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Miles Franklin Literary Award 2020 shortlist announced

17 June 2020   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The shortlist for the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award 2020 has been announced.

The six longlisted novels are:

  • The White Girl (Tony Birch, UQP)
  • Islands (Peggy Frew, A&U)
  • No One (John Hughes, UWA Publishing)
  • The Returns (Philip Salom, Transit Lounge)
  • Exploded View (Carrie Tiffany, Text)
  • The Yield (Tara June Winch, Hamish Hamilton).

Chosen from a longlist of 10, the shortlist includes four previously Miles Franklin-shortlisted authors: Tony Birch, who was nominated for Blood (UQP) in 2012; Peggy Frew, who was shortlisted for Hope Farm (Scribe) in 2016; Philip Salom, whose novel Waiting (Puncher & Wattmann) was shortlisted in 2017; and Carrie Tiffany, whose novels Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living and Mateship with Birds (both Picador) were shortlisted for the Miles Franklin in 2006 and 2013 respectively.

Each of the authors shortlisted for the 2020 award will receive $5000 from the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

‘The books on this year’s shortlist, diverse in form and tone, all explore the effects of trauma,’ said State Library of NSW Mitchell Librarian Richard Neville on behalf of the judges. ‘From familial stories of neglect and abuse to the national story of racial and cultural dispossession, these novels demonstrate powerfully how past trauma continues to inform the present.’

The Miles Franklin is Australia’s richest literary award and is supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, alongside award trustee Perpetual. This year’s shortlist was announced on Wednesday, 17 June via live YouTube stream. The winner will be announced on Thursday, 16 July.

 

Category: Awards Local news