Three writers named 2024 Best Young Australian Novelists
There’s no right way to write a great book.
André Dao’s Anam took more than a decade to finish; Emily O’Grady’s Feast was inspired by a nightmare about Tilda Swinton and Nick Cave, and it was a mentorship that gave John Morrissey’s short story collection Firelight momentum.
The Sydney Morning Herald 2024 Best Young Australian Novelists: André Dao, John Morrissey and Emily O’Grady.
The trio have been named this year’s The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists. The winners of the prestigious prize for Australian fiction writers aged 35 and younger will each receive $5000 thanks to the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. Now in its 28th year, previous winners include Gillian Mears, Christos Tsiolkas, Hannah Kent and Elliot Perlman.
The judges for this year’s prize were Spectrum editor Melanie Kembrey and previous winners of the award, poet, novelist and editor Ellen van Neerven (Heat and Light, Throat, Comfort Food) and writer, essayist and academic Luke Carman (An Elegant Young Man, Intimate Antipathies, An Ordinary Ecstasy). The judges praised the three winners as compelling and courageous contributors to Australian literature.
Dao’s Anam (Hamish Hamilton) deftly blends history, philosophy and memoir, spanning generations and continents, to tell a grandson’s quest to discover his family story. The novel was this week named on the longlist for the Miles Franklin Award.
“I took over a decade to write Anam, so I’m grateful to still – just – be considered a young novelist,” Dao, 35, said. “In fact, over that time, there were multiple points at which I gave up on the idea of the novel even being published, let alone being awarded prizes.”
The judges described Emily O’Grady’s second novel Feast (Allen and Unwin) – an unsettling read about family secrets unearthed during a birthday party at a Scottish manor – as an “utterly enthralling degustation of scandalous delight”.
O’Grady, 32, said the novel was inspired by a nightmare about Tilda Swinton and Nick Cave as vampires paired together for eternity in a decadently Gothic mansion.
“The conceit of ghoulishly spicy bohemians living a life of unrestrained artistic and moral freedom was seductive and became my initial entry point into Feast,” she said.
“It’s a true delight to be named a SMH Best Young Australian Novelist. The award is one I’ve followed closely since I started writing a decade ago and in recent years it’s introduced me to many new writers whose work I admire. To be included in this year’s crop feels like a real milestone in my career.”
Morrissey’s witty and imaginative short story collection Firelight (Text) explores themes of colonial legacy, identity, family and memory. The judges described the collection as “Australian writing at its boldest and liveliest”. Morrissey wrote the stories over several years, before seeing the potential of a collection during a Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship.
“It is great to receive any kind of acknowledgement and it helps you feel that the work you’ve put into something has paid off,” Morrissey, 34, says.
Emily O’Grady and André Dao will be in conversation with Melanie Kembrey at the Sydney Writers’ Festival in a free event at Carriageworks on Friday at 3pm.
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