Robbie Arnott's novel 'Dusk' set in 1875 Tasmania, follows twins hunting a puma and explores themes of land exploitation and historical change, drawing on real events like the last Tasmanian puma and incorporating imaginative elements.

Arnott was surprised to win the prestigious $100,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize, believing his novel's imaginative aspects might make it ineligible, but judges praised its bold storytelling and symbolic exploration of white Australia's destructive land exploitation.

Tasma Walton's novel 'I Am Nannertgarrook' recounts her ancestor's kidnapping and enslavement in the 1830s, emphasizing Indigenous remembrance, cultural identity, and the importance of Indigenous knowledge and spiritual perspectives in understanding history.

Walton's deeply personal narrative incorporates Indigenous community consultation and research into colonial records, tackling themes of abduction, suffering, resilience, and Indigenous remembrance, with judges praising its empathetic portrayal of First Nations' experiences.

The awards also recognized other outstanding works, including Suzanne Leal's WWII novel 'The Year We Escaped', which received $30,000, and Emily Maguire's 'Rapture', awarded $5,000 as the first winner of the new readers' choice category.

The prize includes a $30,000 award for a children's book, awarded to Leal for her story about Jewish girls escaping WWII internment, and a $5,000 Readers' Choice prize to Maguire for her novel about a young woman adopting a monk's identity in medieval Europe.

Both Walton's and Arnott's novels share themes of colonial violence, with Arnott noting scenes in his book mirror those in Walton's, involving historical brutality and exploitation by colonial figures.

The winners exemplify a broader trend of authors turning to historical fiction to explore societal issues and reflect on the past as a lens for understanding current global challenges.

Judges highlighted Arnott's storytelling as bold and symbolic, addressing white Australia's destructive land exploitation and the influence of personal ambition on history.

Arnott's 'Dusk' was inspired by Tasmania's landscape and aims to depict themes of ecological and cultural erasure, set against the backdrop of real historical events like the last Tasmanian puma.

The novel 'Dusk' follows twin siblings hunting a puma in 19th-century Tasmania, blending historical facts with imaginative storytelling, and contains parallels with Walton's novel regarding colonial violence.

This year's joint winners, Arnott and Walton, received $50,000 each from the $100,000 prize fund, marking the first time the award was shared, highlighting the diversity and achievement of the year's winners.

The ARA Historical Novel Prize, one of Australia's richest literary awards, was awarded jointly to Arnott and Walton for novels set more than 50 years ago, celebrating their contributions to historical fiction.