Showing all posts tagged: Australian writing
2022 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Awards
19 January 2022
Nominations are open for the 2022 Australian Book Industry Awards ABIA Awards, until Monday 14 February 2022. With a wide range of award categories, it looks like publishers and authors will have little difficulty finding a slot for their work:
- General Fiction Book of the Year
- General Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- Illustrated Book of the Year
- Biography of the Year
- Picture Book of the Year (ages 0-6)
- Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-12)
- Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)
- The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year
- Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year
- Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year
- International Book of the Year
The longlist will announced on Tuesday 22 March, the shortlist on Monday 23 May, with the winners named on Thursday 9 June 2022.
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Australian writing, literature
2022 Hazel Rowley Fellowship shortlist announced
17 January 2022
The shortlist for the 2022 Hazel Rowley Fellowship has been published. Created in memory of late British born Australian writer and biographer Hazel Rowley, the fellowship supports Australian writers of biographies. Authors submit ideas to the organisers, who select what they consider to be the best proposal. This year though, the field seems particularly tight:
We had an extremely strong field of applications this year, with a wide range of biographical subjects. This made the shortlisting hard,’ said Della Rowley, Hazel’s sister. ‘We received a large number of high-quality proposals. Perhaps as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns, writers were busy thinking about good topics for biographies.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday 2 March 2022.
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Australian writing, biographies, Hazel Rowley, literature
2022 black&write! Writing Fellowships
14 January 2022
Applications are open for the 2022 black&write! Writing Fellowships, an initiative to support the work of First Nations writers across Australia. Two fellowships are awarded annually, and are accompanied by a cash prize, assistance with developing a manuscript, and an opportunity to publish work with Hachette Australia. Applications close on Wednesday 2 February 2022.
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Australian writing, Indigenous literature, literature
Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List 2021
10 December 2021
Australian public policy think tank the Grattan Institute has selected six books for the Australian Prime Minister to read over the upcoming summer break.
This year’s list covers a wide range of important issues including the disparity between private and public education systems; land use and the environment; grief, loss, and the female voice; poverty; sovereignty of the First Nations of Australia; and technology’s impact on our lives, our politics, and our values.
The only fiction offering on this year’s list is She Is Haunted, by Melbourne based author Paige Clark, a collection of short stories exploring themes including grief, heartbreak, and illness. Here’s hoping the Prime Minister takes the time to read these titles, and others, during the holiday break.
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Australian writing, literature
The Indie Book Awards 2022 longlist
10 December 2021
Another place to source titles for your to-be-read list, the longlist of the
2022 Indie Book Awards was unveiled earlier this week. The awards, which focus on Australian works, honour fiction, debut fiction, non-fiction, illustrated non-fiction, children’s, and young adult books.
Established in 2008, the Indie Book Awards celebrate the best Australian writing; and who better to nominate and judge the best-of-the-best than indie booksellers! What makes indie booksellers uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Aussie books of the past year, is their incredible passion and knowledge, their contribution to the cultural diversity of the Australian reading public, by recommending beyond the big brands, and above all, their love of quality writing. The Awards recognise and celebrate indie booksellers as the number one supporters of Australian authors.
The shortlists for each category will be announced on 19 January 2022, while the winners will be named on 21 March 2022.
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Australian writing, literature
Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2022 shortlist
7 December 2021
The shortlists for the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were announced yesterday. Prizes of twenty-five thousand dollars are awarded across six categories that include Indigenous writing, fiction, and poetry. A fifteen thousand dollar prize is also awarded for the best unpublished manuscript. It’s my guess anyone whose work is even shortlisted in the unpublished manuscript will not remain unpublished for long. The awards are administered by the Wheeler Centre, and the winners will be named on Thursday, 3 February 2022.
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Australian writing, literature
State of the (Writing) Nation 2021
17 November 2021
Australian writer Alice Pung presented this year’s State of the (Writing) Nation oration, an initiative of Writers Victoria and the Wheeler Centre. Melbourne based writer Christos Tsiolkas, speaking before the oration, introduced Shu-Ling Chau, an emerging author also based in Melbourne. Pung’s address focussed on the production, promotion, and reception process of the writing process.
William Hazlitt wrote that ‘the smallest pain in our little finger causes us more concern than the destruction of our fellow human beings’. In her address, Pung will consider what kind of writing matters in the face of our small hurts and large griefs, and take an unflinching look at the excessive weight we place on literature to ameliorate our feelings. If you’re only half-grudgingly woke, is it better to just stay asleep? Pung will explore the pitfalls of this self-motivated obsession with using literature to educate, and examine whose expense it comes at.
Pung spoke about the experiences of disadvantaged writers in Australia, be they immigrants, refugees, disabled, indigenous, queer, or poor. This is essential listening for anyone with an interest in Australian literature.
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Alice Pung, Australian writing, Christos Tsiolkas, literature, Shu-Ling Chua
On quitting the day jobs to become a published author like Christian White
16 November 2021
Golf buggy driver. Call centre operator. Editor of porn videos. These were some of the jobs Australian thriller writer Christian White worked on the way to becoming a published author. If you want to succeed, and have the requisite determination to succeed, you will succeed, says White, in an interview with Melbourne based journalist Kylie Northover.
White, 40, has wanted to be a writer since he was a teenager, having an “iron-clad plan” to be a best-selling author by 25. “That shifted because 25 came and went, so I changed it to 30, which also came and went,” he says. “When I went past 30 and there was still no career in sight, I made the decision to just focus on writing for the love it – I really do just love the craft.”
And then there’s this nugget of wisdom:
He also realised he’d be better off writing the kinds of books he’d like to read. “Early on I was going to write deep, thoughtful novels – it wasn’t until I started writing thrillers I went oh! Because I love reading thrillers,” he says.
Write what you like reading. I think it’s something many aspiring authors overlook in the burning desire to become a published author. White’s third novel Wild Place was published last month.
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Australian writing, Christian White, writing
Andrew Pippos wins 2021 Readings Prize
9 November 2021
Sydney based Australian writer Andrew Pippos has been named winner of the 2021 Readings Prize for his debut novel Lucky’s. Congratulations.
As any book lover knows, walking into a bookshop and being confronted with hundreds (if not thousands) of books to choose from can be overwhelming. It is also one of the best feelings in the world. The Readings Prize shortlist is here to help narrow the field a little, to encourage readers to pick up a book by a first- or second-time author they don’t know and to give it a try.
The Readings is an award that focuses on newly published authors, a few more prizes like this are needed.
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Andrew Pippos, Australian writing, literature
Book of the Year Award 2021 shortlist announced
29 October 2021
The shortlist for the Small Press Network 2021 Book of the Year Award (BOTY) was unveiled on Monday, 25 October, 2021. Previously the award was known as the Most Underrated Book of the Year Award, but the name was changed in 2020. The Small Press Network represents small and independent publishers in Australia, and the winner of the 2021 BOTY will be announced in late November. Do check out the work of the shortlisted authors, these are titles I seldom see on Bookstagram.
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