Miles Franklin Literary Award 2024 longlist announced

May 16, 2024

Perpetual, the trustee of the Miles Franklin Literary Award, today announced ten authors have been included on the 2024 longlist. They will be competing for one of the most recognised literary prizes in Australia, with the winner also receiving $60,000. Selected from 104 books, the Award celebrates novels of the highest literary merit that tell stories about Australian life.

The 2024 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist is:

  • Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari (Puncher & Wattmann)
  • Wall by Jen Craig (Puncher & Wattmann)
  • Strangers at the Port by Lauren Aimee Curtis (Hachette UK)
  • Anam by André Dao (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House)
  • The Bell of the World by Gregory Day (Transit Lounge)
  • Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko (University of Queensland Press)
  • The Sitter by Angela O’Keeffe (University of Queensland Press)
  • Hospital by Sanya Rushdi (Giramondo Publishing)
  • Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)
  • Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright (Giramondo Publishing)

According to the judging panel, “The 2024 longlist engages profoundly with the historical, cultural, philosophical, artistic and environmental concerns of present-day Australia, spanning a breadth of narrative forms and literary styles. The list includes powerful stories of the legacies of colonisation and dispossession, and the strength, richness and humour of First Nations responses.

Historical novels explore hitherto untold and unexpected stories of First Nations contact with settler-colonials as well as the multinational, multicultural roots of present-day Australian society. There are elegiac explorations of the diverse historical, political, economic, environmental, and ecological drivers of immigration. Some contemporary novels engage experimentally with ekphratic responses to international poetry, music, art and artists. Others provide insightful portraits of individual and imaginative responses to mental health and present some highly unusual, and thought-provoking, vignettes of life during the pandemic.

The tyranny of distance often ascribed to Australian literature is challenged by these novels that
span generations and geo-political spaces.”

The 2024 judges are Richard Neville, Mitchell Librarian of the State Library of NSW and Chair; literary scholar, A/Prof Jumana Bayeh; literary scholar and translator, Dr Mridula Nath Chakraborty; book critic, Dr James Ley; and author and literary scholar, Prof Hsu-Ming Teo.

Last year, the Miles Franklin Literary Award was awarded to Shankari Chandran for her novel, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens (2023).

 

ENDS

 

For further information about the Miles Franklin Literary Award: www.milesfranklin.com.au/ 

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Jane Morey Morey Media 0416 097 678
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About the Miles Franklin Literary Award www.milesfranklin.com.au

Perpetual is the Trustee for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. The Award was established in 1954 by the estate of My Brilliant Career author Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin to celebrate the Australian character and creativity. It supports the betterment of Australian literature by each year recognising the novel of the highest literary merit which presents Australian Life in any of its phases. Since being established, the Award has distributed over $1.48 million in philanthropic funds to authors. Those wishing to be part of the Miles Franklin legacy can donate to the Franklin Support Fund to become a friend of the Award. Please visit the website for further details.

Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund is a long-time supporter of the Miles Franklin Literary Award, providing $5,000 to each of the finalists and granting more than half a million dollars to this premier Australian literary prize since 2004.

About Perpetual Philanthropic Services

Perpetual is one of Australia’s largest managers of philanthropic funds, with $3.3 billion in funds under advice for charitable trusts and endowment funds (as at 30 June 2023). Perpetual is trustee for over 1000 charitable trusts and endowments and provides individuals and families with advice on establishing charitable foundations and structured giving programs. Each year Perpetual distributes more than $129 million to community organisations on behalf of its clients. Perpetual also assists charities and not-for-profit organisations with investment advice and management.

Perpetual’s Philanthropic Services and advice are provided by Perpetual Trustee Company Limited (PTCo), ABN 42 000 001 007, AFSL 236643. The information contains general information only and is not intended to provide advice or take into account personal objectives, financial situation or needs. The information is believed to be accurate at the time of compilation and is provided by PTCo in good faith. To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. PTCo does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information included in this document which was contributed by a third party.