Miles Franklin Literary Award 2025 shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced.

Chosen from a longlist of ten, the shortlisted titles are:

• Chinese Postman (Brian Castro, Giramondo)
• Theory & Practice (Michelle de Kretser, Text)
• Dirt Poor Islanders (Winnie Dunn, Hachette)
• Compassion (Julie Janson, Magabala)
• Ghost Cities (Siang Lu, UQP)
• Highway 13 (Fiona McFarlane, A&U).

Each shortlisted author receives $5000, and the 2025 winner will receive a further $60,000.

Discussing the shortlist, the judges – Richard Neville, Jumana Bayeh, Mridula Nath Chakraborty, Tony Hughes-d’Aeth and Hsu-Ming Teo – said: ‘The shortlist for the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award celebrates writing that refuses to compromise. Each of these works vitalises the form of the novel and invents new languages for the Australian experience.’

Last year’s winner was Alexis Wright for her novel Praiseworthy (Giramondo).

The 2025 winner will be announced on 24 July 2025.

More information about the shortlist and the award is available on Perpetual Limited’s website.

Category: Awards Local news