Six wildly varied novels have been unveiled in this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist. Among the authors are four first-timers, one former winner and one who has been shortlisted twice before. In a win for independent publishers facing a challenging economic environment, three small literary presses are behind five of the shortlisted novels.
The five-person panel of judges said it had been “an extraordinary year” for the prize, first awarded in 1957. “The judges have been awed by the ambitious sweep and range of the novels,” they said in a statement. “The writers have distinguished themselves with their experimentation with techniques, forms and narrative styles.
The six books hold a mirror to the expressions and excitements of contemporary Australian writing.” Alexis Wright and her novel Praiseworthy, which has been shortlisted for this year’s Miles Franklin. Credit: Alexis Wright, a member of the Waanyi nation from the Gulf of Carpentaria, made the shortlist with her epic novel, Praiseworthy , winner of this year’s Stella Prize.
She won the Miles Franklin in 2007 with Carpentaria . If Wright takes out the $60,000 this year she will be only the second Indigenous author to score the double. “I’m happy and honoured – you never know how your work will be received,” she said.
Praiseworthy , set in a small town of the same name that is enveloped in a mysterious haze, tells the story of an eccentric Indigenous family each grappling with a raf.