*chuckle* I tore myself away from reading Avni Doshi’s Burnt Sugar to bring you the immediate news of the PM’s Lit Awards, livestreamed since 8:00AM this morning — and as is only too fitting for the party which brought us the #TurnbullFail NBN, the livestream has dropped out. Yes, even in the nation’s capital, they can’t get reliable internet service.
*sigh*
The following is harvested direct from Twitter. I assume that these are the judges’ comments about the books:
Tara June Winch has won the #PMLitAward for Fiction. Tara carefully and lovingly brings to life the story of a fractured family and their fight to retain their culture, their land and their language.
Omar Sakr who has won the Poetry award at the #PMLitAwards for his work titled The Lost Arabs. The vital poems speak with a clear, fearless voice that is often passionate and, if sometimes angry, always warmly human.
Jasmine Seymour and illustrator Leanne Mulgo Watson who have won the #PMLitAwards for Children’s Literature. It takes us on a journey across Darug country and far beyond.
Helena Fox who has won the #PMLitAwards for Young Adult Literature for her debut novel, How it Feels to Float. The novel explores the intergenerational effects of mental illness and what it means to heal.
Tiffany Shellam winner of the Australian History Prize at the #PMLitAwards for her book Meeting the Waylo. A path breaking book about three Indigenous leaders who mediated between the Walyo people and the King’s second hydrographic expedition.
Joint winner for the Non Fiction category at the #PMLitAwards! Congratulations to the Gay’wu Group of Women for their book Songspirals.
Joint winner for the Non-fiction category at the #PMLitAwards! Congratulations to Christina Thompson for her book Sea People.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
I have heard many good comments about The Yield. Chuckling at your comment re: #TurnbullFail NBN. Don’t get me started. 🐧🌻🎁
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By: TravellinPenguin on December 10, 2020
at 11:02 am
Even in Canberra… I wish they’d rolled out the NBN where I live when it was fibre to the premises rather than fibre to the node. Sigh.
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By: Jennifer on December 10, 2020
at 11:33 am
Don’t all of us, who were short-changed by those penny-pinching morons who didn’t understand just how essential the internet is.
I hold Turnbull responsible, because he made a fortune out of Ozemail and out of the lot of them, he understood what the internet was for.
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By: Lisa Hill on December 10, 2020
at 1:21 pm
I’m glad I slept in! I had planned to watch it, but have had so many bad nights that, though I was awake, I decided to stay resting in bed (having completely forgotten my PMLA calendar date!) I checked out the winners around 9am and nearly did a post but decided to focus on my day’s errands instead. I did though see a 1 minute video on Facebook of people mingling, and am sure I saw Jessica White’s back. I hope she had a good time, even if she didn’t win!
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By: whisperinggums on December 10, 2020
at 6:01 pm
Well, Thursday is usually my loafing in bed till morning with a book day, so I was bit peeved that I was out of bed and at my desk and getting nowhere! I do much prefer it when publicists send us an embargoed announcement so that I can get my act together ahead of time.
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By: Lisa Hill on December 10, 2020
at 6:11 pm
‘Bloody NBN’. I’ve heard it muttered so often.
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By: karenlee thompson on December 10, 2020
at 6:11 pm
I had dinner last night with some former teaching colleagues who are not yet retired and they all work as I did in disadvantaged schools. They kept me laughing with funny stories of teaching online from “Lockdown 1” and “Lockdown 2” but it wasn’t funny that for many families there wasn’t enough grunt for them to do Zoom if everyone had their screens open.
These teachers were amazing, they did home visits, they did proper lessons every day and they reckon their kids have made as much growth as they usually do. I think when we’re giving out medals for Covid heroes, teachers like my friends deserve one too. (Though they’d probably rather have a pay rise, they haven’t had one since I retired.)
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By: Lisa Hill on December 10, 2020
at 6:21 pm
I have quite a few teacher friends and I agree with you, Lisa. They are the unsung heroes of the pandemic. I have always wished for higher pay for teachers. I know from my own experience what an enormous impact they can have.
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By: karenlee thompson on December 10, 2020
at 7:08 pm
That’s good to hear, thanks Karenlee:)
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By: Lisa Hill on December 10, 2020
at 8:05 pm
Just finished Sea People and really enjoyed it. I do like the sound of Song Spirals as well, have you read it? That one sounds like a long, slow, contemplative read, not one for review, more of an immersion.
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By: Claire 'Word by Word' on June 14, 2021
at 11:05 pm
I read your review yesterday and was fascinated by it. It sounds like one I must buy but I didn’t see it in the bookshop when I was there during the week.
The Song Spirals is on my wishlist too!
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By: Lisa Hill on June 15, 2021
at 8:02 am