Going blue for Miles Franklin week 2022

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Going blue for Miles Franklin week 2022

18 July 2022

The winner of the 2022 Miles Franklin literary prize will be announced on Wednesday 20 July 2022, and to mark the momentous occasion I’ve remixed the disassociated logo with the Miles Franklin hues of blue for this week.

I’m a big fan of literary awards, as they’re great places to find quality reading suggestions. Of the six titles on the 2021 shortlist, I’ve so far read The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey, the 2021 winner, plus Lucky’s by Andrew Pippos, The Inland Sea by Madeleine Watts, and The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott.

To date I’ve not been disappointed. But for more recent reading ideas, check out the 2022 Miles Franklin longlist, announced in May, and the shortlist from last month.

The 2022 Ned Kelly Awards shortlists

6 July 2022

The 2022 Ned Kelly Awards shortlists have been announced by the Australian Crime Writers Association. This year the work of nineteen writers has been shortlisted in four categories.

Best debut crime fiction

Sweet Jimmy, by Bryan Brown
Shadow Over Edmund Street, by Suzanne Frankham
Cutters End, by Margaret Hickey
Banjawarn, by Josh Kemp

Best true crime

The Mother Wound, by Amani Haydar
Larrimah, by Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson
Banquet: The untold story of Adelaide’s family murders, by Debi Marshall
A Witness of Fact, by Drew Rooke

Best international crime fiction

Case Study, by Graeme Macrae Burnet
The Heron’s Cry, by Ann Cleeves
The Maid, by Nita Prose
Cry Wolf, by Hans Rosenfeldt

Best crime fiction

The Enemy Within, by Tim Ayliffe
The Others, by Mark Brandi
You Had it Coming, by B M Carroll
The Chase, by Candice Fox
Kill Your Brother, by Jack Heath
The Family Doctor, by Debra Oswald
The Deep, by Kyle Perry

The winners will be announced in early August 2022.

2022 Environment Award for Children’s Literature shortlist

4 July 2022

A total of twenty-one books, in four categories, including the inaugural Karijia Award, have been named on the 2022 Environment Award for Children’s Literature shortlist, a literary award which is hosted by the Wilderness Society.

Notable among those included on the shortlist is retired Australian Football League player Adam Goodes, whose book, Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country, co-written with Ellie Laing, has been named on the Karijia Award shortlist, a prize which recognises the best in First Nations storytelling for children.

Picture Fiction:

The Accidental Penguin Hotel, by Andrew Kelly, illustrated by Dean Jones
9 things to remember (and one to forget), written and illustrated by Alison Binks
Sharing, by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson, illustrated by Leanne Mulgo Watson
One Potoroo: A Story of Survival, by Penny Jaye, illustrated by Alicia Rogerson
The River, by Sally Morgan, illustrated by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr
Saving Seal. The Plastic Predicament, by Diane Jackson Hill, illustrated by Craig Smith

Non-fiction:

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature, by Sami Bayly
The Australian Climate Change Book, by Polly Marsden, illustrated by Chris Nixon
The Way of the Weedy Seadragon, by Anne Morgan, illustrated by Lois Bury
The Gentle Genius of Trees, written and illustrated by Philip Bunting

Fiction:

Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo, written and illustrated by Kylie Howarth
Bailey Finch Takes a Stand, by Ingrid Laguna
The Good Times of Pelican Rise: Save the Joeys, by Samone Amba

The Karijia Award for Children’s Literature:

Sea Country, by Aunty Patsy Cameron, illustrated by Lisa Kennedy
Sharing, by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson, illustrated by Leanne Mulgo Watson
Warna-Manda Baby Earth Walk, by Susan Betts, illustrated by Mandy Foot and Susan Betts
Wiradjuri Country, by Larry Brandy
Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country, by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing, illustrated by David Hardy
The Story Doctors, by Boori Monty Pryor, illustrated by Rita Sinclair
The River, by Sally Morgan, illustrated by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr
Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest, by Diane Lucas and Ben Tyler, illustrated by Emma Long

The winners will announced during Nature Book Week, which takes place from Monday 5 September 2022 through to Sunday 11 September.

The 2022 Miles Franklin shortlist

23 June 2022

The 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist was unveiled this evening, with the following five novels making the cut:

The Other Half of You, by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Scary Monsters, by Michelle de Kretser
Bodies of Light, by Jennifer Down
One Hundred Days, by Alice Pung
Grimmish, by Michael Winkler

Awesome to see Grimmish by Michael Winkler, on the list, now the first self-published novel to reach the Miles Franklin shortlist.

The winner will be named on Wednesday 20 July 2022.

Megan Williams wins 2022 Text Prize for unpublished manuscripts

23 June 2022

Brisbane based former employment lawyer Megan Williams has been named winner of the 2022 Text Prize, with her debut unpublished novel manuscript Let’s Never Speak of this Again.

