Holden Sheppard

Holden Sheppard is an award-winning West Australian author. His debut coming-of-age novel Invisible Boys (Fremantle Press, 2019) won multiple accolades, including the 2019 West Australian Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer and the 2018 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award. The book is now being translated into French for publication in Europe and has been adapted into ten episode television series by Stan Australia, released in 2025. ​Holden's second novel The Brink (Text Publishing, 2022) won Young Adult Book of the Year at the 2023 Indie Book Awards and the 2024 Ena Noël Award. The Brink was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, the South Australian Literary Awards, the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) and the QLD Writers' Centre's Adaptable program. ​Holden's third book King of Dirt - his first novel for adults - will be published in June 2025 by Pantera Press. ​ ​​Holden's writing has been widely published in books, journals and the media. In 2022, he appeared on the hit ABC TV series You Can't Ask That (Season 7, Episode 1: "Bogans"). Holden served as Deputy Chair of Writing WA from 2019 - 2023. He is represented by Gaby Naher of The Naher Agency. ​When he's not writing, Holden can be found working out at the gym, watching or playing footy (AFL), or working as a labourer. Originally from Geraldton in the Midwest, he now lives in Perth's far north, with his husband and his V8 ute.