Some of the finest writing this year is showcased in the shortlist for the
Kibble Literary Award for established authors and the Dobbie Literary Award for a debut published author, both just announced. The shortlisted authors for the Dobbie, which carries a $30,000 prize are: Sophie Cunningham for Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy (Text Publishing), Helen Garner, This House of Grief (Text Publishing) and Joan London (left), The Golden Age (Vintage Australia). The shortlist for the Dobbie Literary Award which has a $5,000 prize are Emily Bitto The Strays (Affirm Press); Ellen van Neerven (right) for Heat and Light (University of Queensland Press) and Christine Piper After Darkness (Allen & Unwin).
Australia’s emerging young writers get a boost with Hachette’s new $10,000 prize
Australia’s support for its community of vibrant young writers has received another boost with the launch by Hachette Australia of a new prize for emerging writers to be run in conjunction with The Guardian Australia and the Emerging Writers Festival. The winner of the Richell Prize, named after Matt Richell, the former CEO of Hachette Australia who died suddenly last year, will receive $10,000 in prize money plus one year’s mentoring with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers.
Women dominate shortlist for Australia’s Miles Franklin Literary Award
Women writers dominate the short list for the Miles Franklin, one of Australia’s most prestigious awards which was announced tonight. Only one man, Craig Sherborne, who wrote Tree Palace, made it through. The short list for the $60,000 prize which celebrates “Australian life in all its glories” is:
- Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett, Penguin.
- The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna, Allen & Unwin (reviewed here).
- The Golden Age by Joan London, Random House.
- After Darkness by Christine Piper, Allen & Unwin.
- Tree Palace by Craig Sherborne Text Publishing.
The judges’ spokesman, Richard Neville, said the shortlisted novels had “a rich cast of unforgettable characters, and themes ranging from childhood
Shortlist for Australia’s NSW Premier’s Literary Award announced
Peter Carey, Joan London, David Malouf and Favel Parrett are among the ten authors who are in the running for the top prize in the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards in Australia. The full list is: Amnesia by Peter Carey (Hamish Hamilton) Golden Boys by Sonya Harnett (Hamish Hamilton)…
Stella Prize finalists reveal the inspiration behind their books
Joan London (right) wanted to write about the 1950s, “the time of her childhood.” Emily Biffo wanted to write about a group of people attempting to separate themselves from mainstream culture. And Elen Van Neervan wanted to ask questions about Indigenous governance in Australia, and issues like land rights, identity and love. Each of the six finalists for the Stella Prize for Fiction, the winner of which will be announced next week, has explained the inspiration behind their shortlisted books in a series of revealing interviews with The Guardian.
Maxine Beneba Clark whose collection of short stories Foreign Soil is published by
Hachette, said she was looking at “people trying to find a place for themselves in the world – about the search for a true place to call home, about the things we gain when we migrate, and the all-consuming heartache of our leaving, even as we find the very things we’re looking for”.
2015 Australian Book Industry Awards finalists announced
Australian literary heavyweights Joan London, Liane Moriarty, Peter Carey and Helen Garner are all included in the shortlists for the 2015 Australian Book Industry Association awards announced today. There are 11 categories this year including two new ones specifically targeting small publishers.
The full list is:
Sofie Laguna’s The Eye of the Sheep is a painful picture of not fitting in
I admit I approached Sofie Laguna’s The Eye of the Sheep with some 
trepidation. The synopsis indicated some dangerous potential pitfalls. The book, which is shortlisted for the Stella Prize and is on the long list for the Miles Franklin Award, is told from the viewpoint of Jimmy, a young boy with learning and communication problems. He exists in a world that is a mystery to most of the adults with whom he comes into contact, either through lack of understanding, time (like the harassed teachers) or resolve to engage effectively with him.
Laguna danced perilously close to the edge of stereotyping in creating Jimmy’s family – drunken, violent father, loving abused mother, and protective then guiltily absent older brother. It is testimony to her skill with character that she instead creates a wholly
Longlist for Miles Franklin Award 2015 announced
Eight women have made the long list for the long list of the Miles Franklin Award for $60,000 prize for Australian Literature won last year by Evie Wyld’s evocative All the Birds, Singing. The shortlist will be announced on 18 May with the eventual winner named on 23 June. The…
Stella Prize shortlists six of the best in writing by Australian women
Journalist and author Christine Keneally is the only non-fiction author to make it onto the shortlist of Australia’s prestigious The Stella Prize for women writers announced today. Her The Invisible History of the Human Race looks at the role of DNA in shaping us, and our world.
The other five finalists are:
- Joan London’s The Golden Age (Random House)
- Emily Bitto’s The Strays (Affirm Press)
- Ellen van Neerven’s Heat and Light (UQP) ,
- Sofie Laguna’s The Eye of the Sheep (Allen & Unwin)
- Maxine Beneba Clarke’s Foreign Soil (Hachette)
In announcing the shortlist, Stella Prize executive director Aviva Tuffield said: “These six remarkable books explore themes of identity, family, displacement and belonging, with distinctly Australian resonances.’’ The winner will be announced on Tuesday 21 April. Previous recipients of the prize are Carrie Tiffany’s Mateship with Birds (2013) and Clare Wright for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka (2014).
Below is the Stella Award’s synopsis of each of the finalists.
Longlist for Australia’s Stella Prize celebrating women authors, is announced
Joan London’s poignant The Golden Age and The House of Grief, Helen Gardner’s harrowing reportage of a crime that shocked the world, are standouts on the longlist for Australia’s prestigious $50,000 Stella Prize, which celebrates women authors, and which was announced yesterday. The longlist for the Prize, which was first awarded in 2013, also includes three debut writers.
Full long list is: