Holden Sheppard (born June 26, 1988) is an Australian novelist. His debut young adult novel, Invisible Boys, won multiple accolades including the 2018 T.A.G. Hungerford Award and the 2019 Western Australian Premier's Book Award and was adapted as a 2025 television series of the same name. His writing often focuses on themes of masculinity, sexuality and mental health.
Early life Sheppard was born in the country town of Geraldton in Western Australia. At the age of 18, he moved to Perth and studied writing at Edith Cowan University.
Career
Sheppard's debut young adult novel, Invisible Boys, follows three gay teenage boys in rural Western Australia after one of them is outed. It was published by Fremantle Press in 2019 after Sheppard won the T.A.G. Hungerford Award in 2018 and received a cash prize and publishing contract. In 2019, he won the Western Australian Premier's Book Award for an Emerging Writer and received $15,000 in prize money. The following year, the book was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and was named a Notable Book by the Children's Book Council of Australia. It was later developed as a 10-part television series for Stan, as part of a Screenwest development initiative, with production occurring from March 2024 and the series released on 13 February 2025.
His second book, YA thriller The Brink, was published by Text Publishing in 2022 and won the 2023 Indie Book Awards Young adult prize. The book follows a group of school leavers on a remote island off the coast of Western Australia, where they discover a dead body.
Sheppard's writing has been published in several literary magazines including Griffith Review, Westerly, page seventeen and Indigo Journal. His work has also appeared in anthologies Bright Lights, No City (2018), Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales (2021) and Growing Up in Country Australia (2022).
Sheppard's novel Invisible Boys was adapted as a standalone series in 2025 on Stan, featuring actors Joseph Zada, Joe Klocek and Aydan Calafiore in the lead roles. The series received critical reception among viewers for its screenplay and storyline which was written by an all-gay writing team including Verso, Sheppard, Allan Clarke, Enoch Mailangi and Declan Greene.https://www.mwdc.wa.gov.au/news/invisible-boys-series-to-be-shot-in-the-mid-west/10 Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen from Guardian Australia critiques ways Invisible Boys "begins to play into the cliche that queerness and relentless trauma go hand in hand, and veers close to trauma porn with a major plot event."
In 2025, Sheppard released his 3rd novel King of Dirt which opened up to positive reviews from critics. Sheppard stated. “King of Dirt tackles themes of masculinity, sexuality and mental illness and trauma in men and what that looks like. It also dives deep into issues of family dysfunction, family estrangement and fatherhood, as well as love and loss and finding hope after losing everything. King of Dirt explores what a traumatised, addicted, mentally-unwell Aussie bloke in his 30s looks like, through the main character of Giacomo “Jack” Brolo".
Sheppard's 4th novel,Yeah The Boys, the sequel to Invisible Boys, was released in April 2026.
Personal life Sheppard is openly gay and is married to husband Raphael Farmer who is also a novelist. He is also a part-time labourer. Holden lives in Perth's far north with his husband.
Bibliography
Novels Year Title Notes 2019 Invisible Boys Debut novel. Translated into French as Les Garçons Invisibles. 2022 The Brink 2025 King of Dirt 2026Yeah the BoysSequel to Invisible Boys
Short Stories and Contributions Year Title Notes 2009 A Man Novella 2017 The Scroll of Isidor Novella 2017 The Black Flower Short story2018Poster BoyShort story, featured in Griffith Review 62 - All Being Equal 2019 Fight, Deny, Delete Short story, featured in Bright Lights No City2020BeanstalkFlash fiction, featured in Short Story Dispenser2020IrreversibleShort story, featured in Westerly: Literature and Ideas2021Rappaccini's SonShort story, featured in Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales2022TerritoryShort memoir, featured in Growing Up in Country Australia2024Your Disco Needs YouShort story, featured in Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist
Television Year Show Role Channel Language Notes 2022 You Can't Ask That Guest ABCEnglish 2025-present Invisible Boys WriterStanEnglishSource Novel
Accolades Year Award Result 2017Ray Koppe Residency Award 2018T.A.G. Hungerford Award2019Kathleen Mitchell Award2019Western Australian Premier's Book Awards2020Readings Young Adult Book Prize2020Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book2020Indie Book Award2020Victorian Premier's Literary Award 2023Indie Book Award – Young adult2023Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature (New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards)2024Ena Noël Award2025Minderoo Award2026Western Australian Premier's Book Awards – Fiction Book of the Year
References
External links