Banjo Prize 2020 shortlist announced

HarperCollins has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Banjo Prize for an unpublished work of commercial fiction.

The shortlisted manuscripts are:

• ‘The List’ (Megan Albany)
• ‘The Tuesday Afternoon Murder Club’ (Karli Florisson)
• ‘Roses of Budapest’ (Rachael Keene)
• ‘Flood Debris’ (Dinuka McKenzie).

Now in its third year, the Banjo Prize received almost 250 entries from around Australia. Two runners-up will each receive a written assessment of their manuscript and the winner will receive a publishing contract with HarperCollins Australia with an advance of $15,000.

Journalist Tim Slee won the inaugural Banjo Prize for the manuscript of his novel Taking Tom Murray Home, which was published in July 2019 and was recently optioned for screen. The 2019 winner, Elizabeth Flann’s thriller Beware of the Dogs, will be published in January 2021.

The winner of the 2020 Banjo Prize will be announced on 22 September. For more information see the HarperCollins website.

Category: Awards Local news