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Will Kostakis

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Will Kostakis
Photograph of Will Kostakis at lectern
Will Kostakis in July 2017
BornWilliam Kostakis
OccupationNovelist
EducationNewington College
Sydney University
Notable worksThe First Third; We Could Be Something
Notable awardsSydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year (2005); Inky Awards (2014)
Website
www.willkostakis.com

William Kostakis is an Australian author and journalist. He is known mainly for young adult fiction, and his 2023 novel We Could Be Something won the 2024 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction.

Early life and education

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William Kostakis attended Newington College in Stanmore, Sydney.[citation needed] In high school, he won the 2005 Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year prize for a short story called 'Bing Me', and went on to sign his first book deal in his final year of high school.[citation needed]

He attended Sydney University.[citation needed]

Career

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Kostakis scored his first publishing contract at 17, while still completing his final year of high school,[1] Newington College.[2] He began work on a variant of Loathing Lola when he was 11 years old, and continued to refine it.[3]

Loathing Lola, his first novel for young adults, was released in August 2008.[4] The novel was a critical success, dubbed a "kickass debut", "a smart, sharp tale about fame, love and loss" by Dolly magazine,[5] "brilliant" by The Examiner,[6] "a promising debut from a young and talented Australian writer" by Danielle Trabsky at Australian Book Review, "polished" and "extremely funny" by Mike Shuttleworth at the State Library of Victoria,[7] and received many other positive reviews.[8][9][10]

Awards and recognition

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Kostakis' second novel, The First Third won the 2014 Inky Awards, and was shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers and Prime Minister's Literary Awards.[11] His novel The Sidekicks, published in 2016, was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards.

We Could Be Something won the 2024 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction.[12] It was also shortlisted in 2024 for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults[13] and the Young Adult Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards.[14]

Other activities

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On 1 July 2020 Kostakis became a mentor of Express Media's newly renamed Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers and, along with Hachette head of children's publishing Jeanmarie Morosin, joined the judging panel for the prize.[15]

Selected works

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Young adult novels

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  • Loathing Lola (2008)
  • The First Third (2013)
  • The Sidekicks (2016)
  • Monuments (2019)
  • Rebel Gods (2020)
  • The Greatest Hit (2020)
  • We Could Be Something (2023)

Chapter books

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  • Stuff Happens: Sean (2014)

Short stories

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  • "Bing Me"[16] (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2005)
  • "An Alternate Life" (The Star Observer, 2016)
  • "The Bounce Back" (The Star Observer, 2016)
  • "Hatchet" (The Book That Made Me,[17] 2016)
  • "I Can See The Ending" (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology,[18] 2017)

References

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  1. ^ William Kostakis.com Archived 14 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Laughter and loathing". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 September 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  3. ^ Bates, Rob. "Author's debut looks through feminine eyes". Wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  4. ^ Loathing Lola – Pan Macmillan
  5. ^ "Dolly Magazine Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  6. ^ Chris Christodoulou. "The Examiner Review". Northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Mike Shuttleworth Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  8. ^ "LiteraryMinded". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Magpies Magazine Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Good Reading Magazine Review". Goodreadingmagazine.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Novels | Will Kostakis". willkostakis.com. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  12. ^ Burke, Kelly (12 September 2024). "Prime Minister's Literary awards 2024: Andre Dao wins $80,000 for debut novel Anam". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Queensland Literary Awards 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  15. ^ "John Marsden prize renamed Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers". Books+Publishing. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Bing Me - Books - Entertainment - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. 17 September 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  17. ^ "The Book That Made Me". Goodreads. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Begin, End, Begin". Goodreads. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
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