As usual, the nominations for the Dublin Literary Award are a generous mixture of the great and the good, and as usual I will try to locate all the authors from Australia and New Zealand among the 150-odd names there. If there’s one I’ve missed, please let me know in comments and I’ll add it to the list.
The prize is one of the most valuable in the world: €100,000, but in terms of international exposure, just making it onto the longlist is a great thing for authors who might otherwise have slipped under the radar, and while I’m pleased to see all our Aussie authors doing so well, I am especially pleased by the inclusion of Patrick Holland’s One because it did not get the attention it deserved in this country. Bouquets to the libraries that nominated it!
Australia
- One, by Patrick Holland, see my review and Patrick’s explanation for his curious choice of title
- Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms, by Anita Heiss, see my review
- The Dry, by Jane Harper
- Our Tiny, Useless Hearts, by Toni Jordan, see my review
- The Good People, by Hannah Kent
- An Isolated Incident, by Emily Maguire, see my review
- The Museum of Modern Love, by Heather Rose, see my review
- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, by Dominic Smith, see my review
- The Sound, by Sarah Drummond*
- Vigil, by Angela Slatter
New Zealand
- The Wish Child, by Catherine Chidgey, see my review
- All Day at the Movies, by Fiona Kidman, see my review
- Billy Bird, by Emma Neale*, see my review and see Sarah Forster’s review at The Reader
Other titles that I’ve read
- The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes, see my review
- Days without End, by Sebastian Barry, see my review
- War and Turpentine, by Stefan Hertmans, translated by David McKay, see my review
- The Parcel, by Anosh Irani, see my review
- The Yearning, by Mohale Mashigo, see my review
- Solar Bones, by Mike McCormack, see my review
- Moonstone, the Boy Who Never Was, by Sjon, see my review
- Swing Time, by Zadie Smith, see my review
- A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, see my review
- The Gustav Sonata, by Rose Tremain, see my review
- The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead, see my review
*Update, later the same day: Thanks to Tracy Farr (author of The Life and Loves of Lina Gault) for identifying two authors I’d missed.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
Thanks for this list. I’m constantly amazed at how much you read!
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By: ablay1 on November 7, 2017
at 9:29 am
Thanks, Anna – there are a couple there that I haven’t read because they didn’t appeal, but I think I’ve done better this year than in previous years, especially having read both Kiwi books, that’s unusual for me. I always worry that there’s a Kiwi author whose name I haven’t recognised because they don’t list the country where the book comes from, and it can be hard to know all the Aussie authors too, if there’s an outlier from a small press.
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By: Lisa Hill on November 7, 2017
at 9:36 am
Only eight read for me. I really appreciate this award as the library nominations mean less publicised countries have an opportunity to put forward representative literature that’s been translated into English. The long list is too large to tackle but the shortlist is a more achievable aim. Looks like I might have to search out Patrick Holland’s “One”!!!
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By: tonymess12 on November 7, 2017
at 10:03 am
Oh, yes, do chase up One, it’s a great book.
The award has to be one of the most inclusive there is: authors from all over the world, and all it takes is for a library to nominate.
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By: Lisa Hill on November 7, 2017
at 11:07 am
Oh Lisa, you could have saved a lot of time and effort by looking at the press release for the ANZ writers: http://www.dublinliteraryaward.ie/news/13-novels-from-australia-new-zealand-on-the-2018-longlist/
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By: kimbofo on November 7, 2017
at 6:31 pm
Indeed. Ah well…
Why is there no press release about Irish novels? Sebastian Barry is nominated for Days without End. Are there others?
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By: Lisa Hill on November 7, 2017
at 7:13 pm
It’s an Irish prize so the Irish nominees are in the main generic press release.
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By: kimbofo on November 8, 2017
at 9:27 am
Just to clarify: did you have a press release emailed to you, or are you talking about what’s on the website?
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By: Lisa Hill on November 8, 2017
at 10:12 am
Just what’s on the website; I’m not on their mailing list.
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By: kimbofo on November 9, 2017
at 7:19 am
Yeah, I can’t find a place to sign up for one.
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By: Lisa Hill on November 9, 2017
at 8:57 am
I’m listening to The Good People right now, I’m about half way through and really liking it. I don’t think I’ll end up loving it as much as Burial Rites, but I think Hannah Kent is astonishing. I haven’t managed to read any of the others.
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By: Louise on November 7, 2017
at 9:25 pm
Hi Louise, it’s impossible to keep up with everything, but it’s a nice problem to have:)
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By: Lisa Hill on November 7, 2017
at 11:07 pm
So glad to see The Parcel there! (And a few other Canadians as well, on the list I mean.) This is an award that I used to follow regularly for good reads but I’ve lost track of it in recent years – maybe because it always seemed like a long list but now it seems rather monstrous? Not that they’re not all GOOD books, but it does make it a little daunting – even for ambitious and obsessed readers as we are!
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By: buriedinprint on November 8, 2017
at 6:50 am
I know what you mean. Goodness knows what it would be like if more libraries became involved in the process.
I suspect that part of the reason for the country-by-country press releases is to help people take an interest in their own nominations…
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By: Lisa Hill on November 8, 2017
at 10:10 am
One has a commanding place on my main TBR shelf but heaven knows when I will get to it.
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By: wadholloway on November 8, 2017
at 9:53 am
I know that feeling!
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By: Lisa Hill on November 8, 2017
at 10:13 am
Wow, you’ve read most of them.
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By: Emma on November 10, 2017
at 7:23 am
Just luck, this year!
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By: Lisa Hill on November 10, 2017
at 9:00 am
[…] But Billy Bird by New Zealand author got under my radar because it was nominated for the 2018 Dublin Literary Award longlist, and although it took a bit of fortitude to finish it I can see why it’s a popular […]
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By: Billy Bird, by Emma Neale | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 7, 2017
at 5:09 pm
[…] I got myself all excited by the Australian and New Zealand nominations on the 2018 Dublin Literary Award longlist, but the short list announced today doesn’t include any books from our part of the world, and […]
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By: 2018 Dublin Literary Award shortlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on April 6, 2018
at 11:35 am