The shortlists for the 2021 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards were announced today.
The Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
- A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville, see Jennifer’s review at Tasmanian Bibliophile at Large
- Murmurations by Carol LeFevre (short stories, find out more here) see Sue’s review at Whispering Gums
- Cherry Beach by Laura McPhee-Browne, see Brona’s review at This Reading Life a.k.a. Brona’s Books
- The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, see my review
- The Weekend by Charlotte Wood, see my review
- The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld, see Jennifer’s review at Tasmanian Bibliophile at Large
UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
- The Octopus and I by Erin Hortle see my review
- Cherry Beach by Laura McPhee-Browne see Brona’s review at This Reading Life a.k.a. Brona’s Books
- A Couple of Things Before the End by Sean O’Beirne
- Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson, on my TBR, see Jennifer’s review at Tasmanian Bibliophile at Large
- The Inland Sea by Madeline Watts
Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
- Father of the Lost Boys by Yout Ajang Alaak, see my review
- In the Time of Manaroans by Miro Bilbrough
Womerah Lane: Lives and Landscapes by Tom Carmant- The Warrior, the Voyager, and the Artist: Three Lives in an Age of Empire by Kate Fullaghar
- A Question of Colour: My Journey to Belonging by Pattie Lees and Adam C Lees, see my review
- The Trials of Portnoy: How Penguin Brought Down Australia’s Censorship System by Patrick Mullins
Multicultural NSW Award
- After Australia by Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Ed)
- The F Team by Rawah Arja
- Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore
- The Coconut Children by Vivian Pham,(abandoned)
- A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing by Jessie Tu
- Throat by Ellen Van Neerven, see Brona’s review at This Reading Life a.k.a. Brona’s Books
NSW Premier’s Translation Prize
- Travels with a Writing Brush: Classical Japanese Travel Writing from the Manyoshu to Basho, translated by Meredith McKinney
- Imminence by Marianna Dimopoulos, translated by Alice Whitmore, see my review
- This Tilting World by Colette Fellous, translated by Sophie Rebecca Lewis
- Autumn Manuscripts by Tasos Leivaditis, translated by N N Trakakis
- Sergius Seeks Bacchus by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao
- Russia Washed in Blood. A Novel in Fragments by Artyom Vesyoly, translated by Kevin Windle
Indigenous Writers Prize?
For some reason, though I recognise Indigenous authors in the shortlists, there is no shortlist on the relevant page of what is the most badly designed website I’ve come across. Update, later in the afternoon: but now that I’ve checked the page, it says its a biennial award. Why we have to click through from the main page to find that out, I don’t know…
For prizes in other categories, I’m sorry, I’ve got other things to do, so you’ll have to visit the awards website.
Update, late the same night: Jonathan at me Fail? I Fly! has listed all of the categories here, with links to the judges’ comments.
Memo to publicists:
I’ve got *literally* thousands of subscribers who read my blog by email. Some of these subscribers are in places with lousy internet speeds (i.e. an awful lot of places in Australia) and that is why they opt for email because websites crash if they take too long to load. For subscribers who read my blog online, I keep file sizes down by limiting images that take up their download time.
In the absence of a helpful press release, or a shortlist available as a print list, I’ve had to laboriously wade through two separate pages for each of these prize shortlists so that I can deliver the news to those readers in text. Publicists ought to realise that not everyone has equal access to the Internet. And while I am a volunteer in the service of promoting Australian literature within and beyond Australia, they are *paid* to publicise the product. So they owe it to us to make it easy for us to help them do that.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
Oh dear. As a troglodyte in this techno world you are a treasure Lisa for you do such a fantastic job with such commitment and energy am in awe. It seems another example of the deterioration in our country with a dearth of cohesion and connectivity. Am in a state of grief more often than have been in years. I sing your praises wherever I can and appreciate so much this blog.
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By: Fay Kennedy on March 24, 2021
at 12:41 pm
Thanks, Fay, it is a pleasure really, I shouldn’t complain!
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 4:12 pm
Am I right in thinking they are doing a biennial Indigenous prize? Or, is that the multicultural one/
I have read Murmurations. I’m assuming you’d be happy to have the link? https://whisperinggums.com/2020/09/25/carol-lefevre-murmurations-bookreview/
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By: whisperinggums on March 24, 2021
at 2:38 pm
Hmm, I don’t know…
I’ve now checked the website: you’re right… the Indigenous one is biennial.
Thanks for the link!
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 4:26 pm
Yes, I had a feeling that was so. It’s a shame I think.
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By: whisperinggums on March 24, 2021
at 5:48 pm
I can’t think of a good reason for it, except maybe that they rely on a sponsor and the money isn’t enough to make it worthwhile if they don’t make it biennial.
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 6:51 pm
That’s a better reason than my fear they don’t feel they’d have enough contenders annually.
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By: whisperinggums on March 25, 2021
at 8:20 am
This site is notorious for its muddle. The Miles Franklin is not much better.
I’ve also read Throat if you’d like to link it here https://bronasbooks.com/2021/02/08/throat-ellen-van-neervan-poetry/
I think Sue may have read murmurations – I read a review for it somewhere & noted it down as a to be read.
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By: Brona on March 24, 2021
at 2:43 pm
Oh so true about the MF as well. Thanks for the link, I’ve added it above and Sue’s one too. (I love the way we manage to cover so many of them as a ‘team’!)
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 4:17 pm
Thank you.
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By: Jennifer on March 24, 2021
at 2:52 pm
Publicists aren’t necessarily communicators… which is why the big publishing houses have press officers plus publicists/marketing managers. They do two different functions ( with slight crossover) and it’s so easy for publicists to get it wrong. Websites are often an afterthought and managed by people with no training and designed without user experience in mind.
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By: kimbofo on March 24, 2021
at 3:23 pm
Yes, but some of them get it right.
It can’t be hard to send out an email press release… I get them from other publicists, and some of them, bless their hearts, trust me enough to send it out early with a date-and-time embargo so that I can get it ready beforehand.
With this NSW one, I think of myself on holiday on Norfolk Island where the Internet was slow and patchy, or the Hunter Valley which was even worse, and I wouldn’t have had a hope of loading one page after another to see the shortlists…
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 4:23 pm
Thanks Lisa. There are a couple on the Fiction List I have not read and I find it really convenient to be able to click on links when I have ‘down time’ to see your reviews (and others you link to). I usually just do a little skim of the review and back away from spoilers but I can always rely on these reviews to give me an idea of the book and if it is one for me. You are a rare gem.
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By: karenlee thompson on March 24, 2021
at 5:55 pm
Lovely to hear from you as always, Karenlee:)
Stay safe and well on your travels, please, *wink* there’s that novel I’m still waiting for, you know!
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 6:53 pm
Working on it as we speak Lisa!
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By: karenlee thompson on March 28, 2021
at 12:02 am
Good! *relieved smile*
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By: Lisa Hill on March 28, 2021
at 12:21 pm
I appreciate you taking one for the team, Lisa!
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By: RoseReadsNovels on March 24, 2021
at 6:52 pm
LOL It had to happen on a busy day when I had a friend coming for lunch (necessitating that a modicum of housework be done!)
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By: Lisa Hill on March 24, 2021
at 7:08 pm
Sometimes that is the only reason houses get cleaned!
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By: RoseReadsNovels on March 24, 2021
at 7:32 pm
[…] For more categories in these awards, and links to her own and other bloggers’ reviews, please see Lisa’s post on them. […]
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By: Stella Prize and Christina Stead Prize for Fiction 2021 Shortlists announced | Whispering Gums on March 25, 2021
at 11:00 am
Loved your comments. Just for info…our book club will be discussing the Octopus and I early April. Looking forward to what people thought. I attended the launch of the book awhile back. Thought it was interesting sounding but find I’ve had a love -hate relationship with it. Lots of room for thinking about it though.
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By: TravellinPenguin on March 25, 2021
at 11:08 am
Ah well, *chuckle* you need to be in the mood for reading about having a relationship with an octopus…
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By: Lisa Hill on March 25, 2021
at 3:36 pm