// Workers AI · dad joke modeWill Kostakis go to the party? No, he'll kost a lot.
Will Kostakis | |
|---|---|
Will Kostakis in July 2017 | |
| Born | William Kostakis |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | Newington College Sydney University |
| Notable works | The First Third; We Could Be Something |
| Notable awards | Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year (2005); Inky Awards (2014) |
| Website | |
| www | |
William Kostakis is an Australian author and journalist.[1] 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
[edit]William Kostakis attended Newington College in Stanmore, Sydney.[1] 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.[1]
He attended Sydney University.[1]
Career
[edit]Kostakis scored his first publishing contract at 17, while still completing his final year of high school,[2] Newington College.[3] He began work on a variant of Loathing Lola when he was 11 years old, and continued to refine it.[4]
Loathing Lola, his first novel for young adults, was released in August 2008.[5] The novel was a critical success, dubbed a "kickass debut", "a smart, sharp tale about fame, love and loss" by Dolly magazine,[6] "brilliant" by The Examiner,[7] "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,[8] and received many other positive reviews.[9][10][11]
Awards and recognition
[edit]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.[12] 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.[13] It was also shortlisted in 2024 for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults[14] and the Young Adult Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards.[15]
Other activities
[edit]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.[16]
Selected works
[edit]Young adult novels
[edit]- 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
[edit]- Stuff Happens: Sean (2014)
Short stories
[edit]- "Bing Me"[17] (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,[18] 2016)
- "I Can See The Ending" (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology,[19] 2017)
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "Austlit — William Kostakis". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ William Kostakis.com Archived 14 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Laughter and loathing". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 September 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ Bates, Rob. "Author's debut looks through feminine eyes". Where I Live. Wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ Loathing Lola – Pan Macmillan
- ↑ "Dolly Magazine Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ Chris Christodoulou. "The Examiner Review". Northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ "Mike Shuttleworth Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ "LiteraryMinded". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ "Magpies Magazine Review". Williamkostakis.wordpress.com. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ "Good Reading Magazine Review". Goodreadingmagazine.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ "Novels | Will Kostakis". willkostakis.com. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ↑ "Austlit — We Could be Something by Will Kostakis — Awards". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "John Marsden prize renamed Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers". Books+Publishing. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ↑ "Bing Me - Books - Entertainment - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. 17 September 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "The Book That Made Me". Goodreads. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "Begin, End, Begin". Goodreads. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- 1989 births
- People educated at Newington College
- 21st-century Australian novelists
- Australian male novelists
- Australian people of Greek descent
- Living people
- Writers from New South Wales
- 21st-century Australian male writers
- Australian male short story writers
- 21st-century Australian short story writers
- Australian LGBTQ novelists
- Australian gay writers