Having won the prize for young adult and children’s fiction though, Let’s Never Speak of this Again will not remain unpublished for too much longer.

Grimmish Michael Winkler’s self-published Miles Franklin entry

22 June 2022

Grimmish by Michael Winkler — along with the other books on this year’s Miles Franklin longlist — has somewhat found itself in the shadows as a consequence of the plagiarism controversy surrounding John Hughes’ novel The Dogs, which has since been removed from the longlist.

This could have been unfortunate as the 2021 title by the Melbourne based Australian author has an historic claim to fame. Grimmish is the first ever self-published novel to be included on the longlist of the long running Australian literary prize.

Variously described as “exploded nonfiction“, and an “experimental historical novel“, Grimmish recounts the story of Italian American boxer Joe Grim, and his tour of Australia in 1908 and 1909. Grim who fought in over one-hundred-and-fifty bouts, only prevailed on twenty-four occasions. That didn’t prevent him from developing a reputation for his showmanship and extraordinary physical resilience, and earning the moniker of the “the human punching bag” in the process.

But Grim isn’t the only player in this story with tenacity. Like many authors, Winkler struggled to find a publisher interested in looking at his manuscript. But that was only the beginning. He was also subjected to numerous taunts and sneers, being told Grimmish, with its unconventional format, was “wearisome”, and “repellent.” Publishing houses, it seemed, did not want to take a punt on a book they felt certain would not sell.

At that point Winkler decided to self-publish. But self-publishing is not for the faint-hearted. In addition to writing a novel, an author is required to take on all the functions of a publishing house, editing, printing, marketing, and distribution, among them. An abundance of resolve and stamina — matching that, I dare say, of a champion boxer — is required.

The Miles Franklin shortlist will be announced tomorrow, Thursday 23 June 2022, and Grimmish has more than a few fans gunning for its inclusion. Rave reviews aside — the novel has garnered a respectable 4.25 out of five rating on Goodreads, Grimmish is almost deserving of a shortlist place purely on account of Winkler’s drive and determination in getting his book published.

Be sure to read the small print of writing competitions

14 June 2022

Writing contests are a great way for an emerging writer to get their work in front of a wider audience, possibly take home a modest cash prize, and maybe even pick up a publishing deal.

But carefully reading the terms and conditions each time you submit your work to one is essential, as you may end up signing away far more than you realise, when ticking the “I have read and understood the terms and conditions of entry.”

For example, some competitions place restrictions on your ability to submit your entry to other competitions, some require the first option to publish the entries of the winners and runners-up, and some unscrupulous players may even require you to assign your copyright to them.

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literary awards, writing

2022 Text Prize shortlist for unpublished manuscripts

9 June 2022

Seven middle-grade and young adult writers have been named on the 2022 Text Prize shortlist for unpublished manuscripts.

Bellamy Jones and the Lost Treeheart, by Emily Beck
How to be Normal by, Ange Crawford
One Thing You Can Feel, by Robbie Taylor Hunt
Year of the Dog, by Kate McCabe
Finding Liminas: The Sudden Tree, by Bria McCarthy
The Collector of Gifts, by Jamie Ramjan
Let’s Never Speak of this Again, by Megan Williams

The winner of the 2022 Text Prize, along with the recipient of the Steph Bowe Mentorship for Young Writers, will be named in late June.

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Australian literature, literary awards

Small independent publishers dominate Miles Franklin longlist

31 May 2022

Six of the titles named on the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist were published by members of the Small Press Network, a Melbourne based organisation representing more than two hundred and fifty small and independent publishers across Australia, and include one self-published title.

One Hundred Days, by Alice Pung, published by Black Inc
After Story, by Larissa Behrendt, published by University of Queensland Press
Grimmish, by Michael Winkler is self-published
Bodies of Light, by Jennifer Down, published by Text Publishing
The Magpie Wing, by Max Easton, published by Giramondo publishing

In much the same way small businesses are a vital component of the Australian economy, so too are small and independent publishers to Australian literature.

Still Alive by Safdar Ahmed wins NSW’s Book of the Year 2022

30 May 2022

Sydney based Australian artist, writer, and refugee advocate Safdar Ahmed was named winner of the Book of the Year award in the 2022 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, for his graphic novel Still Alive (published by Twelve Panels Press, April 2021), which explores the experiences of asylum seekers in Australia’s Immigration detention system.

Those seeking asylum in Australia due to war, strife and violence in their home countries face extraordinary challenges both during their journey and upon arrival. Ahmed’s book focuses on people who arrive in Australia by boat. For these people, a long, perilous journey ends with the often equally perilous obstacles they face when dealing with Australia’s legal processes, with the privations of onshore and offshore detention centres, and with inadequate health and psychological support.

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