UWA Publishing is proud to announce the two winners of the inaugural Spiers Prize!
In the young adult category: Zahina Maghrabi for her unpublished manuscript The Girl, The Calico and The Soldier. In the middle grade category: Rebeca Green for her unpublished manuscript A Girl, a Boy, a Horse and a Zorse.
The judges of the award would also like to highly commend the following authors for their work: Rico Craig for his unpublished young adult manuscript Flying Hearts and Tracey Sloan for her unpublished middle grade manuscript The Lost Boy of Divine.
The winners were announced at a ceremony hosted by Gail Spiers and featured speeches from Gail Spiers, Kate Pickard, and the two winners. Commenting on their achievement, Zahina stated “It's an incredible honour to win the Spiers Prize for my manuscript. It still feels surreal in some ways to have my work recognised at this level but I'm so grateful and excited.” And Rebeca commented “I'm thrilled and honoured to be the middle-grade winner of the inaugural Spiers Prize. I'm so grateful to Gail Spiers and UWA Publishing for providing this opportunity and excited that zorses will have a moment in the spotlight.”
From left to right: Kate Pickard, Zahina Maghrabi, Rebeca Green, and Gail Spiers. Credit: Ezra Alcantra.
The judges for the inaugural Spiers Prize were Kate Pickard, Danielle Binks, Sally Murphy OAM, and Gail Spiers. Due to the enthusiastic number of submissions, and Gail Spiers’ generosity, UWA Publishing has awarded the original prize amount of $5000 to both Zahina Maghrabi and Rebeca Green. From 2026 onwards, the Spiers Prize will alternate categories annually: middle grade in 2026, young adult in 2027, and so on.
Submissions for the 2026 Spiers Prize (middle grade fiction manuscripts only) will open at 10am AWST 1 May 2026 and will close at 11.59pm AWST 31 May 2026. More information, including the terms and conditions, can be found on the UWA Publishing website: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/pages/the-spiers-prize
UWA Publishing would like to thank Gail Spiers, the judges of the award, and UWA Development and Alumni Relations for their support, time and efforts. UWA Publishing would like to congratulate Zahina and Rebeca on their achievements as well as the highly commended authors and all the shortlisted authors.
Judges comments
WINNERS
The Girl, The Calico and The Soldier by Zahina Maghrabi (young adult category)
A speculative-fiction story that feels so contemporary and relevant today; a tale of conflict, displacement, and resilience – focused on a family torn apart by a foreign occupation, and a young woman at the centre of so much change and upheaval within her own country, and life. A thrilling and pacey read, from an eclectic new voice with so much heart and soul on the page.
A Girl, a Boy, a Horse and a Zorse by Rebeca Green (middle grade category)
This was such a gentle and important story featuring wonderful discussions around Disability and bullying, a truly tender-hearted middle grade tale that I think children will love, and will be ripe for classroom and family discussion. Themes of fairness/equity and community/environmental-responsibility are folded in when a zorse character trots onto the page, a hybrid borne from zebras and horses – to encompass a wider discussion and embrace of individuality in the face of hardship, especially.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Flying Hearts by Rico Craig (young adult category)
A wonderfully authentic and bitingly brilliant verse novel of four teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks, who find connection and belonging in their shared fight against social injustice and private school tormentors. Discussions of toxic masculinity and patriarchy fuel this tale of modern life, that would at least have got teens from all backgrounds discussing, and potentially debating, the commentary and wider implications within.
The Lost Boy of Divine by Tracey Sloan (middle grade category)
A story that will have children considering all they take for granted, focused on a young girl who yearns for an education, but who is locked away within a household hellbent on keeping her safe from "real dangers" of the Divine City. A tale of independence and resilience in one young girl, in defiance of the fear and isolation her parents are impressing upon her.
For media enquiries please contact UWA Publishing’s Marketing Department.
EMAIL: marketing-uwap@uwa.edu.au
PHONE: (+ 61 8) 6488 3670