ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

Tonight the winners of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were announced.  Three of the categories went to joint winners, sharing the love, but halving the prize money.  But it’s good to see the smaller indie publishers do so well!

*drum roll*

The joint winners of the Fiction Prize are

• The Life of Houses, Lisa Gorton, Giramondo, 2015,  see my review
• The Natural Way of Things, Charlotte Wood, Allen & Unwin, 2015, see combined reviews  

The winner of the Poetry Prize is

• The Hazards, Sarah Holland-Batt, UQP, 2015, see Tony’s review at Messenger’s Booker

The joint winners of the Non-Fiction Prize are

• On Stalin’s Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics, Sheila Fitzpatrick, Melbourne University Press, 2015, see the review at The Guardian
• Thea Astley: Inventing her own Weather, Karen Lamb, UQP, 2015, see my review

The joint winners of the Australian History Prize are

• The Story of Australia’s People. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Geoffrey Blainey AC, Viking Penguin, 2015, see the review at the SMH
• Let My People Go: The untold story of Australia and the Soviet Jews 1959-89, Sam Lipski and Suzanne D Rutland, Hybrid Publishers, 2015, see the review at the Sydney Institute

The winner of the YA Prize is

• A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay, Walker Books, 2015, see the review at Kids’ Book Review

The winner of the Children’s Fiction Prize is

• Sister Heart, Sally Morgan, Fremantle Press, 2015, see the review at Aussie Reviews

These are the remaining titles from the shortlists,

Fiction

Forever Young, Steven Carroll, Harper Collins, 2015, see my review
The World Repair Video Game, David Ireland AM, Island Magazine, 2015, (I wanted this, but it was a limited edition and with postage as well, too expensive for my budget), see the review at the SMH.  Update 1/12/16, see my review, thanks to the generosity of Tony from Messenger’s Booker
Quicksand, Steve Toltz,  Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, 2015, see my review

Poetry

(I don’t review poetry, but Tony at Messenger’s Booker does, so these are all his reviews)

Net Needle, Robert Adamson, Black Inc, 2015, see Tony’s review at Messenger’s Booker
Cocky’s Joy, Michael Farrell, Giramondo, 2015, see Tony’s review and an interview with the poet at Messenger’s Booker
Waiting for the Past, Les Murray AO, Black Inc, 2015, see Tony’s review at Messenger’s Booker
The Ladder, Simon West, Puncher & Wattmann, 2015, see Tony’s review at Messenger’s Booker

Australian History

Red Professor:  The Cold War Life of Fred Rose, Peter Monteath and Valerie Munt, Wakefield Press, 2015
Ned Kelly: A Lawless Life, Doug Morrissey, Connor Court, 2015
The War with Germany: Volume III—The Centenary History of Australia and the Great War, Robert Stevenson, Oxford University Press, 2015

Non-fiction

Tom Roberts and the Art of Portraiture, Julie Cotter, Thames & Hudson, 2015
Second Half First, Drusilla Modjeska, Penguin, 2015 
Island Home, Tim Winton, Penguin, 2015

Children’s Fiction

Adelaide’s Secret World, Elise Hurst, Allen & Unwin, 2015
Perfect, Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood, Hardie Grant Egmont, 2015
The Greatest Gatsby: A visual book of grammar, Tohby Riddle, Penguin, 2015
Mr Huff, Anna Walker, Penguin Books, 2015

Young Adult Fiction

Becoming Kirrali Lewis, Jane Harrison, Magabala Books, 2015
Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Allen & Unwin, 2015
Inbetween Days, Vikki Wakefield, Text publishing, 2015
Green Valentine, Lili Wilkinson, Allen & Unwin, 2015

Congratulations to all the authors, editors and publishers!

PS You can read the media release and visit www.arts.gov.au/pmla for more information about the shortlisted books and to see the judges’ comments.

PPS Thanks for ArtsWorks for a user friendly media release!