> Skip to content

News  •  9 February 2018

 

Literary Prize winner

Announcing the winner of the Penguin Random House Australia Literary Prize.

We are thrilled to announce the winner of the inaugural Penguin Random House Australia Literary Prize.

With an overwhelming response to the Award, which launched in July last year, the winning submission is a novel, Hitch, by Kathryn Hind from the Australian Capital Territory.

Hitch is a brilliantly drawn novel about a young woman who stands on a highway in the Australian desert, alone except for her dog and the occasional road train that ignores her raised thumb. Running from the people lost, from the unsaid, from who she was, she moves ever closer to the things she longs to escape.

Of the Award, and her win, Hind said,” When I first discovered the Penguin Random House Literary Prize I couldn't believe such an opportunity existed for fostering new Australian voices. To know that I will now be able to bring my manuscript to life with the guidance and support of such an experienced team is incredibly exciting; I'm hopeful that this is the start of building what will be a strong foundation for my writing career.”

Hitch was selected from an incredibly strong pool of 409 submissions, with the judging panel comprised of PRH Australia and Leading Edge Books representatives. Galina Marinov, National Group Manager, from Leading Edge Books said, “I was blown away by the quality of writing submitted for the PRH Literary Prize for an unpublished manuscript. Any one of the six shortlisted titles would’ve made a worthy winner, and yet Kathryn Hind’s Hitch stood out amongst the group. It ticked all the boxes of a great book: beautiful writing, an engaging and pacy storyline that kept me reading well into the night, and a young heroine I could not help but care (and fear) about. Kathryn is an exciting new Australian voice and I cannot wait for her book to be published and read by independent bookstore readers around Australia”.

For her win, Kathryn will be awarded $20,000, with Hitch to be published by Meredith Curnow, Publisher – Vintage Knopf, Penguin Random House Australia in 2019. The next round of submissions for the PRH Literary Prize will open in July.

More features

See all
News
Mary Colussi wins the $20,000 Penguin Literary Prize 2025 for Touch Grass

Penguin Random House Australia is thrilled to announce Touch Grass by Mary Colussi as the winner of the Penguin Literary Prize 2025.

News
Penguin Random House acquires new Rachael Johns and Mercedes Mercier book series

The first book in the co-written series, The Number One Insta Detectives Agency, will be published in 2026.

News
Penguin Random House Australia to publish new M.L. Stedman novel, A Far-flung Life, in March 2026

From the author of The Light Between Oceans comes this new, powerful drama.

News
Penguin Random House Australia acquires two new books from Monica McInerney

When Sullivan Met Lola and Girl on a Roof will be published in 2026 and 2027.

News
Marian Keyes’ The Walsh Sisters, is being adapted for screen

The six-episode series will follow Anna, Rachel, Maggie, Claire and Helen through their 20s and 30s – airing on Stan.

News
Penguin Random House wins Publisher of the Year 2025

Penguin Random House has won Publisher of the Year at the 2025 Australian Book Industry Awards.

News
The Personal Penguin has been shortlisted for a 2025 Mumbrella award

We’re excited to share that our Personal Penguin figurine for Love Your Bookshop Day 2024 has been shortlisted for a Mumbrella award.

News
2025 ABIA shortlist announced

Check out the Penguin Random House books that have been shortlisted for the ABIAs in 2025. The winners will be announced on 7 May 2025.

News
2025 Penguin Literary Prize shortlist announced

See the six shortlisted titles for the 2025 Penguin Literary Prize. Winner to be announced 12 June 2025.

News
Jacinda Ardern to publish debut picture book with Penguin Random House ANZ

Mum's Busy Work by Jacinda Ardern is set for international release on September 30, 2025.

News
Penguin Random House Australia to publish Jacinda Ardern's Memoir

A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern is set for international release on June 3, 2025.

News
Anna Funder Wins the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger – Essai for The Invisible Madame Orwell

It is one of France's most prestigious literary awards, celebrating the best foreign books of non-fiction and fiction.

Looking for more news?

See all news
penguin pop image
penguin pop image