of people will have great criticisms of your work but won’t want to hurt your feelings. You want good, honest, tough-minded readers.) At the very least, get someone else to proofread your work.
Is there space in my application to include external sources, e.g. a bibliography and references?
A long external reference list isn’t needed to enter this prize, even though research is often important for narrative non-fiction. You might consider listing a few important sources where relevant in your project plan.
What is the preferred word count for a narrative non-fiction book?
Remember, your entry for this prize doesn’t need to be finished – you just submit an excerpt. When it comes to final word count, many non-fiction books sit in the ballpark of 70,000 words, but the word count goes up and down depending on the project.
What are some examples of narrative non-fiction?
We always recommend reading in the genre as the best way to get your head around it. Here are some books that we consider narrative non-fiction, which the prize team particularly admires and enjoys. You’ll see that it can be difficult to easily ‘categorise’ these books!
Investigative
Troll Hunting by Ginger Gorman – investigative journalism with a personal twist
_Silent Invasion_by Clive Hamilton – research-based investigative exposé
_The Kabul Peace House_by Mark Isaacs – the story of a group of young peace activists in Afghanistan, told partially through the author’s eyes
Persuasive
How to Talk About Climate Change In a Way that Makes a Difference by Rebecca Huntley – persuasive writing to create action
The Football Solution by George Megalogenis – using AFL as a lens through which to examine and push for political change
Not Just Lucky by Jamila Rizvi – a kind of millennial feminist version of Lean In
Popular science
Incentivology by Jason Murphy – economics to explain everyday behaviour
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan – journalism meets science meets personal exploration
You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy – cultural critique of the lost art of listening and why it matters in our increasingly polarised age
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell – critique of social media, and kind of anti-self-help /anticapitalist action
Memoir
Butterfly on a Pin by Alannah Hill – memoir of family and early life
The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke – both a memoir about the experience of racism and a cultural critique
Too Afraid to Cry by Ali Cobby Eckermann – a memoir of a stolen childhood
Staying by Jessie Cole – memoir of family and mental health
Am I Black Enough for You? by Anita Heiss – persuasive memoir
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou – classic memoir
Hybrid memoir
Small Wrongs by Kate Rossmanith – hybrid blending an investigation of remorse with the author’s personal story
Adult Fantasy by Briohny Doyle – investigation of adulthood, cultural studies mixed with memoir
Teacher by Gabbie Stroud – memoir mixed with critique of our education system
Every Conceivable Way by Despina Meris – memoir on IVF, surrogacy and fertility
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande – a doctor looks at illness, medicine, mortality and what matters in the end
Crime
Midnight in Peking by Paul French – a cold-case murder from interwar Peking that was reinvestigated and solved in 2012
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote – describes the lives of the murderers, the family and the community blended
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt – crime story set in Savannah Georgia
_The Adversary_by Emmanual Carrere – a true story of monstrous deception
History
The Stranger Artist by Quentin Sprague – biography and history blend
_Talking to My Daughter About the Economy_by Yanis Varoufakis – a brief history of capitalism, written for a lay audience to inspire activism
Stasiland by Anna Funder – personal narrative and historical/political investigation
Under Fire by Nick Brodie – history that helps us understand present-day issues
Can you suggest an organisation or social media group that is a good support or source of information for Australian writers?
For writers under 25, Express Media is a fantastic source of information, opportunities and support. Otherwise, try your local state-based Writers Centre (e.g. Writers Victoria); your local library network; join the Australian Society of Authors; or ask about local writing groups in community message boards. RMIT Writing and Publishing is on Facebook and includes current students, staff, friends of the program and alumni.
What is your advice about pitching a non-fiction book to Hardie Grant outside of entering the prize?
Hardie Grant does accept general submissions, and we will be opening up a submissions portal through Submittable (the same platform we’re using for the prize) very soon. Keep your eye out!