Siang Lu's 'Ghost Cities' wins the Miles Franklin Literary Award

We are thrilled to announce that author and first-time shortlistee Siang Lu has won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his bold and satirical reimagining of Australian storytelling, Ghost Cities.

On winning the award, Lu said:

“I am honoured beyond belief, and beyond words. I didn't dare dream of this. It didn't seem possible. My most heartfelt thanks to Perpetual as trustee for the Miles Franklin Literary Award estate, the Copyright Agency, my publisher Aviva Tuffield and the wonderful team at UQP, and my agent Brendan Fredericks.”

When describing this year's winning novel, the judges said:

“Siang Lu’s 'Ghost Cities' is at once a grand farce and a haunting meditation on diaspora. Sitting within a tradition in Australian writing that explores failed expatriation and cultural fraud, Lu’s novel is also something strikingly new. In 'Ghost Cities', the Sino-Australian imaginary appears as a labyrinthine film-set, where it is never quite clear who is performing and who is directing. Shimmering with satire and wisdom, and with an absurdist bravura, 'Ghost Cities' is a genuine landmark in Australian literature.”

The Miles Franklin Literary Award recognises a novel of 'the highest literary merit' that presents 'Australian life in any of its phases' and Siang will receive $60,000 in prize money.

We could not be prouder of Siang on this monumental achievement.