Some of you have probably heard of "shadow juries". I took part in one a decade ago, for the now defunct Man Asian Literary Prize. It was great, but I haven't taken part in any blogger-inspired shadow juries again because of the time commitment needed. If I was already impressed by the work of literary … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Miles Franklin Award 2023 Shadow Jury
Literary awards
Miles Franklin Award 2023 winner announced
The winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin award was announced this evening, and it's not one I've read, even though this year I've actually read two of the six shortlisted books! A record for me in recent times. The winner is: Shankari Chandran, Chai time at Cinnamon Gardens It's a book I've been toying with … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2023 winner announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: Best Young Australian Novelists (5)
Okay, so last week I said that post would be the end of the current little run of awards posts - but then I saw the announcement of this year's Best Young Australian Novelists award, and decided we could cope with just one more. I really will try to offer something new (or, do I … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Best Young Australian Novelists (5)
Miles Franklin Award 2023 longlist
I haven't posted a Miles Franklin longlist for a while, but when I saw today's come through with its intriguing mix of titles, I decided it was time to do one again. The longlist Kgshak Akec, Hopeless kingdom (UWAP) Robbie Arnott, Limberlost (Text) (my review) Jessica Au, Cold enough for snow (Giramondo) (my review) Shankari … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2023 longlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Melbourne Prize for Literature
Having posted on a literary prize last week - the ACT Book of the Year Award - I decided that I may as well do another one, and give us a break from my recent run of historically-focused Monday Musings posts. This week's award is another geographically limited one, the Melbourne Prize for Literature. This … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Melbourne Prize for Literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: the ACT Book of the Year Award
I think it's time I dedicated a post to the Book of the Year Award made in my own jurisdiction. I briefly introduced it back in 2018, and then wrote recently about its 2022 shortlist. But today, I want to document it a bit more thoroughly. (For the record, the 2022 winner has now been … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: the ACT Book of the Year Award
Stella Prize 2023 Winner announced
The 2023 Stella Prize winner was announced tonight and, for the second year in a row, it's a poetry collection ... Sarah Holland-Batt's The jaguar Darn it! I nearly bought it last weekend when I was at the National Library but with my move and having stuff everywhere, I put it back down again and … Continue reading Stella Prize 2023 Winner announced
ACT Book of the Year Award 2022 shortlist announced
For some reason - perhaps because I don't write about every award every year - I've only written once before about the ACT Book of the Year Award. It is an award presented by the ACT Government. Unlike most of the state government awards, the award is limited to ACT Writers, and, like the Stella, … Continue reading ACT Book of the Year Award 2022 shortlist announced
Stella Prize 2023 Shortlist announced
It says something about my discombobulated year that I didn’t post on the Stella Prize longlist. And then, I was packing for Melbourne this morning while I listened to the shortlist announcement on ABC RN Breakfast. (Something new I think for Stella.) I didn't have time to stop and write my post, then, but here … Continue reading Stella Prize 2023 Shortlist announced
Jessica Au, Cold enough for snow (#BookReview)
What did I say about mothers and daughters recently? Just when I thought I'd done with them for the year, along came another, Jessica Au's gorgeous novella, Cold enough for snow. However, before I get to that, let me describe the award it won, The Novel Prize. Cold enough for snow was the inaugural winner … Continue reading Jessica Au, Cold enough for snow (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 