Lucashenko wins 2014 Vic Prem’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing

Melissa Lucashenko has won the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing for her novel Mullumbimby (UQP).

The $20,000 award was presented at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne as part of celebrations to mark Indigenous Literacy Day on 3 September.

Mullumbimby was chosen from a shortlist of six, which was expanded from the traditional three-book shortlist as ‘a reflection of the high calibre of this year’s entries’. Also on the shortlist were: The Promise (Tony Birch, UQP), Mogwie Idan: Stories of the Land (Lionel George Fogarty, Vagabond Press), Dark Emu (Bruce Pascoe, Magabala Books), Calypso Summer (Jared Thomas, Magabala Books) and The Swan Book (Alexis Wright, Giramondo).

‘Mullumbimby beautifully evokes the landscape and physicality of rural life and honestly describes some of the complexities faced in upholding a land claim,’ said the judges in their report. They also commended the way the novel ‘deals with identity, belonging and place—common themes to many Aboriginal-authored stories—in a contemporary and relatable way’.

See the judges’ reports for the winning and shortlisted titles here.

The Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing is presented biennially. In 2012 the award went to Anita Heiss for her memoir Am I Black Enough for You? (Random House).