Miles Franklin Shortlist 2013 Announced
An all female Miles Franklin shortlist has been announced for 2013, reflecting on a growing trend in Australian literature toward strong, emerging women voices. The list includes three debut novels, two books from our Best Fiction of 2012 list and the inaugural Stella Prize winner, Carrie Tiffany.
This year’s winner will receive $60,000, up from $50,000 last year, and each of the shortlisted authors will also receive a cash prize of $,5000, thanks to funding from the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
The shortlisted list includes:
“A debut novel of extraordinary power, Floundering grabs the reader and doesn’t let go for a second. The pitch-perfect narrative spins a spare, even mundane tale of childhood dread punctuated by weirdness, evil and exquisite humour.” - from the Judges’ notes
“Tiffany’s clever, closely observed evocation of the cadence of the language and attitudes of this period underpins an engaging and unusual, sometimes startling visceral, love story which asks us the question about the origins of our emotions: are they artifice or instinct?” - from the Judges’ notes
“The stories intertwine and pull against one another, and within this double narrative, Michelle de Kretser explores questions of home and away, travel and tourism, refugees and migrants, as well as ‘questions of travel’ in the virtual world, charting the rapid changes in electronic communication that mark our lives today. She brings these large questions close-up and personal with her witty and poignant observations, her vivid language.” - from the Judges’ notes
“Annah Faulkner’s The Beloved is a beautiful novel of mothers and daughters, of following dreams and the consequences when you don’t.” - from the Judges’ notes
“As ambitious in its reach as it is perceptive and accomplished, The Mountain stakes out new territory in our fictional landscape. This is a big novel in every sense, whose length and span reflect its serious intent and intellectual heft.” - from the Judges’ notes
To read the full notes from the Judges and more,