It has been a privilege to judge this year’s Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction during our 50th Birthday year. I would conjecture that no one in Australia other than the annual judging panel reads this group of books together – all the eligible first and second novels or short story collections from Australian authors in a year period (amounting this round to nearly fifty works) – and so it gives us four judges a unique perspective on publishing in the emerging writing field.
We can report that this year’s offerings included many works that were original, daring, challenging, and extremely accomplished, and it was a genuine challenge to make a shortlist of only six books. There were tears of passion in our meeting (no, seriously, there were!). I extend this year’s shortlisted authors the sincerest of congratulations from the judging panel, and from the Readings family at large.
A Constant Hum by Alice Bishop
A riveting collection of stories assembled around the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and told with a poignancy that respects both reader and subject, A Constant Hum is short fiction at its best. This skilful debut explores themes of loss and renewal, and what it means to survive when so much, and so many, did not.
You can read our review of the book here
Inappropriation by Lexi Freiman
Inappropriation is a sharp and uncompromising feminist satire of identity politics in the new millennium. It is also a campus novel of the highest order. Set in a prestigious girls school in inner Sydney as a group of teenage girls try to work out who they are and how they can be, this clever, funny, and incredibly confident debut novel lays bare the anxieties of our age.
Read our review of the book here
The Flight of Birds by Joshua Lobb
The Flight of Birds is an affecting novel whose narrative arc unfolds over the course of twelve short stories. Thoughtfully exploring the myriad ways in which humans interact with the natural world, specifically with birds, this exploratory and at times melancholy book challenges the conventions of the novel, and shows how creative practice can intervene in debates around climate and extinction.
A Superior Spectre by Angela Meyer
This novel is weird in the best kind of way. Taking readers on a trip through time, space, and consciousness, A Superior Spectre is an unconventional story starring a flawed protagonist. Lush with the detail of its period settings in Scotland and beyond, this genre- and mind-bending piece of writing is utterly unique.
Read our review of the book here
This Taste for Silence by Amanda O'Callaghan
A seamlessly curated collection of short stories, This Taste for Silence showcases the talents of a writer in complete control of her craft. Inventive in its themes and by an author unafraid to enfold her readers into unsettling reading experiences, this is an exceptional debut, featuring both microfictions and longer stories.
Read our review of the book here
The Glad Shout by Alice Robinson
The Glad Shout is a topical and thought-provoking second novel that explores themes of motherhood and the survival of family in the chaos generated in the near future of our climate crisis. Warm and benevolent, and with a heart-stopping ending, this is a generous book about love and how essential it is in the darkest of hours.
Read our review of the book here
The 2019 judging panel is Christine Gordon (Events Manager for Readings), Sharon Peterson (Manager at Readings St Kilda), Amanda Rayner (senior staff member at Readings Carlton), and Alison Huber, Readings’ Head Book Buyer. Our Managing Director, Mark Rubbo, and 2018’s winner, Jennifer Down, will join the panel to select the winner. The winner will be announced online in late October, and will be featured in the November issue of Readings Monthly. The winner receives $3000 in prize money.
