Queer Voices Shine on 2025 Fogarty Literary Award Shortlist

Two LGBTQIA+ authors have made the impressive achievement of reaching the 2025 Fogarty Literary Award shortlist, with their bold, heartfelt portrayals of queer life in regional Australia earning them national recognition.

Seth Malacari and Chuckie Raven have been shortlisted for their debut young adult novels, Boy Friends and Glimmers in the Sea Glass, respectively.

Chosen from a pool of 38 submissions, their works not only explore themes of identity, love, and resilience, but also give voice to queer youth navigating life outside of metropolitan centres.

Queer Voices Shine

Malacari’s Boy Friends is a queer YA romance set in the scenic Great Southern towns of Denmark and Walpole.

Told in a reflective first-person voice, the novel explores first love, self-discovery, and the joys and trials of growing up queer in a small community. With a light-hearted tone, it is described as “a refreshing and upbeat exploration of first love, self-discovery and reality TV.”

Seth Malacari (he/they), a nonbinary trans masculine author based in Dianella, WA, is no stranger to the literary world.

He edited the 2023 anthology An Unexpected Party (Fremantle Press), showcasing emerging LGBTQIA+ voices.

His writing has also appeared in Head Under Water, Ourselves: 100 Micro Memoirs, and Emergence: SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Malacari is currently undertaking a PhD in creative writing at the University of Western Australia.

Chuckie Raven’s Glimmers in the Sea Glass spans generations, juxtaposing the experiences of two young queer characters separated by two decades. The novel moves between small-town suppression and the confines of a children’s hospital, painting a deeply personal portrait of struggle, survival, and connection.

Chuckie Raven (they/them) lives in Nollamara and works as a youth worker and craftsperson.

They are the founder of Perth Pride Shed, the city’s first LGBTQIA+ community shed. Through their advocacy work with The Freedom Centre, Raven has become a powerful voice for protecting queer youth.

Chuckie writes stories they wished they’d had growing up, and their novel is rooted in both their personal queer journey and their family’s experiences in WA’s South West.

Also shortlisted is Serena Moss, a Geraldton-based writer whose debut YA novel Wreckage explores grief, disability, and identity.

Set in the Wheatbelt town of Kulin, Wreckage uses a fragmented, poetic style to tell the story of Carter Reynolds, a young man reclaiming agency after a life-altering crisis.

Moss, inspired by fellow regional writer Holden Sheppard, describes her process as deeply embedded in the everyday grit of small-town WA. “She believes in messy boys, wild girls, and fiction that starts after the worst thing has already happened.”

Moss (she/her), who now lives in Waggrakine, writes from sheds, servo cafés, and even her Nan’s car.

The winner of the 2025 Fogarty Literary Award will be announced on Tuesday June 3 at a free community event at the Government House Ballroom.

The prize includes $20,000 from the Fogarty Foundation, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press, and a $1500 writing fellowship from Centre for Stories. The winning novel will be published in 2026, accompanied by a national tour.