Holden Sheppard honoured with Minderoo award and $50,000 grant to fund Invisible Boys sequel YEAH THE BOYS

To end a whirlwind couple of months, Geraldton author Holden Sheppard has been honoured with an award and artistic grant to help fund his future work. Sheppard received the Minderoo Artist Fund Award of $50,000 at the 2025 Minderoo Artist Fund cohort announcement event on Wednesday night. The Minderoo Artist Fund, which began in 2020 by billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest, was designed to elevate the professional practice of mid-career artists who are at a critical point in their creative journey. Sheppard applied for the fund in 2023, whilst working as a labourer, so he could focus more on his writing. His first two books — Invisible Boys and The Brink — had both been released and had relative success, however Sheppard said it wasn’t enough to write full-time and live comfortably. “The Australian Society of Authors survey shows that we earn about $18,000 a year, which is obviously below the poverty line,” he said. “That’s all you’re bringing in and then you have to pay all of your costs. As authors, we’re essentially small businesses, so adding grants and getting lump sums is extremely helpful.” In mid-2023, Sheppard’s application was successful and he was awarded $25,000 as a part of the 2023 artist cohort to focus on writing his fourth novel — the sequel to Invisible Boys — which he eventually completed and has since announced the title for: YEAH THE BOYS. Sheppard was then selected this year from his 2023 cohort to receive a $50,000 grant, honouring an artist recognised by Minderoo as being outstanding in their field. “It’s huge. It’s really life-changing and I’m so grateful to the Minderoo Foundation, to the founders the Forrests. I’m just really, really grateful that they’ve invested in this kind of literature,” he said. Sheppard said he will be using the funds to support himself as he continues editing, searching for a publisher, and navigating the long journey ahead for YEAH THE BOYS, which will follow the characters from Invisible Boys on the next stage of their journey. “At it’s core, this book is a passionate, fired-up defence of gay men in an era where we’re facing all kinds of things, but it’s also more than that,” Sheppard explained. “It’s about masculinity and manhood. It’s about being an Aussie bloke. It’s about male camaraderie and male bonding and it’s about found family and hope after you’ve lost everything.” As for his third book King of Dirt, which will hit shelves in June, Sheppard said he wanted to write about “a man coming home to Geraldton and actually embracing the town” and can’t wait for people to read his “love letter to Gero”. “I’m really really pumped about that and the sequel and the award. It all seems to be happening all at once. After tonight, I’ll be hiding in my cave for three months.” Sheppard was the VIP at a special, packed out book signing and Q&A event at Geraldton Regional Library last Friday night. He told the audience he still can’t believe how successful his “baby” has become. “It’s been absolutely huge and I’m just so stoked. This week there have been billboards across Melbourne and every bus shelter in Sydney. It’s national. Gero is being seen across the country which is so freaky but just so cool and I never expected any of this, so it’s very cool to see,” he said.