Will Kostakis

{{Short description|Australian author and journalist}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox writer  | name = Will Kostakis | image =Will Kostakis.jpg | image_size =200px |alt=Photograph of Will Kostakis at lectern | caption = Will Kostakis in July 2017 | birth_name = William Kostakis | birth_date =  | birth_place = | death_date =  | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = Novelist | language = | nationality =  | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = Newington College<br>Sydney University | alma_mater = | period = | genre =  | subject =  | movement = | notableworks = ''The First Third''; ''We Could Be Something'' | spouse =  | partner =  | children = | relatives = | awards = ''Sydney Morning Herald'' Young Writer of the Year (2005); Inky Awards (2014) | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = | module = | website = {{URL|http://www.willkostakis.com/}} | portaldisp =  }}

'''William Kostakis''' is an Australian author and journalist.<ref name=Austlit>{{cite web|title= Austlit — William Kostakis |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A90758|access-date= 10 November 2025}}</ref> 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== William Kostakis attended Newington College in Stanmore, Sydney.<ref name=Austlit /> 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.<ref name=Austlit />

He attended Sydney University.<ref name=Austlit />

== Career == Kostakis scored his first publishing contract at 17, while still completing his final year of high school,<ref>[http://www.williamkostakis.com/writing.html William Kostakis.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814000127/http://www.williamkostakis.com/writing.html |date=14 August 2008 }}</ref> Newington College.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/laughter-and-loathing/2008/09/05/1220121499020.html |title=Laughter and loathing |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=4 January 2012 |date=6 September 2008}}</ref> He began work on a variant of ''Loathing Lola'' when he was 11 years old, and continued to refine it.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bates |first=Rob |url=http://wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/author/ |title=Author's debut looks through feminine eyes |work=Where I Live |publisher=Wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref>

''Loathing Lola'', his first novel for young adults, was released in August 2008.<ref>[http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_title.asp?ISBN=9780330424165&Author=Kostakis,%20William Loathing Lola – Pan Macmillan]</ref> The novel was a critical success, dubbed a "kickass debut", "a smart, sharp tale about fame, love and loss" by ''Dolly'' magazine,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://williamkostakis.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/loathing-lola-dolly-magazine-review/ |title=Dolly Magazine Review |publisher=Williamkostakis.wordpress.com |date=6 August 2008 |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref> "brilliant" by ''The Examiner'',<ref>{{cite web|author=Chris Christodoulou |url=http://northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/arts-culture-entertainment/spectrum-books-for-younger-readers/1239568.aspx |title=The Examiner Review |publisher=Northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref> "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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://williamkostakis.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/vicloathing-lola-review/ |title=Mike Shuttleworth Review |publisher=Williamkostakis.wordpress.com |date=18 August 2008 |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref> and received many other positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/2008/10/02/loathing-lola-william-kostakis/ |title=LiteraryMinded |publisher=Blogs.crikey.com.au |date=2 October 2008 |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://williamkostakis.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/loathing-lola-review-magpies/ |title=Magpies Magazine Review |publisher=Williamkostakis.wordpress.com |date=18 October 2008 |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/book_details.cfm?book=7960 |title=Good Reading Magazine Review |publisher=Goodreadingmagazine.com.au |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref>

== Awards and recognition == 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 July 2013 |title=Novels {{!}} Will Kostakis |url=http://willkostakis.com/novels/ |access-date=2016-09-23 |website=willkostakis.com}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":30">{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Kelly |date=2024-09-12 |title=Prime Minister's Literary awards 2024: Andre Dao wins $80,000 for debut novel Anam |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/sep/12/prime-ministers-literary-awards-2024-andre-dao-wins-80000-for-debut-novel-anam |access-date=2024-09-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> It was also shortlisted in 2024 for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-19 |title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 shortlists announced |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/12/19/244938/victorian-premiers-literary-awards-2024-shortlists-announced/ |access-date=2023-12-19 |publisher=Books+Publishing}}</ref> and the Young Adult Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards.<ref name=Awards>{{cite web|title= Austlit — ''We Could be Something'' by Will Kostakis — Awards |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/25763120?mainTabTemplate=workAwards|access-date= 10 November 2025}}</ref>

==Other activities== 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.<ref name=hachette>{{cite web | title=John Marsden prize renamed Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers | website=Books+Publishing | date=1 July 2020 | url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2020/07/01/152838/john-marsden-prize-renamed-hachette-australia-prize-for-young-writers/ | access-date=19 December 2024}}</ref>

==Selected works== === Young adult novels === * ''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 === * ''Stuff Happens: Sean'' (2014)

=== Short stories === * "Bing Me"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/bing-me/2005/09/15/1126750065577.html|title=Bing Me - Books - Entertainment - smh.com.au|website=www.smh.com.au|date=17 September 2005 |access-date=2016-09-23}}</ref> (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'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30129798-the-book-that-made-me|title=The Book That Made Me|website=Goodreads|access-date=2016-09-23}}</ref> 2016) * "I Can See The Ending" (''Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30844667-begin-end-begin|title=Begin, End, Begin|website=Goodreads|access-date=2016-09-23}}</ref> 2017) == References == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostakis, Will}} Category:1989 births Category:People educated at Newington College Category:21st-century Australian novelists Category:Australian male novelists Category:Australian people of Greek descent Category:Living people Category:Writers from New South Wales Category:21st-century Australian male writers Category:Australian male short story writers Category:21st-century Australian short story writers Category:Australian LGBTQ novelists Category:Australian gay writers