First timers and indie publishers dominate Miles Franklin shortlist
By Nick Galvin
Six wildly varied novels have been unveiled in this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist. Among the authors are four first-timers, one former winner and one who has been shortlisted twice before.
In a win for independent publishers facing a challenging economic environment, three small literary presses are behind five of the shortlisted novels.
The five-person panel of judges said it had been “an extraordinary year” for the prize, first awarded in 1957. “The judges have been awed by the ambitious sweep and range of the novels,” they said in a statement. “The writers have distinguished themselves with their experimentation with techniques, forms and narrative styles. The six books hold a mirror to the expressions and excitements of contemporary Australian writing.”
Alexis Wright and her novel Praiseworthy, which has been shortlisted for this year’s Miles Franklin.Credit:
Alexis Wright, a member of the Waanyi nation from the Gulf of Carpentaria, made the shortlist with her epic novel, Praiseworthy, winner of this year’s Stella Prize. She won the Miles Franklin in 2007 with Carpentaria. If Wright takes out the $60,000 this year she will be only the second Indigenous author to score the double.
“I’m happy and honoured – you never know how your work will be received,” she said.
Praiseworthy, set in a small town of the same name that is enveloped in a mysterious haze, tells the story of an eccentric Indigenous family each grappling with a raft of issues, including impending environmental collapse and Indigenous sovereignty. The judges labelled the 700-page novel “an epic of classical proportions and a wild comedic romp”.
Gregory Day, who has been shortlisted twice before, has made the final six with The Bell of the World.Credit:
“These were the question that were on my mind – sovereignty and the climate crisis,” said Wright. “It was a hard book to write.”
For the first time, independent publisher Puncher & Wattmann has two titles on the shortlist, Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari and Jen Craig’s Wall.
“It is gratifying and speaks to the fact literary fiction is alive and well,” said Ed Wright, who manages Puncher & Wattmann’s fiction list. “There’s some great stuff being written. I want to publish Australian fiction that is different and has different angles and is inventive with its form but at the same time is accessible and interesting to read.”
Puncher & Wattmann is accompanied on this year’s list by two other independent literary publishers, Giramondo (Hospital by Sanya Rushdi and Praiseworthy) and Transit Lounge (The Bell of the World by Gregory Day, who has been shortlisted twice before).
Wright said independent publishers were able to be more innovative with Australian literature because they operated on slimmer margins.
“I was talking to a literary scout in New York the other day and they said they’re really interested in Australian fiction because we’ve got the oldest culture in the world and then we’ve got all these other cultures coming and adapting themselves to live in this culture. We’ve just got so many amazing stories.”
The final book on the 2024 shortlist is Andre Dao’s Anam, published by Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House.
Author Andre Dao.Credit: Tim Herbert