A.S. Patrić is the winner of this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award for his first novel, Black Rock White City!

Black Rock White City is a powerful story about the damages of war, the limits of choice, and the hope of love. During a hot Melbourne summer Jovan’s cleaning work at a bayside hospital is disrupted by acts of graffiti and violence. As Jovan cleans up the mysterious words, it dislodges the poetry of his past; fleeing Sarajevo with his wife, Suzanna, and the death of their children.

Our head book buyer, Alison Huber calls this work as: ‘A vital novel that skillfully explores living life in translation, the lasting traumas of war, and the expansive possibilities of human endurance.’

You can read our review of the novel here, and you can also meet A.S. Patrić himself at this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival. Find details here.

We’re especially thrilled by this news as not only is Black Rock White City a deserving winner, but A.S. Patrić also works as a bookseller at our St Kilda shop. Congratulations Alec from everyone at Readings!

First awarded in 1957, the Miles Franklin Literary Award is presented annually to a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases. As the winner, A.S. Patrić will receive $60,000 in prize money. You can find out more about the Award here.

Signed copies of Black Rock White City are available from all of our five shops, as well as online, at the special price of $24.99 (). Only while stocks last.