The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2025, the award is valued at A$60,000.

__TOC__

Winners, old dating convention

The prize originally took its date from the year in which eligible novels were published, ignoring the fact that it was not awarded until the following year.

1957–1959

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! scope="row"| 1957

| Patrick White

| Voss

| Eyre and Spottiswoode

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1958

| Randolph Stow

| To the Islands

| Macdonald

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1959

| Vance Palmer

| The Big Fellow

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

|}

1960–1969

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! scope="row"| 1960

| Elizabeth O'Conner

| The Irishman

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1961

| Patrick White

| Riders in the Chariot

| Eyre and Spottiswoode

|

|-

! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1962

| Thea Astley

| The Well Dressed Explorer

| Angus and Robertson

| rowspan="2"|

|-

|George Turner

|The Cupboard Under the Stairs

|Cassell

|-

! scope="row"| 1963

| Sumner Locke Elliott

| Careful, He Might Hear You

| Harper and Row

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1964

| George Johnston

| My Brother Jack

| Collins

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1965

| Thea Astley

| The Slow Natives

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1966

| Peter Mathers

| Trap

| Cassell

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1967

| Thomas Keneally

| Bring Larks and Heroes

| Cassell

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1968

| Thomas Keneally

| Three Cheers for the Paraclete

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1969

| George Johnston

| Clean Straw for Nothing

| Collins

|

|-

|}

1970–1979

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! scope="row"| 1970

| Dal Stivens

| A Horse of Air

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1971

| David Ireland

| The Unknown Industrial Prisoner

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1972

| Thea Astley

| The Acolyte

| Angus and Robertson

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1973

|colspan=3|Award withheld after the judges decided that none of the novels entered was good enough

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1974

| Ronald McKie

| The Mango Tree

| Collins

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1975

| Xavier Herbert

| Poor Fellow My Country

| Fontana Books

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1976

| David Ireland

| The Glass Canoe

| Macmillan

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1977

| Ruth Park

| Swords and Crowns and Rings

| Nelson Books

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1978

| Jessica Anderson

| Tirra Lirra by the River

| Macmillan

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1981

| Peter Carey

| Bliss

| Faber and Faber

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1982

| Rodney Hall

| Just Relations

| Penguin Books

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1983

|colspan=3|Award withheld after the judges decided that none of the novels entered was good enough

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1984

| Tim Winton

| Shallows

| Allen and Unwin

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1985

| Christopher Koch

| The Doubleman

| Chatto and Windus

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1986

| Elizabeth Jolley

| The Well

| Viking Press

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1987

| Glenda Adams

| Dancing on Coral

| Viking Press

|

|-

|}

Winners, new dating convention

The prize is still for the best novel published during the preceding year, but now bears the date of the year in which it is awarded. While the change meant there was no prize called "1988", there is no break in the annual series. The award for novels published in 1987 was announced on 10 May 1988 as the "1987" prize (won by Glenda Adams), and the award for novels published in 1988 was announced on 25 July 1989 as the "1989" prize (won by Peter Carey).

1989

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! scope="row"| 1989

| Peter Carey

| Oscar and Lucinda

| University of Queensland Press

|

|-

|}

1990–1999

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! scope="row"| 1990

| Tom Flood

| Oceana Fine

| Allen and Unwin

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1991

| David Malouf

| The Great World

| Chatto and Windus

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1992

| Tim Winton

| Cloudstreet

| Penguin Books

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1993

| Alex Miller

| The Ancestor Game

| Penguin Books

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1994

| Rodney Hall

| The Grisly Wife

| Macmillan

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1996

| Christopher Koch

| Highways to a War

| Heinemann

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1997

| David Foster

| The Glade Within the Grove

| Vintage

|

|-

! scope="row"| 1998

| Peter Carey

| Jack Maggs

| University of Queensland Press

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2009

| Tim Winton

| Breath

| Hamish Hamilton

|

|-

|}

2010–2019

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! scope="row"| 2010

| Peter Temple

| Truth

| Text Publishing

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2011

| Kim Scott

| That Deadman Dance

| Picador

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2012

| Anna Funder

| All That I Am

| Hamish Hamilton

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2013

| Michelle de Kretser

| Questions of Travel

| Allen and Unwin

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2014

| Evie Wyld

| All the Birds, Singing

| Random House

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2015

| Sofie Laguna

| The Eye of the Sheep

| Allen and Unwin

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2016

| A. S. Patrić

| Black Rock White City

| Transit Lounge

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2017

| Josephine Wilson

| Extinctions

| UWA Publishing

|

|-

! scope="row"| 2018

| Michelle de Kretser

| The Life to Come

| Allen and Unwin

|

|-

!2019

|Melissa Lucashenko

|Too Much Lip

|University of Queensland Press

|

|-

|}

2020–

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="75%"

! scope="col" width="10%"|Year

! scope="col" | Author

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Publisher

!Ref

|-

! 2020

| Tara June Winch

| The Yield

| Penguin Random House

|

|-

! 2021

| Amanda Lohrey

| The Labyrinth

| Text Publishing

|

|-

! 2022

| Jennifer Down

| Bodies of Light

| Text Publishing

|

|-

!2023

|Shankari Chandran

|Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

|Ultimo Press

|

|-

!2024

|Alexis Wright

|Praiseworthy

|Giramondo

|

|-

!2025

|Siang Lu

|Ghost Cities

|University of Queensland Press

|

|}

Controversies

Author Frank Moorhouse was disqualified from consideration for his novel Grand Days because the story was set in Europe during the 1920s and was not sufficiently Australian.

1995 winner Helen Darville, also known as Helen Demidenko and Helen Dale, won for The Hand That Signed the Paper and sparked a debate about authenticity in Australian literature. Darville claimed to be of Ukrainian descent and said it was fiction based on family history. Writer David Marr, who presented the award to her, said that revelations about her true background did not "alter a single thing about the quality of the story, it knocks completely out of the water her answers to critics who said it was not historically accurate, that she knows because of direct family experience, which appears to be complete bull----."

Even before the hoax was revealed, Darville’s book was considered anti-Semitic and justified the genocide of Jewish people. It was also later revealed that she plagiarised from multiple sources.

In 2004, three judges resigned due to what they viewed as the commodification of the awards.

2022 longlisted writer John Hughes was accused of plagiarising significant sections of his 2021 book The Dogs from Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich's nonfiction book The Unwomanly Face of War. Nearly 60 similarities and identical sentences were found in a comparison of Hughes' novel and the English version of Alexievich's book. The Guardian newspaper also found similarities between incidents described in the books, including the central scene from which The Dogs takes its title. Further investigation found other examples of plagiarism in the novel and that Hughes copied sections of classic texts including The Great Gatsby and Anna Karenina without acknowledging the original source. The book was subsequently withdrawn from competition.

The Stella Prize was created in 2013 as a reaction to the supposed under-representation of women as winners of literary prizes, in particular the 2011 Miles Franklin Award shortlist. However, since 2013, only three men have won the Miles Franklin Award.

Repeat winners

  • (4) Thea Astley: 1962, 1965, 1972, 2000
  • (4) Tim Winton: 1984, 1992, 2002, 2009
  • (3) Peter Carey: 1981, 1989, 1998
  • (3) David Ireland: 1971, 1976, 1979
  • (2) Jessica Anderson: 1978, 1980
  • (2) Rodney Hall: 1982, 1994
  • (2) Thomas Keneally: 1967, 1968
  • (2) Michelle de Kretser: 2013, 2018
  • (2) George Johnston: 1964, 1969
  • (2) Christopher Koch: 1985, 1996
  • (2) Alex Miller: 1993, 2003
  • (2) Kim Scott: 2000, 2011
  • (2) Patrick White: 1957, 1961
  • (2) Alexis Wright: 2007, 2024

|-

|

|Truant State

|-

|

|Bloodfather

|-

|

|Home Is the Sailor

|-style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="5" |1989<br><small><small>for novels published in 1988,<br>announced in 1989</small></small>

|

|Oscar and Lucinda

|Winner

|-

|

| Captivity Captive

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Out of the Line of Fire

|-

|

|Building on Sand

|-

|

|Charades

|}

1990s

{| class="wikitable" width="75%"

|+Miles Franklin Award honorees (1990–1999)

