- From: The Courier-Mail
- August 16, 2013
Author Michelle de Kretser, who won the Prime Minister's Award Literary Award for fiction. Source: News Limited
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SYDNEY writer Michelle de Kretser added another trophy to her mantelpiece on Thursday night when she won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for fiction for her novel Questions of Travel.
It was the first time the literary awards - the richest book prizes in the country - have been announced in Brisbane with Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke naming the winners at a ceremony at State Library Queensland.Ms de Kretser also won the 2013 Miles Franklin Award and the 2013 Australian Literary Society Gold Medal for the same novel.
Questions of Travel, a story about an asylum seeker, was up against the Stella Prize-winning Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany and Lost Voices by three-time Miles Franklin winner Christopher Koch as well as Floundering by debut novelist Romy Ash andThe Chemistry of Tears by multi-award winning author Peter Carey.
The Prime Minister's Literary Award for non-fiction went to former News Corp journalist and political commentator George Megalogenis for his book, The Australian Moment about how the nation's economy survived the financial crises of the 2000s.
Others short-listed for the non-fiction prize included Bradman's War by Malcolm Knox and Uncommon Soldier by Chris Masters.
Winners of four other categories were also announced last night including John Kinsella who won the poetry award for Jam Tree Gully, Ross McMullin who took the Australian history prize for Farewell, dear people and Libby Gleeson who topped the children's category for Red.
Two Queensland authors, Jessica Davidson and Sue McPherson, were pipped for the young adult fiction award by indigenous author Bruce Pascoe who won the prize for his book, Fox a Dog.
Each winner won $80,000 tax free and each short-listed entrants received $5000.
More info at www.arts.gov.au/pmla
1 comment:
Well, I predicted a Man Booker long-listing in my review, so I'm glad that this book has been acknowledged. It really is a book for our times.
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