Last month, we hosted a Shortlist Showdown with Kill Your Darlings in which six readers and writers made a case for their favourite book from the shortlist to win this year’s Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction.

In anticipation of our announcement of the winner next week, here’s a recap of their arguments which have all been published in full on the Kill Your Darlings website.

Elizabeth Flux makes a case for In The Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones

“If you have recently been in a bookshop, you will have seen In The Quiet. It’s the one that’s usually sitting above a staff recommendation sticker, or it’s in the window, or set up in a display. It’s Eliza Henry-Jones’ debut novel and it is equal parts beautiful, deeply upsetting, and insightful. … Don’t let the cover with its gentle colours and faded images fool you – it’s not a nice read. But it’s an important one, an insightful one and a good one.”

You can read Elizabeth Flux’s speech in full .

Chris Gordon makes a case for Last Day in the Dynamite Factory by Annah Faulkner

“ Last Day in the Dynamite Factory is a skilful interpretation of a man changing direction. It is a story about living well, letting go, and remaining conscious. It is a familiar story, but that familiarity makes its carefully crafted narrative all the more significant and impressive.”

You can read Chris Gordon’s speech in full .

Chris Somerville makes a case for Heat and Light by Ellen Van Neerven

“(Heat and Light) gives us a real sense of the ‘new’ in Australian writing. The notion of ‘new writing’ is often attached to the idea of an emerging writer, as the first published work of a writer’s career. To me, though, ‘new’ means originality: something Ellen van Neerven has an incredible aptitude and talent for.”

You can read Chris Somerville’s speech in full .

Michaela McGuire makes a case for Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman

“ Hot Little Hands has all the heart and chutzpah of a big, intimate novel. It is, quite simply, the best book I’ve read in years, and the strongest debut work I’ve ever encountered. Abigail’s characters are often imperfect, confused and ignorant but happily, the author herself is anything but. Abigail’s readers are safely in the ‘Hot Little Hands’ of a masterful storyteller.”

You can read Michaela McGuire’s speech in full .

Alison Huber makes a case for The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop

“For me, the experience of reading The Other Side of the World almost defies adequate explanation. Its potency is in its portrayal of sensation, of feeling, of emotion, of those registers that exist beyond mere description … At its heart, The Other Side of the World is about nostalgia and longing, and about what constitutes the idea of home.”

You can read Alison Huber’s speech in full .

Sam Twyford-Moore makes a case for Arms Race by Nic Low

“Nic is my ideal winner, because Nic is my ideal conception of the writer. … Beyond its artistic or intellectual merit – both of which are considerable – Arms Race represents the work of one of our most promising writers, someone whose career has legs.”

You can read Sam Twyford-Moore’s speech in full .

We will be announcing the winner of the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction at midday on Tuesday 27 October!