Dark As Last Night and My Brother Ben win at the 2022 NSW Premier's Literary Awards

UQP are thrilled to share the news that Dark As Last Nightby Tony Birch and My Brother Benby Peter Carnavas have each won in their respective categories at the 2022 NSW Premier's Literary Awards.

Dark As Last Night was awarded the Christian Stead Prize for Fiction, a $40,000 prize judged by panellists Beth Yahp, Nicole Abadee and Bernard Cohen. The judges' comments for Tony's collection:

In Tony Birch’s short story collection, last night was very dark indeed, and Birch has illuminated every misdemeanour, hypocrisy, collusive lie, and real and imagined crime. This collection of stories includes pieces published between 2018 and 2020 as well as several unpublished pieces.

The stories in Dark as Last Night are as realised and rich as novels: they give a sense of lives fully lived, events remembered and projected. The reader frequently sees multiple character perspectives — the doomed thief and the friend too cowardly to save him, the impulsive and the cautious, drunks, gamblers, and children who hope to honour the baby Jesus. Throughout the collection, a sense of menace and (sometimes) unspoken threat hangs over its characters as they face issues including domestic violence, child abuse and life in a pandemic. In amongst lives of struggle and impulsive wrong turns, we still see moments full of love and falling in love.

In amongst struggle and impulsive wrong turns — both individual and societal — we are given striking moments of care and connection in longstanding relationships between family and friends, or fleetingly between strangers. Captivating as yarns, wearing their brilliance and compassion lightly, these stories take us somewhere deep. They rub at the seams and scars of contemporary life and carry us, along with their flawed but ultimately lovable characters, into bright hope, humour and appreciation. This work is audacious in its understatement and unassuming application of wit and wisdom. It signals a writer at the top of his game.

My Brother Benwas awarded the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature, a $30,000 prize judged by panellists Aleesha Darlison, Dub Leffler and Oliver Phommavanh. The judges' comments for Peter's novel:

Deftly written and at times cinematic and haunting, My Brother Ben by Peter Carnavas, is an unassuming gem of a novel. It tells the story of Luke and his big brother, Ben, and their adventures along the banks of Cabbage Tree Creek. Carnavas has crafted a well constructed story that explores the dynamic between brothers. Enriched by Carnavas’ own illustrations, this story knows what it is and doesn’t pretend to be anything else.

It’s the simple things that make My Brother Ben resonate: the goal of winning a boat so the brothers can go fishing, the love of birds and bird-watching. Even the setting of Cabbage Tree Creek harkens back to a place where it feels like time stands still. Yet, things are changing with Ben starting high school and Luke feeling left behind. As the bond between the brothers frays and tugs, Carnavas captures universal feelings like jealousy and the fear of being left out with delicate detail.

My Brother Ben stands out because of the subtle, palpable atmosphere that runs through it, the understated yet relatable storyline, the realistically portrayed characters, and the circularity and completeness of its ending. The world Carnavas has created is at times meditative and reflective. Anyone who has grown up with brothers will identify with this tender story as it captures the essence of the relationship between younger and older brothers. It’s a truly Australian story — modern, yet timeless.

Congratulations to Tony and Peter for their incredible achievements.