!Year

!Author

!Title

!Result

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |1990

|

|Oceana Fine

|Winner

|-

|

|Company of Images

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Avenue of Eternal Peace

|-

|

|I for Isobel

|-

|

|Maestro

|-

|

|Smyrna

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |1991

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|Longleg

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Double-Wolf

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Our Sunshine

|-

|

|The Second Bridegroom

|-

|

|To the Burning City

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |1993

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|After China

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Cosmo Cosmolino

|-

|

|Shearers' Motel

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Vanishing Points

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="3" |1994

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|Remembering Babylon

| rowspan="2" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="3" |Shortlist

|-

|

| Dark Places

|-

|

|Death of a River Guide

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="7" |1996

|

|Highways to a War

|Winner

|-

|

|Camille's Bread

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="7" |1997

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|Before I Wake

| rowspan="6" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Night Letters

|-

|

|Oyster

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="7" |1998

|

|Jack Maggs

|Winner

|-

|

|Lovesong

| rowspan="6" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Nightpictures

|-

|

|One for the Master

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Wrack

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |1999

|

|Eucalyptus

|Winner

|-

|

|True History of the Kelly Gang

| rowspan="6" |Shortlist

|-

|

|The Company

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|English Passengers

|-

|

|Conditions of Faith

|-

|

|Life after George

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2002

|

|Dirt Music

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Gould's Book of Fish

|-

|

|Gilgamesh

|-

|

|'

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2003

|

|Journey to the Stone Country

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Of a Boy

|-

|

|Moral Hazard

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Wild Surmise

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2004

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|My Life as a Fake

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Elizabeth Costello

|-

|

|Three Dog Night

|-

|

|Slow Water

|-

|

|Seven Types of Ambiguity

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="5" |2005

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|Salt Rain

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Sixty Lights

|-

|

|'

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="5" |2006

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="4" |2007

|

|Carpentaria

|Winner

|-

|

|Theft: A Love Story

| rowspan="3" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Dreams of Speaking

|-

|

|Careless

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="5" |2008

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Love Without Hope

|-

|

|Sorry

|-

|

|Landscape of Farewell

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="5" |2009

|

|Breath

|Winner

|-

|

|Ice

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Wanting

|-

|

|'

|}

2010s

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" width="75%"

|+Miles Franklin Literary Award honorees (2010–2019)

!Year

!Author

!Title

!Result

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2010

|

|Truth

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Butterfly

|-

|

|Jasper Jones

|-

|

|Lovesong

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="3" |2011

|

|That Deadman Dance

|Winner

|-

|

|Bereft

| rowspan="2" |Shortlist

|-

|

|When Colts Ran

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2012

|

|All That I Am

|Winner

|-

|

|Blood

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Cold Light

|-

|

|Foal's Bread

|-

|

|Past the Shallows

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2013

|

|Questions of Travel

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Floundering

|-

|

|Mateship with Birds

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2014

|

|All the Birds, Singing

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|The Night Guest

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Eyrie

|-

|

|My Beautiful Enemy

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2015

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|After Darkness

|-

|

|Golden Boys

|-

|

|Tree Palace

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2016

|

|Black Rock White City

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Hope Farm

|-

|

|Leap

|-

|

|Salt Creek

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2017

|

|Extinctions

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="4" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Their Brilliant Careers

|-

|

|Waiting

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2018

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Border Districts

|-

|

|No More Boats

|-

|

|Storyland

|-

|

|Taboo

|-style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2019

|

|Too Much Lip

|Winner

|-

|

|'

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Dyschronia

|}

2020s

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" width="75%"

|+Miles Franklin Literary Award honorees (2020–present)

!Year

!Author

!Title

!Result

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="6" |2020

|

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|Exploded View

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|No One

|-

|

|Islands

|-

|

|'

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="6" |2021

|Amanda Lohrey

|'

|Winner

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|'

|-

|

|Lucky’s

|-

|

|'

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="5" |2022

|

|Bodies of Light

|Winner

|-

|

|Scary Monsters

|-

|

|One Hundred Days

|-

|Michael Winkler

|Grimmish

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="6" |2023

|

| Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

| Winner

|-

|

|Limberlost

|-

|

|Cold Enough for Snow

|-

|

|The Lovers

|-

|

|Iris

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="6" |2024

|

|Praiseworthy

|Winner

|-

|

| Wall

|-

|

| Anam

|-

|

| The Bell of the World

|-

|

| Hospital

|-

|- style="background:#cddeff"

! rowspan="6" |2025

|

|Ghost Cities

|Winner

|-

|

|Chinese Postman

| rowspan="5" |Shortlist

|-

|

|Theory and Practice

|-

|

|Dirt Poor Islanders

|-

|

|Compassion

|-

|

|Highway 13

|}

Longlisted works

Longlisted titles are only shown for the years 2005 onwards. That was the first year that such a list was released by the judging panel. The number of works included on the longlist varies from year to year.

