The Miles Franklin Literary Award 2022 longlist has been announced. Twelve authors will be competing for one of the most prominent literary prizes in Australia, with the winner also receiving $60,000.
The Miles Franklin Literary Award was established by feminist, and author of My Brilliant Career, Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin. First presented in 1957, the Award celebrates novels of the highest literary merit that tell stories about Australian life, shining a light on some of the country’s most accomplished writers.
Last year, the Miles Franklin Literary Award was awarded to Amanda Lohrey for her novel, The Labyrinth (2021).
This years award is being judged by State Library of NSW Mitchell Librarian Richard Neville, alongside critics Bernadette Brennan and James Ley, scholar Mridula Nath Chakraborty, and writer and editor Elfie Shiosaki.
“This year’s longlist, drawn from a robust pool of entries, reflects the thematic richness and the formal adventurousness of the contemporary Australian novel, as our writers respond to our times. Diverse in every sense, it extends from works of realism to novels in a more experimental vein, proving that the nation’s storytellers are continuing to test the boundaries of what the novel can do” Neville said.
Among the books on the list is the latest work from Christos Tsiolkas, whose previous books include The Slap, Barracuda, Damascus and Merciless Gods. His first novel Loaded was adapted into the film Head On. Tsiolkas is nominated for 7½ which tells the story of an author who craves solitude away from his family and friends at a beach house so he can write his next novel, at the same time he tells the readers of the story he is planning to write about a retired porn star.
New Perth based publisher Upswell is also celebrating with The Dogs by John Hughes making the cut. The publishing house was set up by Terri-ann White who previously ran UWA Press.
The shortlisted finalists will be revealed on 23 June 2022 and the winner announced on 20 July 2022.
Who made the long list
The Other Half of You by Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Hachette Australia)
After Story by Larissa Behrendt (University of Queensland Press)
Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin)
Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down (Text Publishing)
Echolalia by Briohny Doyle (Penguin Random House)
The Magpie Wing by Max Easton (Giramondo Publishing)
The Dogs by John Hughes (Upswell Publishing)
The Airways by Jennifer Mills (Picador Australia, Pan Macmillan Australia)
One Hundred Days by Alice Pung (Black Inc. Books)
The Performance by Claire Thomas (Hachette Australia)
7 1/2 by Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin)
Grimmish by Michael Winkler (Puncher and Wattman)
OIP Staff
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