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Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2022 shortlists announced

Monday, 7 November 2022   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The shortlists for the 2022 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced.

The shortlisted works in each category, chosen from 545 entries, are:

Fiction

  • Dark as Last Night (Tony Birch, UQP)
  • The Hands of Pianists (Stephen Downes, Fomite)
  • Devotion (Hanna Kent, Picador)
  • Night Blue (Angela O’Keeffe, Transit Lounge)
  • Red Heaven (Nicolas Rothwell, Text)

Poetry

  • Fifteeners (Jordie Albiston, Puncher & Wattmann)
  • Dancing with Stephen Hawking (John Foulcher, Pitt Street Poetry)
  • Human Looking (Andy Jackson, Giramondo)
  • Fish Work (Caitlin Maling, UWAP)
  • Homecoming (Elfie Shiosaki, Magabala)

Nonfiction

  • Title Fight: How the Yindjibarndi battled and defeated a mining giant (Paul Cleary, Black Inc.)
  • The Case That Stopped a Nation: The Archibald Prize controversy of 1944 (Peter Edwell, Halstead Press)
  • Puff Piece (John Safran, Penguin Books)
  • Another Day in the Colony (Chelsea Watego, UQP)
  • Rogue Forces: An explosive insiders’ account of Australian SAS war crimes in Afghanistan (Mark Willacy, S&S)

Australian history

  • White Russians, Red Peril: A Cold War history of migration to Australia (Sheila Fitzpatrick, Black Inc.)
  • Semut: The untold story of a secret Australian operation in WWII Borneo (Christine Helliwell, Michael Joseph)
  • Return to Uluru (Mark McKenna, Black Inc.)
  • Harlem Nights: The secret history of Australia’s Jazz Age (Deirdre O’Connell, MUP)
  • Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? The Dark Emu debate (Peter Sutton & Keryn Walshe, MUP)

Young adult

  • Still Alive: Notes from Australia’s immigration detention system (Safdar Ahmed, Twelve Panels Press)
  • 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze (Clayton Zame Comber, HarperCollins)
  • The Gaps (Leanne Hall, Text)
  • Tiger Daughter (Rebecca Lim, A&U)
  • Tell Me Why (For Young Adults) (Archie Roach, S&S)

Children’s

  • The Boy and the Elephant (Freya Blackwood, HarperCollins)
  • Mina and the Whole Wide World (Sherryl Clark, illus by Briony Stewart, UQP)
  • Common Wealth (Gregg Dreise, Scholastic)
  • Dragon Skin (Karen Foxlee, A&U)
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop (Maryam Master, illus by Astred Hicks, Pan).

‘It is fundamental that Australian writers, illustrators and historians continue to share their stories, connecting our people and pathing the way for reflection, education, entertainment and respect,’ said prime minister Anthony Albanese, adding that the shortlisted books ‘demonstrate the major contribution literature makes in connecting Australians to our values, history and culture’.

‘Being recognised through these prestigious awards helps build the international reputation of Australian creatives and puts Australia and its stories on the global map.’

The winners will be announced on Tuesday, 13 December.

For more information, see the prize website here.

 

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