2005–2009

2005

  • Salt Rain, Sarah Armstrong
  • The Gift of Speed, Steven Carroll
  • Backwaters, Robert Engwerda
  • The Ghost Writer, John Harwood
  • The Broken Book, Susan Johnson
  • Sixty Lights, Gail Jones
  • A Private Man, Malcolm Knox
  • The Philosopher's Doll, Amanda Lohrey
  • The White Earth, Andrew McGahan
  • I Have Kissed Your Lips, Gerard Windsor
  • The Submerged Cathedral, Charlotte Wood
  • The Last Ride, Denise Young

2006

  • Knitting, Anne Bartlett
  • The Garden Book, Brian Castro
  • The Secret River, Kate Grenville
  • An Accidental Tourist, Stephen Lang
  • The Ballad of Desmond Kale, Roger McDonald
  • Prochownik's Dream, Alex Miller
  • Sunnyside, Joanna Murray-Smith
  • A Case of Knives, Peter Rose
  • The Broken Shore, Peter Temple
  • Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living, Carrie Tiffany
  • Dead Europe, Christos Tsiolkas
  • The Wing of Night, Brenda Walker

2007

  • Theft: A Love Story, Peter Carey
  • Silent Parts, John Charalambous
  • The Unknown Terrorist, Richard Flanagan
  • Beyond the Break, Sandra Hall
  • Dreams of Speaking, Gail Jones
  • The Unexpected Elements of Love, Kate Legge
  • Careless, Deborah Robertson
  • Carpentaria, Alexis Wright

2008

  • The Fern Tattoo, David Brooks
  • The Time We Have Taken, Steven Carroll
  • Love Without Hope, Rodney Hall
  • Orpheus Lost, Janette Turner Hospital
  • Sorry, Gail Jones
  • The Widow and Her Hero, Thomas Keneally
  • The Memory Room, Christopher Koch
  • Landscape of Farewell, Alex Miller
  • Secrets of the Sea, Nicholas Shakespeare

2009

  • The Pages, Murray Bail
  • Wanting, Richard Flanagan
  • Addition, Toni Jordan
  • One Foot Wrong, Sofie Laguna
  • Ice, Louis Nowra
  • Fugitive Blue, Claire Thomas
  • A Fraction of the Whole, Steve Toltz
  • The Devil's Eye, Ian Townsend
  • The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas
  • Breath, Tim Winton

2010–2019

2010

  • Figurehead, Patrick Allington
  • Parrot and Olivier in America, Peter Carey
  • The Bath Fugues, Brian Castro
  • Boy on a Wire, Jon Doust
  • The Book of Emmett, Deborah Forster
  • Sons of the Rumour, David Foster
  • Siddon Rock, Glenda Guest
  • Butterfly, Sonya Hartnett
  • The People's Train, Thomas Keneally
  • Lovesong, Alex Miller
  • Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey
  • Truth, Peter Temple

2011

  • Rocks in the Belly, John Bauer
  • The Good Daughter, Honey Brown
  • The Mary Smokes Boys, Patrick Holland
  • The Piper's Son, Melina Marchetta
  • When Colts Ran, Roger McDonald
  • Time's Long Ruin, Stephen Orr
  • That Deadman Dance, Kim Scott
  • The Legacy, Kirsten Tranter
  • Bereft, Chris Womersley

2012

  • Blood, Tony Birch
  • Spirit of Progress, Steven Carroll
  • Spirit House, Mark Dapin
  • The Precipice, Virginia Duigan
  • All That I Am, Anna Funder
  • Sarah Thornhill, Kate Grenville
  • Five Bells, Gail Jones
  • Foal's Bread, Gillian Mears
  • Autumn Laing, Alex Miller
  • Cold Light, Frank Moorhouse
  • Past the Shallows, Favel Parrett
  • The Street Sweeper, Elliot Perlman
  • Animal People, Charlotte Wood

