2005 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist announced
21 April 2005
Today the 2005 shortlist for Australia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, was announced.
The five novels are:
Salt Rain by Sarah Armstrong - Allen & Unwin
Sixty Lights by Gail Jones - Vintage (Random House Australia)
The Gift of Speed by Steven Carroll - HarperCollins Publishers
The Submerged Cathedral by Charlotte Wood - Vintage (Random House Australia)
The White Earth by Andrew McGahan - Allen & Unwin
43 books were submitted for this year’s Award.
The Miles Franklin Literary Award celebrates Australian character and creativity and nurtures the continuing life of literature based on Australia. It is awarded for the novel of the year which is of the highest literary merit and which presents Australian life in any of its phases.
Since it was first awarded in 1957 to Patrick White for his novel Voss, the Award has encouraged authors and delivered an immense contribution to the richness of Australian cultural life. Past winners include Thea Astley, Peter Carey, Thomas Keneally, Elizabeth Jolley, Tim Winton, and Shirley Hazzard who won the Award in 2004.
Judges for this year’s Award are Eve Abbey, Professor Robert Dixon, Morag Fraser AM, Ian Hicks, and the State Librarian of NSW, Dagmar Schmidmaier AM.
The winner will be announced at a gala dinner held at the State Library of New South Wales Thursday 23 June 2005.
