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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
(1989-06-02) 2 June 1989 (age 35)
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAustralian
EducationNewington College/Sydney University
Notable worksThe First Third; The Sidekicks
Notable awardsSydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year (2005); Inky Awards (2014)
Website
www.willkostakis.com

William Kostakis (born 2 June 1989) is an Australian author and journalist. In high school, he won the Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year prize for a short story called 'Bing Me'. He went on to sign his first book deal in his final year of high school.

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'[1] (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,[2] 2016)
  • 'I Can See The Ending' (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology,[3] 2017)

Young adult novels

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Loathing Lola (2008)

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His first novel for young adults, Loathing Lola, was released in August 2008 through Pan Macmillan under his birth name William Kostakis.[4] Kostakis scored his first publishing contract at 17, while still completing his final year of high school,[5] Newington College.[6] He began work on a variant of Loathing Lola when he was 11 years old, and has since been refining it.[7] The novel has been a critical success, dubbed a "kickass debut", "a smart, sharp tale about fame, love and loss" by Australian DOLLY Magazine,[8] "brilliant" by The Examiner,[9] "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,[10] "highly entertaining" by Angela Meyer at LiteraryMinded,[11] "a witty tale of trust, teenage friendship, school politics, family relationships and teenage love that is propelled by regular humour, satirical characters and loads of drama... a popular addition to the mid-teen market" by Allison Paterson at Magpies Magazine,[12] and rated four stars by Anastasia Gonis at Good Reading Magazine, who said, "The story sparkles through the humorous dialogue of a cast of cleverly chosen characters".[13]

Awards and recognition

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His 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.[14] His novel The Sidekicks, published in 2016, was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards.

We Could Be Something won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction.[15] It was shortlisted in 2024 for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults[16] and the Young Adult Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Bing Me - Books - Entertainment - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. 17 September 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. ^ "The Book That Made Me". Goodreads. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Begin, End, Begin". Goodreads. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  4. ^ Loathing Lola – Pan Macmillan
  5. ^ William Kostakis.com Archived 14 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Laughter and loathing". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 September 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  7. ^ Bates, Rob. "Author's debut looks through feminine eyes". Wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Dolly Magazine Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  9. ^ Chris Christodoulou. "The Examiner Review". Northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Mike Shuttleworth Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  11. ^ "LiteraryMinded". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Magpies Magazine Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Good Reading Magazine Review". Goodreadingmagazine.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Novels | Will Kostakis". willkostakis.com. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Queensland Literary Awards 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
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