2013

  • Floundering, Romy Ash
  • Lola Bensky, Lily Brett
  • Street to Street, Brian Castro
  • Questions of Travel, Michelle de Kretser
  • The Beloved, Annah Faulkner
  • The Daughters of Mars, Thomas Keneally
  • The Mountain, Drusilla Modjeska
  • The Light Between Oceans, M. L. Stedman
  • Mateship with Birds, Carrie Tiffany
  • Red Dirt Talking, Jacqueline Wright

2014

  • The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, Tracy Farr
  • The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan
  • The Railwayman's Wife, Ashley Hay
  • Mullumbimby, Melissa Lucashenko
  • The Night Guest, Fiona McFarlane
  • Belomor, Nicolas Rothwell
  • Game, Trevor Shearston
  • My Beautiful Enemy, Cory Taylor
  • Eyrie, Tim Winton
  • The Swan Book, Alexis Wright
  • All the Birds, Singing, Evie Wyld

2015

  • In Certain Circles, Elizabeth Harrower
  • Golden Boys, Sonya Hartnett
  • The Eye of the Sheep, Sofie Laguna
  • The Golden Age, Joan London
  • The Lost Child, Suzanne McCourt
  • Here Come the Dogs, Omar Musa
  • When the Night Comes, Favel Parrett
  • After Darkness, Christine Piper
  • Tree Palace, Craig Sherborne
  • Nest, Inga Simpson

2016

  • Ghost River, Tony Birch
  • Coming Rain, Stephen Daisley
  • Hope Farm, Peggy Frew
  • Leap, Myfanwy Jones
  • The World Without Us, Mireille Juchau
  • The Hands : An Australian Pastoral, Stephen Orr
  • Black Rock White City, A. S. Patrić
  • Salt Creek, Lucy Treloar
  • The Natural Way of Things, Charlotte Wood

2017

  • The Easy Way Out, Steven Amsterdam
  • An Isolated Incident, Emily Maguire
  • The Last Days of Ava Langdon, Mark O'Flynn
  • Their Brilliant Careers, Ryan O'Neill
  • A Loving, Faithful Animal, Josephine Rowe
  • Waiting, Philip Salom
  • Where The Trees Are, Inga Simpson
  • Hold, Kirsten Tranter
  • Extinctions, Josephine Wilson

2018

  • A Long Way from Home, Peter Carey (Penguin Random House)
  • No More Boats, Felicity Castagna (Giramondo Publishing)
  • The Life to Come, Michelle de Kretser (Allen and Unwin)
  • The Crying Place, Lia Hills (Allen and Unwin)
  • The Last Garden, Eva Hornung (Text Publishing)
  • Some Tests, Wayne Macauley (Text Publishing)
  • Storyland, Catherine McKinnon (HarperCollins Publishers)
  • Border Districts, Gerald Murnane (Giramondo Publishing)
  • From the Wreck, Jane Rawson (Transit Lounge)
  • The Restorer, Michael Sala (Text Publishing)
  • Taboo, Kim Scott (Picador Australia/Pan Macmillan Australia)

2019

  • The Lebs, Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Hachette)
  • Flames, Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
  • Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton (Fourth Estate)
  • A Sand Archive, Gregory Day (Picador)
  • Inappropriation, Lexi Freiman (Allen and Unwin)
  • A Stolen Season, Rodney Hall (Picador)
  • The Death of Noah Glass, Gail Jones (Text Publishing)
  • Too Much Lip, Melissa Lucashenko (UQP)
  • Dyschronia, Jennifer Mills (Picador)
  • The Lucky Galah, Tracy Sorensen (Picador)

2020–

2020

  • The White Girl, Tony Birch (UQP)
  • Room For a Stranger, Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing)
  • Islands, Peggy Frew (Allen and Unwin)
  • No One, John Hughes (UWA Publishing)
  • Act of Grace, Anna Krien (Black Inc.)
  • A Season on Earth, Gerald Murnane (Text Publishing)
  • The Returns, Philip Salom (Transit Lounge)
  • Exploded View, Carrie Tiffany (Text Publishing)
  • The Yield, Tara June Winch (Hamish Hamilton)
  • The Weekend, Charlotte Wood (Allen and Unwin)

