Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2023 shortlist announced
The shortlist for the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award, which has increased in value to $30,000 and is administered by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies (FALS) at James Cook University, has been announced.
The seven shortlisted titles, chosen from a longlist of 15 announced in July, are:
- The Angry Women’s Choir (Meg Bignell, Michael Joseph)
- Nimblefoot (Robert Drewe, Hamish Hamilton)
- August & Jones (Pip Harry, Hachette)
- The Jaguar (Sarah Holland-Batt, UQP)
- Bedtime Story (Chloe Hooper, S&S)
- Wizards of Oz (Brett Mason, NewSouth)
- Dirt Town (Hayley Scrivenor, Macmillan).
Chair of the judging panel Alan Lawson said of the judging process: ‘We’ve had to hose quite a bit of blood off the walls and consoled ourselves with the fact that this was the biggest, most diverse, and best set of Roderick entries ever. We simply had more good and very good books this year than any of us can remember. Hence, we have a shortlist of seven.’ The judges added: ‘It was a close call even for places on the slightly longer shortlist.’
Founded in 1967 by Australian writer, editor, academic and educator Colin Roderick, the award recognises the best original book, according to the judges, that is published in Australia in the previous calendar year, that deals with ‘any aspect of Australian life’.
The winner will be announced at a presentation in October.
Emily Bitto was the 2022 winner for her second novel Wild Abandon (A&U). For more information about the award, see the FALS website.
Category: Awards Local news
