Miles Franklin Literary Award announces 2019 longlist

ABIA Book of the Year winner Boy Swallows Universe heads up a ten-strong list of contenders for the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award. Established in 1957 with funds from an unexpected bequest from the My Brilliant Career author, Miles Franklin‘s will stipulated that: “[the] prize shall be awarded for the Novel for the year which is of the highest literary merit and which must present Australian Life in any of its phases.” 

The 2019 judging panel comprises, Richard Neville, Mitchell Librarian of the State Library of NSW and Chair, journalist and author Murray Waldren, book critic Dr Melinda Harvey, Sydney-based bookseller, Lindy Jones and author and literary critic Dr Bernadette Brenna.

According to Richard Neville, the chair of the judging panel, “The 2019 Miles Franklin longlist yet again highlights a mixture of new and established writers. It showcases ten of the most vibrant voices of Australian fiction speaking to us of lives facing, or having endured, some version of extremity. Angry, funny, contemplative and urgent, these voices – which include a galah – explore personal, historical and ecological loss, cultural inheritances and disenfranchisement, and the fraught bonds of friendships, families and communities.

The winner of the 2019 award will receive $60,000 in prize money.

The full longlist reads as follows:

  • Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
  • Flames by Robbie Arnott
  • The Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
  • A Sand Archive by Gregory Day
  • Inappropriation by Lexi Freiman
  • A Stolen Season by Rodney Hall
  • The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones
  • Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
  • Dyschronia by Jennifer Mills
  • The Lucky Galah by Tracy Sorensen

A shortlist will be announced on July 2nd, with the winner named on July 30th. For more information on the prize, head to the Perpetual/Miles Franklin website.

Header Image: Perpetual

Jodie Sloan

Living, writing, and reading in Brisbane/Meanjin. Likes spooky books, strong cocktails, and pro-wrestling.