2021

  • Amnesty, Aravind Adiga (Picador)
  • The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
  • Our Shadows, Gail Jones (Text Publishing)
  • Infinite Splendours, Sofie Laguna (Allen and Unwin)
  • The Labyrinth, Amanda Lohrey (Text Publishing)
  • The Animals in That Country, Laura Jean McKay (Scribe)
  • Lucky’s, Andrew Pippos (Picador)
  • Stone Sky Gold Mountain, Mirandi Riwoe (UQP)
  • The Fifth Season, Philip Salom (Transit Lounge)
  • Song of the Crocodile, Nardi Simpson (Hachette)
  • The Inland Sea, Madeleine Watts (Pushkin Press)
  • At the Edge of the Solid World, Daniel Davis Wood (Brio)

2022

  • The Other Half of You, Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Hachette)
  • After Story, Larissa Behrendt (UQP)
  • Scary Monsters, Michelle de Kretser (Allen and Unwin)
  • Bodies of Light, Jennifer Down (Text Publishing)
  • Echolalia, Briohny Doyle (Vintage)
  • The Magpie Wing, Max Easton (Giramondo Publishing)
  • The Airways, Jennifer Mills (Picador)
  • One Hundred Days, Alice Pung (Black Inc.)
  • The Performance, Claire Thomas (Hachette)
  • 7 ½, Christos Tsiolkas (Allen and Unwin)
  • Grimmish, Michael Winkler (Puncher and Wattmann)

2023

  • Hopeless Kingdom, Kgshak Akec (UWA Publishing)
  • Limberlost, Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
  • Cold Enough for Snow, Jessica Au (Giramondo Publishing)
  • Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, Shankari Chandran (Ultimo Press)
  • Enclave, Claire G. Coleman (Hachette Australia)
  • Losing Face, George Haddad (UQP)
  • Forty Nights, Pirooz Jafari (Ultimo Press)
  • Madukka: The River Serpent, Julie Janson(UWA Publishing)
  • The Lovers, Yumna Kassab (Ultimo Press)
  • Iris, Fiona Kelly McGregor (Pan Macmillan Australia)
  • Waypoints, Adam Ouston (Puncher and Wattmann)

2024

  • Only Sound Remains, Hossein Asgari (Puncher and Wattmann)
  • Wall, Jen Craig (Puncher and Wattmann)
  • Strangers at the Port, Lauren Aimee Curtis (Weidenfeld and Nicolson)
  • Anam, André Dao (Hamish Hamilton)
  • The Bell of the World, Gregory Day (Transit Lounge)
  • Edenglassie, Melissa Lucashenko (UQP)
  • The Sitter, Angela O'Keeffe (UQP)
  • Hospital, Sanya Rushdi (Giramondo)
  • Stone Yard Devotional, Charlotte Wood (Allen and Unwin)
  • Praiseworthy, Alexis Wright (Giramondo)

2025

  • Chinese Postman, Brian Castro (Giramondo)
  • The Burrow, Melanie Cheng (Text)
  • Theory & Practice, Michelle de Kretser (Text)
  • Dirt Poor Islanders, Winnie Dunn (Hachette)
  • Compassion, Julie Janson (Magabala)
  • Politica, Yumna Kassab (Ultimo)
  • Ghost Cities, Siang Lu (UQP)
  • Highway 13, Fiona McFarlane (Allen and Unwin)
  • The Degenerates, Raeden Richardson (Text)
  • Juice, Tim Winton (Hamish Hamilton)

2026

  • Discipline, Randa Abdel-Fattah
  • Salt Upon the Water, Lyn Dickens
  • Tenderfoot, Toni Jordan
  • First Name Second Name, Steve MinOn
  • My Heart at Evening, Konrad Muller
  • Fierceland, Omar Musa
  • Little World, Josephine Rowe
  • Elegy, Southwest, Madeleine Watts
  • You Must Remember This, Sean Wilson

Notes

See also

  • Australian History Awards
  • Australian literature
  • Culture of Australia
  • The Commonwealth Writers Prize
  • List of Australian literary awards
  • List of literary awards
  • National Biography Award
  • New South Wales Premier's History Awards
  • Prime Minister's Literary Awards

References

Further reading