ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

A quick post about the shortlist for the Melbourne Prize for Literature before I set out to explore the Marais district of Paris today!

This is the shortlist for Best Writing:

Tony Birch, Blood – see my review
Anna Goldsworthy, Piano Lessons – see my review
Sonya Hartnett,      The Children of the King
Paul Kelly, How to make gravy
Wayne Macauley, The Cook – see my review
David McCooey, Outside
Favel Parrett, Past the Shallows – see my review
Craig Sherborne, The Amateur Science of Love – see my review and a Sensational Snippet
Carrie Tiffany, Mateship with Birds – see my review and a Sensational Snippet
Ouyang Yu, The English Class – see my review

and this is the shortlist for the Melbourne Prize for Literature:

Alison Lester, a children’s book author, a favourite with the children at school.
Robert Manne, see my review of Bad News  but he’s written heaps of other interesting books!
Alex Miller – see my profile at Meet an Aussie Author which has links to my reviews of many of his books, and also my review of his latest, Autumn Laing.
Joanna Murray-Smith – one of Melbourne’s best loved playwrights.
Peter Temple – a popular crime writer.

Five very different writers, working in very different spheres.  I’m glad I’m not on the judging panel to have to choose!