With thanks to Perpetual, here is the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist:
- The White Girl by Tony Birch, University of Queensland Press, see my review
- Room for a Stranger by Melanie Cheng, Text Publishing, see my review
- Islands by Peggy Frew, Allen & Unwin
- No One by John Hughes, UWA Publishing
- Act of Grace by Anna Krien, Black Inc., see my review
- A Season on Earth by Gerald Murnane, Text Publishing, see my review
- The Returns by Philip Salom, Transit Lounge, see my review
- Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany, Text Publishing, see my review
- The Yield by Tara June Winch, Penguin Random House, see my review
- The Weekend by Charlotte Wood, Allen & Unwin, see my review
There are some surprises here, but overall, it’s a good list. Will it be Gerald Murnane’s long overdue year?
Congratulations to all the authors, editors and publishers.
The shortlisted finalists will be revealed on 17 June 2020 and the winner announced 16 July 2020.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
A few different titles here!
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By: Theresa Smith Writes on May 12, 2020
at 1:33 pm
Yes, a real variety. I had to do this quickly because I was about to start my French class, so I didn’t have time to look for a unifying theme, but the judges say their “common feature is their location on the margins, whether geographical, familial or societal. They explore the ripples and repercussions of childhood trauma, the healing power of friendship, and the unshakeable presence of the past”.
They do love a book that’s about marginalised people, don’t they?!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 3:19 pm
Clearly the catch theme!
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By: Theresa Smith Writes on May 12, 2020
at 4:28 pm
Ha!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 4:41 pm
Pleased to see this list. Have read a couple, have a few more on my TBR and now I’ve got a good excuse to buy the rest, but might wait for the shortlist announcement.
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By: kimbofo on May 12, 2020
at 2:31 pm
Well, not the Frew for me, just not my cup of tea, but maybe, maybe, No One – I’ll wait till someone else has reviewed it before I part with my hard-earned…
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 3:20 pm
So good to see Gerald Murnane included in the list. I wish him good luck!
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By: mosheprigan on May 12, 2020
at 2:57 pm
He’s been nominated a number of times and never won it, it’s time he did. I mean, how embarrassing would it be if he won the Nobel and he had never won our most prestigious prize?!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 3:21 pm
You are completely right, Lisa. It’s time he won the Australian Prize. More accessible to him. If he wins the Nobel he wouldn’t get on a plane for it and that’s another big embarrassment.
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By: mosheprigan on May 12, 2020
at 3:54 pm
Ha Moshe, what could be a bigger embarrassment than the debacle over Bob Dylan winning it!
PS Have deleted the comment as you requested:)
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 4:40 pm
Hi, Lisa
How’re you doing?
Tomorrow! Tomorrow is the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2020 shortlist. I’m curious.
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By: mosheprigan on June 16, 2020
at 4:23 pm
I’m well, thank you:)
Not long to wait now!
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By: Lisa Hill on June 16, 2020
at 4:41 pm
Hello, Lisa, how’re you doing?
I didn’t find your email on the Review and Comments Policy page; I wanted to ask you something – may I, please?
Thanks much!
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By: mosheprigan on July 5, 2020
at 7:57 am
Hi Moshe, LOL I do hide it to try to stave off the spammers, but it’s not meant to be that hard!
There are two ways to get direct contact to me: there’s a contact form on the About page, and if you trawl right to the bottom of the RH menu, at the end of the yada-yada about my copyright, there’s my actual email address (with the usual substitutes AT and DOT.
Cheers! Lisa
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By: Lisa Hill on July 5, 2020
at 10:11 am
Surely they cannot ignore Gerald Murnane any longer. He is an exceptional talent and oh so Australian but how few of his fellow countrymen and women have heard of him.
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By: Fay Kennedy on May 12, 2020
at 4:56 pm
I agree entirely. Maybe this year #FingersCrossed
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 5:39 pm
A definite omission is Lucy Treloar’s Wolfe Island, doubly so because it fits within their ‘theme’. I’ve tried several times to get into Gerald Murnane’s books, but have always given up in boredom…
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By: Annette Marfording on May 12, 2020
at 5:42 pm
I could do a whole post about lovely books that have been omitted, but Wolfe Island isn’t one of them because it’s not eligible. The MF is for books about Australian life. But it is eligible for the PM’s prize (which is worth more) and and all the Premiers’ awards:)
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 5:52 pm
Of course, Lisa. Forgot about that!
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By: Annette Marfording on May 15, 2020
at 5:45 pm
I’ve been known to forget it myself when I’ve loved a book so much I want it to win a prize…
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By: Lisa Hill on May 15, 2020
at 8:15 pm
Interesting list Lisa. I was only looking last week for the announcement date. Perpetual is not very forthcoming with info on its website, which is a shame given the significance of this award.
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By: whisperinggums on May 12, 2020
at 9:12 pm
TBH I’d forgotten all about it, I just happened to see a Tweet and managed to scrape a post together before my French class.
LOL The temptation with online lessons is to multitask behind the scenes!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 12, 2020
at 9:36 pm
Ha ha, I can imagine.
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By: whisperinggums on May 13, 2020
at 8:07 am
[…] dropped via the Miles Franklin Instagram account. (See here.) Of course, I then visited Lisa Hill’s blog to check whether she had any additional news (and to see how many books she had read) and read the […]
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By: The 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist – Reading Matters on May 12, 2020
at 10:25 pm
Roll on the Gerald Murnane MF, a belated acknowledgement of a great author.
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By: wadholloway on May 12, 2020
at 10:53 pm
Amen to that!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 13, 2020
at 7:32 am