Busselton author Josh Kemp is one of 10 Western Australian writers who is in the running for Australia's newest and richest literary awards for young writers.
The Fogarty Literary Award is a biennial prize awarded to an unpublished manuscript by a Western Australian author aged between 18 and 35 for a work of fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction.
Mr Kemp has written four novels, his work In the Shadow of Burringurrah is up for the award, and if he is successful, will receive a prize of $20,000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.
It is the second time Mr Kemp's work has been nominated for a prize, he previously won an award for a short story he wrote about Busselton based in the Tuart Forest.
Mr Kemp writes Australian Gothic and crime fiction, basing his stories on places around Western Australia.
"It is a bit like Picnic at Hanging Rock, kids missing in the bush, the main character goes to see his grandmother on her death bed," he said.
"She has Alzheimers and is about to pass away, in her last moments she admits to killing two of her students back in the 1950's when she was a teacher up North.
"Then she passes away and her grandchild is really not sure what to do with this information,
"Do you go to the police? Or think here is this human being that meant so much, but how much did you really know this person.
"The novel tracks the grandchild going up North to this mountain Burringurrah near Meekatharra where the bodies are supposedly buried.
"He goes there to dig to see if he can find what is supposedly at the base of the mountain.
"There is a great hope that Alzeimers finally riddled her mind in the end, the main character is certainly hoping it is a story that is coming together from all these muddled memories that were in her head.
"There is a great deal of uncertainty and spookiness."
Mr Kemp said there was an element of humour in his work, because of the dark nature of the subject matter there was a need to lighten it up.
"I have a dark sense of humour anyway, so it naturally finds its way in," he said.
Mr Kemp is currently completing a PHD in creative writing at Edith Cowan University which he will complete this year.
"I have been writing since I was a kid, I am not entirely sure where it came from but it is that whole fascination about stories, particularly scary stories," he said.
"The other day I saw Ruth Moulton at Busselton Books who was celebrating 25 years, I think I have been going there since I was 10 years old.
"I bought my first novel from Ruth when I was 10, it was Cujo by Stephen King, I had told my mum I wanted to read a proper book and she gave me the cash to buy one.
"I went down there and that is what I picked, the Saint Bernard which goes crazy, that was my first exposure to books I was hooked."
The inaugural winner of the Fogarty Literary Award will be announced as part of the next Fremantle Press Great Big Book Read on Wednesday, May 22 2019.
Fremantle Press publisher and Fogarty Literary Award judge Georgia Richter said she was impressed by the number of entries and the quality of the writing.
Ms Richter said they received 64 manuscripts, which was an extraordinary number given the award was only in its first year and was available exclusively to Western Australian writers who were still aged under 35.
"We thought the pool would be smaller so the past couple of months have been a challenge with the publishing team reading day and night, as soon as each manuscript arrived, in order to assess their suitability for our list," she said.
"A shortlist is currently under consideration and will be released in the coming weeks with the winner announced at a special ceremony.
"I want to congratulate everyone who entered. Writing a full length manuscript is no mean feat and something worth celebrating," she said.
Tickets to the awards are free but places are limited. RSVP to the event on Eventbrite or by emailing admin@fremantlepress.com.au.
