I was busy when the awards were announced last week - actually I am still pretty busy as we are about to leave Italy for France - but I have a moment. As I wrote in my shortlist post, Creative Australia's page says they received 673 entries across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2026 winners announced
Literary awards
Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai (2, some literary connections)
Last month, I reviewed Darren Rix and Craig Cormick's book Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People, but I didn't say all I'd like to have said. And I won't achieve that here either, but I did want to focus on a … Continue reading Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai (2, some literary connections)
Lee Lai, Cannon (#BookReview)
Lee Lai's second graphic novel, Cannon, won this year's Stella Prize, and so, while I'm not a graphic novel aficionado, I was intrigued to read this one. I'm not embarrassed to admit how surprised I was by how completely I was drawn into Cannon's world, and how much I felt for her predicament. How did … Continue reading Lee Lai, Cannon (#BookReview)
Monday musing on Australian literature: on People’s Choice literary awards
Nearly two weeks ago, the longlist was announced for the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award. This is a significant award that has been going since 2002, and I have written about it before. But, I have never focused on one of its aspects, the People's Choice Award, so this is where we are … Continue reading Monday musing on Australian literature: on People’s Choice literary awards
Merlinda Bobis, In the name of the trees (#BookReview)
In July, Philippine-born Merlinda Bobis' latest novel, In the name of the trees, won the ACT Literary Awards prize for fiction, and in August it was shortlisted for the Prime Minster's Literary Awards. But then, Merlinda Bobis is no stranger to awards, in Australia and her country of birth, the Philippines, as you will see … Continue reading Merlinda Bobis, In the name of the trees (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: ConSYDeration, and some poetry
Back in March, I wrote a Monday Musings on the Blake Poetry Prize, which is a poetry prize managed by the Liverpool Powerhouse in conjunction with WestWords. WestWords is one active organisation, and is clearly good at finding partners to further its aims. Based in Parramatta in Western Sydney, the WestWords Centre for Writing describes … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ConSYDeration, and some poetry
Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai
What most struck me as I got into the flow of Darren Rix and Craig Cormick's book Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People was that I was reading something that felt like a model for a new way of telling Australia's … Continue reading Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist 2026, announced
The shortlists for this year's Prime Minister's Literary Award were announced today, as I was driving back from Melbourne. Creative Australia's page for the announcement says they received "a remarkable 673 entries across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history", which is exactly what they said last year, … Continue reading Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist 2026, announced
Miles Franklin Award 2026 winner
Champagne corks will be popping in the Canberra region tonight because "our" Omar Musa has been announced the winner of this year's Miles Franklin award with his second novel, Fierceland. At the recent ACT Literary Awards which I attended, there was quiet hope - and not a little optimism - that this might be our … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2026 winner
Monday musings on Australian literature: Magabala’s reading list for “50 Years Deadly”
NAIDOC Week 2026 finished yesterday, but, as I sometimes do, I am bookending the week with NAIDOC-dedicated Monday Musings. For this year's concluding one, I'm sharing the reading list selected by Magabala to support this theme. They wrote on their Facebook Page that the theme: marks a significant milestone: five decades of strength, Culture, resilience … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Magabala’s reading list for “50 Years Deadly”
