We're pleased to announced three books that have been named the 2020 winners of the Readings Children's, Young Adult and New Australian Fiction Prizes.
The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize
Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan
It is a great pleasure to announce Elizabeth Tan’s Smart Ovens for Lonely People as the 2020 winner of The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize. This is a truly exciting work; Tan’s stories push the form, and offer a quixotic but penetrating look into our contemporary life. Her collection stood out to the judges for its originality, its clear and concise writing, and its humour – Smart Ovens for Lonely People is laugh-out-loud funny.
Our 2020 guest judge, Alice Robinson, said:‘The stories collected in Smart Ovens for Lonely People made me laugh out loud with surprise and delight – not only because they are very funny, conveying enviable literary skill, but also because I have simply never read anything like them, and that is such a pleasure and a delight.’
Read more about Tan's win and the 2020 judging process here.
The Readings Young Adult Prize
Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller
We are absolutely delighted to announce Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller as the winner of the Readings Young Adult Book Prize for 2020. Ghost Bird is a terrifying and spooky thriller set in country Australia and against a backdrop of family relationships, small-town grudges and casual racism. It is a cracking read for ages 14 through to adult that will scare the pants off you and make you question your biases.
Bec Kavanagh, one of our staff judges, said: ‘Readers looking for late-night scares will devour Ghost Bird. Fuller’s debut probes the deep tears in Australian culture, in its peoples and lands … This is a book that will get under your skin, in more ways than one.’
Read more about our 2020 winner, including a statement from our guest judge Amie Kaufman, here.
The Readings Children's Prize
The Girl, the Cat & the Navigator by Matilda Woods, illustrated by Anuska Allepuz
We are thrilled to share that the winner of this year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize is The Girl, The Cat & the Navigator by Matilda Woods! This thrilling high-seas tale will enchant readers of ages 7–12 years.
Eleven-year-old Oona longs for adventures, but as a girl in Nordor – a town where houses are built from wood that comes from shipwrecks and sway as though still at sea – she must stay demurely at home while the men (including her sneering sea captain father) go out and hunt whales. Luckily, Oona is smart, daring and determined. She sets off to discover the legend, danger and mythical creatures of the icy north for herself.
Read more about Woods' win here.
Don't miss the books on our highly recommended 2020 shortlists!
The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize 2020 shortlist
