Arnott, Mahood win Age Book of the Year awards

The winners of the 2023 Age Book of the Year Award have been announced.

Robbie Arnott won the fiction award for Limberlost (Text) and Kim Mahood won the nonfiction prize for Wandering with Intent (Scribe). Announced at last night’s Melbourne Writers Festival opening gala, the winners each receive $10,000 courtesy of the Copyright Agency.

This year’s judges were authors Thuy On, Michael Winkler, Michael McGirr and Simon Caterson.

The judges praised Arnott’s skill in describing the Tasmanian landscape and his ‘sturdy writing about humble, decent people. This is the work of an author sufficiently confident in his powers that he tailors his style to the story. In so doing he has produced a gem sure to give readers joy for years to come’. Arnott won the same award two years ago for his novel The Rain Heron (Text).

Judges noted the depth and complexity of issues in Mahood’s writing and said, ‘She is clear-sighted, compassionate, readily amused but not easily fooled … Each essay is superbly crafted.’ Mahood had travelled from Alice Springs to receive the prize.

Last year’s awards were won by Miles Allinson for In Moonland (Scribe) and Bernadette Brennan for Leaping into Waterfalls: The enigmatic Gillian Mears (A&U).

Category: Awards Local news